While Duke and Tennessee match up very well, Duke should have the advantage in quickness. On the other hand, anchored by leading scorer Gwen Jackson, Tennessee will try to dominate the Blue Devils in the low post.
When the two teams faced each other in November, Alana Beard was unstoppable. She used her quickness to score 22 points, pull down nine rebounds, dish out seven assists and grab five steals.
As she has been for most teams, Beard is the target of opponents' defenses. Expect Tennessee to focus its defense around shutting down Beard.
"We did struggle in the first game," Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt said. "We did a very poor job. First of all, I would say our defense is better, but I would feel it would be necessary for us to not rely on just one player to defend her. We might have to rotate some players [on guarding Beard]."
Since the November matchup, Tasha Butts has won a spot in the Volunteer starting lineup and will be one of the primary defenders of Beard.
"Tasha Butts is now in the lineup, who is perhaps their most athletic player," Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "She is their quickest defender."
The other Blue Devils players are expecting Beard to be the focal point of the Volunteer defense and hope to take advantage of the opportunities she creates.
"I wouldn't be surprised if they did a little double-teaming and triple-teaming on Alana," Sheana Mosch said. "If you see four people on her I wouldn't be surprised."
While Tennessee primarily utilizes a man-to-man defensive scheme, Summitt has expressed that the team will likely turn to zone in an attempt to defend Beard and other Duke penetrators. One of the reasons the zone is so appealing is that, throughout this year's tournament, other teams have slowed Duke with zone defenses.
"We are a team that isn't just solely committed to man-to-man," Summitt said. "[Alana Beard] is a tough task for any one-to-one defense."
Goestenkors expects the Volunteers to try to slow Duke down with the press.
"They have a 2-2-1 three quarter court press that they like to play to slow teams down back into a 3-2," Goestenkors said. "I am expecting to see that just to slow us down a bit and to key on Alana."
Tennessee will also try to counter Duke's quickness with physical play.
"The [Tennessee players] that aren't quite as quick are very strong and they use their strength to push you around and get physical with you," Goestenkors said.
Stemming from its physical play, Tennessee's matchup strength comes in the post and on the boards. Summitt has used this size and skill advantage on the inside to propel her team to four easy victories. In those four games, the Volunteers have outrebounded their opponents by an average of 16 rebounds per game.
"Playing from the inside out has strengthened our half court game and gotten us great looks," Summitt said. "Gwen Jackson and Shyra Ely have had a lot of touches."
Expect the Volunteers to try to continue this trend against Duke. To try to stop Jackson, Duke may turn to the double team.
"She will be a target," Summitt said. "We have seen a lot of double-team action this year and we will see even more. Gwen is prepared."
Duke will attempt to slow down Tennessee's post attack with a variety of players which include Michele Matyasovsky, Mistie Bass, Wynter Whitley and Iciss Tillis.
While Matyasovsky will start, Mistie Bass will see extensive playing time in an attempt to shut down Jackson. However, when Bass enters the game, Duke's team speed is greatly reduced. Consequently, a strong start by Jackson could cause headaches for the Blue Devils and inhibit them from exploiting their speed advantage.
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