CLEMSON, S.C. -- While both Duke and Clemson denied that the game was any more physical than normal, the players limping off the court last night made it seem otherwise. A minute into yesterday's game, Clemson's Julie Talley was on the floor after rolling her ankle. Kenetra Queen replaced her and fell minutes later after incurring a hit in the face. While both Talley and Queen eventually returned, Duke's Iciss Tillis left the game suffering from a concussion at the end of the first half. To start the second half, the Tigers' Julie Aderhold limped off the court with another ankle injury. Injuries were indicative of the game's intensity, as No. 2 Duke (17-2, 8-0 in ACC) aptly defeated ACC-rival Clemson (15-5, 5-4) 78-60.
Coming off a hard-fought win over N.C. State last week, Duke had to prove its dominance in the conference against a highly motivated and driven Clemson squad. The Tigers put up a valiant effort and cut the margin to within six at one point in the second half, but the Blue Devils never let up with its pressure defense to allow Clemson a chance at victory.
"I'm pleased with our effort, especially in the second half," Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "I give Clemson's defense a lot of credit, but we became more aggressive in the second half. We picked up our intensity and [the smaller lineup we put in after losing Tillis] made us quicker. We shut them down a little bit better."
The game was marred with Blue Devil fouls, as Brittany Hunter, Mistie Bass and Jessica Foley all collected four fouls apiece. However, it did not affect the defensive pressure Duke put on Clemson's team. The team was able to keep Lakeia Stokes to only six first half points. Stokes, who averages 18.4 points per game, leads the Tigers in points, rebounds, steals and assists.
"[Stokes] picked up four fouls in the second half, but came out late to score when most of our starters were out," Goestenkors said. "She can hit the three. She can penetrate and defend well. She does so many things well. So, we didn't try to contain her. We wanted to contain the rest of the team. We wanted her to earn most of her points, which I think she did." Stokes was able to dominate for the Tigers in the second half even after amassing four fouls, and finished up with 18 points last night. Even with a dominant second half from Stokes, the Blue Devils were able to execute and come away with their 51st consecutive ACC win. The team shot over 50 percent from the field, as Monique Currie sank five of her eight shots and Hunter went 4-for-7. Currie also demonstrated her presence inside with seven boards. Point guard Lindsay Harding's direction and leadership led to her eight points and seven assists against Clemson. In her last two games, Harding has dished 13 assists and only allowed a single turnover. Further, Duke dominated the paint throughout the game. With a clear advantage in strength and height inside, the Blue Devils were able to keep Clemson from capitalizing on shots inside. "[Duke] wore us out inside," Clemson head coach Jim Davis said. "Our post defense wasn't anything like it is normally." All around, though, it was Alana Beard's tremendous effort on the court that kept the Tigers from posing a true threat to the Blue Devils. In her tenth game this season scoring over 20 points, Beard led Duke with 26 points and four blocks. She demonstrated her versatility by scoring from all over the court, twice behind the arch. Clemson just was not able to contain Beard the way they had hoped. "I thought we got off to a pretty good start with Beard," Davis said. "We wanted her to work hard to even get the ball. But when she got the ball, golly, she was phenomenal."
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