You'd be surprised if mighty Duke had squandered its pristine record and place atop college basketball with a loss to unheralded Florida State. The Blue Devils' lofty ranking was in great danger of being chopped down by the Seminoles Sunday afternoon, particularly when Alana Beard was strapped to the bench after picking up her fourth foul with 12:16 remaining in the game. And after the ladies from the Sunshine State knotted the score at 52, everyone inside Cameron Indoor trembled. Would the Seminoles cloud over Duke's No. 1 ranking with an upset?
The answer--a resounding "no"--would come from a freshman and a senior; Jessica Foley, a native of Wodonga, Australia, and Michele Matyasovsky, from Somerdale, N.J. The unlikely pair provided a spark for Duke that culminated in a 29-11 run, securing victory for the Blue Devils. During the stretch, the two combined for 15 points, six rebounds and six assists.
"We decided to go with our best motion team, and Jess and Michelle are two of our best motion players," Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "We just spread the floor out and let them make some reads. I thought they did an excellent job passing the ball, making the right decisions."
Iciss Tillis, who poured in a career-high 30 points, started the run by tossing in a pair of foul shots to give Duke a two-point edge. That's when Foley and Matyasovsky took over. Foley drained a bucket from the wing, and then after collecting a defensive board, pushed the ball up the floor. She passed it up to Matyasovsky who found a wide open Vicki Krapohl for three.
Following a Seminole timeout, the teams exchanged scoreless possessions before Florida State closed to 59-54 with seven minutes left in the contest. On the ensuing possession, Krapohl whipped the ball around the perimeter to Matyasovsky, who fired a three from the corner. Florida State attempted to retaliate, but a three point attempt from Tasheika Morris went long. Krapohl picked up the loose ball, zipped downcourt and found Sheana Mosch. She misfired, but Foley was there to grab the rebound and go back up for another basket.
Seminole Katelyn Vujas made the front-end of a one-on-one, closing Duke's lead to 64-55 with 5:46 remaining. Her second shot caromed off the rim, and Matyasovsky held off two Florida State players for the rebound. Duke pushed the ball in transition, leaving Foley open on a wing for three. She misfired, but Matyasovsky cleaned up and dropped the ball in the net for two more points.
"I thought Jessica was very big for them," Seminole head coach Sue Semrau said. "She caused us some matchup problems, so I thought she was a great weapon for them to have.... I know Michelle's got that in her...she just made some great cuts and the guards did a great job of finding her."
The next Duke possession was more of the same, as Foley found Matyasovsky under the basket for another goal. Florida State countered, but was trailing 68-57 with just 3:56 to go in the contest. The Blue Devils pulled out some razzle-dazzle in response. With Foley holding the ball on the left wing, Tillis made a backcut to the basket. Foley lofted a perfect pass into the air for Tillis, who completed the alley-oop with a kiss of the glass.
The oscillation continued, as Matyasovsky nailed a jumper from the wing for a 13-point advantage. Then, Duke snapped Florida State's spear with a ridiculous give-and-go play from Foley to Matyasovsky.
"I'm always looking for Michelle when she's cutting, because she always has somewhere open to look for so I got the ball," Foley said. "And Michelle is usually making the right cut."
The freshman, in position on the left baseline, dished the ball to Matyasovsky in stride when she was on the block. After taking one dribble towards the hoop, the senior was forced to alter her shot because of a Seminole defender. She calmly glided under the basket and flipped in a reverse layup that rendered the Seminoles' hopes of a comeback shattered.
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