This matchup is electric.
The top-ranked Blue Devils (15-1, 6-0 in the ACC) will try to defend Cameron, and their No. 1 seed, against the No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers (15-1, 5-0 in the SEC) this Saturday.
Both teams ride long winning streaks. Duke has won its last 15 games, and the Volunteers have won eight in a row. Each squad had its only loss come at the hands of Texas.
And if that wasn't enough reason for excitement, Duke's Alana Beard will become the first woman ever to have her jersey retired in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The ceremony will take place prior to the 6 p.m. tip-off.
Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors knows the atmosphere will be incredible.
"When you're on the sidelines inbounding the ball, [the Cameron Crazies] can almost reach over and touch you, and sometimes you feel like they're going to," Goestenkors said. "They're very much involved in the game, very clever with their chants and the things that they do.
It's all very organized. It just makes it a very exciting environment. I think that teams enjoy playing in that environment because the crowd is so very much involved in the game."
Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt, fresh off her 1,000th career victory against Vanderbilt Thursday, knows that her team will need mental toughness to compete.
"[The Duke] game will tell us a lot about ourselves and where we are," Summitt said. "It will tell us if we are warriors and can go on the road and compete. I'm anxious to see how we react. I like this team a lot. They have fought hard to come out with the wins that they have. I expect nothing different."
The Blue Devils beat Maryland on Thursday 78-48, and the highlight of the game was the play of senior Iciss Tillis. The Duke forward had been struggling shooting the ball and rebounding--but against the Terrapins Tillis played to her full potential. She netted 21 points and snatched eight rebounds in only 25 minutes of action. Goestenkors was relieved.
"Iciss let the game come to her," Goestenkors said. "We have really been focusing on moving the ball the last couple of days. I think the more passes we make, the more comfortable everyone feels out there and she gets in the flow of the game. I was really happy for her. She has been working hard. I'm glad that the hard work has paid off for her."
But Tennessee hopes to counter Tillis and the rest of Duke's frontcourt with center Ashley Robinson and forward Shyra Ely. Ely leads the team in points and rebounds, scoring 14.1 points and grabbing 8.1 boards per game. Ashley Robinson, a 6-5 center, leads the team with 2.5 blocks and averages 8.7 points per game. The tandem is the focal point of the Volunteer offense.
"Everything works through their post," Goestenkors acknowledged. "Ashely Robinson, she's always been a finesse player, but she's much more aggressive than I have ever seen her on both ends of the floor.
Shyra Ely has played on the perimeter a great deal of her career and now [Summitt has] moved her into the post. She's a very difficult matchup for anybody because she's strong, she's athletic, she's quick, and everything really goes through her."
But for Tennessee to win, it will have to find a way to stop Beard. Last year's player of the year tweaked a groin muscle in practice Thursday and as a precaution played limited minutes in the Maryland blowout. But Duke's star guard understands how big Saturday's contest is.
"The game is good for women's basketball," Beard said. "I don't think anyone had thought about it because we had Maryland to go and they were third in the ACC. Now it's our time to start thinking about the Tennessee game and what we have to do."
It's time to crown No. 1.
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