CHAPEL HILL -- At the start of the 2002-2003 season, the women's basketball team played with a fire and intensity that led to consistent blow-out wins against a wide range of opponents, from weak squads such as Hampton to perennial powerhouses like Tennessee.
However, the Blue Devils' hot play has slowed dramatically against ACC foes.
Unusually tight games against Clemson and Georgia Tech, along with near-losses to Wake Forest and Virginia, left Duke looking somewhat dazed and out-of-synch. The team has been forced to rely on its All-American Alana Beard along with some beneficial calls at the end of games to keep its No. 1 ranking and perfect season alive, but the players' confidence in each other seemed to be lacking.
"We've had plenty of scares already," head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "I think it's good for us that we've already been in some very difficult situations."
Developing toughness in close games is undeniably beneficial, but continually being in trouble against substantially less-talented teams and at times lacking cohesiveness when it is needed most could not have been good for the Blue Devils' psyche.
All that changed Monday afternoon in front of a sold-out, hostile crowd at Carmichael Auditorium, where the Blue Devils' revived passion and intensity to carry them to a 76-67 overtime victory against archrival North Carolina.
"This game was a big step, especially when it comes to our team chemistry," junior Iciss Tillis said. "I felt like we really had [chemistry] this game. It was great; we were on the same page. Emotionally, I just felt a really tight bond out there on the court. I was really excited with how we meshed today."
At no point was Duke's chemistry more evident than in overtime, when it outscored the Tar Heels 17-6.
The duo of Beard and Tillis stepped up their games in the final five minutes with 12 combined points, but, unlike the Blue Devils' previous escapes, this was hardly a one- or two-woman show.
Sheana Mosch, Wynter Whitley and point guards Vicki Kraphol and Lindsey Harding used sharp passes, fast breaks and smothering defense in the extra session to aid their All-American teammates in securing the hard-fought victory.
Mosch converted a strong baseline drive to give the Blue Devils a nearly insurmountable 75-67 lead with 47 seconds remaining; Whitley grabbed two rebounds and made two clutch foul shots; and Kraphol and Harding had solid command of the ball as they alternated on offensive and defensive possessions.
"Each one of us looked each other in the eye and we knew what we had to do," Beard said. "It's just the confidence that we carry as a team."
Such unity and intensity that defined Duke at the start of the season had been spotty in recent games, and the Blue Devils needed some sort of a wake-up call.
Perhaps the near-loss in regulation - which seemed almost certain when Whitley was called for a foul on Tar Heel junior Chrystal Baptist as time expired - was just the spark that Duke needed.
Had referee Sally Bell not reversed the initial call on the court and ruled that Baptist was fouled after the clock ran out, the forward would have had two chances at the free throw line to break a 61-61 tie and upset the nation's top-ranked team.
"[Duke] is having all of their luck early in the season," North Carolina head coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "Sooner or later it has to run out."
Whether the end of regulation was luck or not, Duke certainly earned the victory with superior play in overtime.
"I really feel like we turned a corner," Goestenkors said. "I think this was a great game and I think Carolina's a great team. I feel very, very good about our team right now."
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