Charlottesville, VA -- The score was tied at 41 with 8:31 left in regulation. Duke's All-American guard Alana Beard was struggling, shooting 3-for-14 from the floor with 12 points.
Up to that point, UVa's plan to make Beard a perimeter shooter was working to perfection. Cavalier guard LaTonya Blue, who matched up against Beard all night, frequently gave her six feet of room around the three-point arc.
But with the game, and Duke's No. 1 ranking, in jeopardy, Beard stopped settling for the outside jumper.
The star Duke guard hit three lay ups and six in a row from the free throw line, doubling her point total to 24 on her way to leading Duke (14-1, 5-0 in the ACC) to a 63-52 victory over Virginia (8-8, 2-3).
After the game, Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors was relieved to come out of University Hall with a win. "[Virginia] played a great game, they came together," Goestenkors said. "I thought they got great contributions from everybody... They caused us a lot of trouble. I'm just real happy to come away with a win, it seemed like every score was a struggle for us." The Cavaliers entered the game with their leading rebounder and scorer Brandi Teamer suspended. Fortunately for UVa, the suspension will be resolved shortly, according to Cavalier head coach Debbie Ryan. The absence of Teamer was countered by a large contribution from Blue, who had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Jocelyn Logan-Friend also contributed on the defensive end, totaling 10 rebounds and five blocks, both career-highs. But despite Logan-Friends' efforts, Ryan believed her team needed to do better on the defensive glass. "I feel like where we really lost the game was on second-chance points," Ryan said. "We gave them too many offensive rebounds, and I really thought that was the difference in the game tonight. And turnovers too, you can't have 24 turnovers and expect to win a game, especially against the best team in the country." Monique Currie led the Blue Devils in offensive rebounds with four. Currie also also scored 10 points and grabbed five defensive rebounds. Ryan was impressed. "They're a much better team with her," Ryan noted. "[Currie] is one of the best players on that team. Sometimes I think that she was tougher to guard then Beard at times. She's such a great penetrator, and she's added an outside game to her aresenal. But she's really a great offensive rebounder; she's one of the best I've ever seen. We didn't keep her off the boards tonight and that really hurt us." The Blue Devils also recieved a solid performance from sophomore guard Lindsey Harding. During Duke's late run in the second half, Harding snatched a defensive rebound, weaved her way through Virginia defenders, and fed Beard with a perfect bounce pass for a lay up. Harding finished the game with eight points on 2-4 shooting, five rebounds, and five assists. An obvious disappointment on the night for the Blue Devils was senior Iciss Tillis. The Duke forward had seven points on 2-for-13 shooting, two rebounds and three turnovers. "I really feel for Iciss because she's trying to do everything within her power to play well," Goestenkors said. "Her shot is just not falling. She's now not rebounding the way she wants too; she's thinking too much." Duke's next game is at home against Maryland on Thursday.
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