Just one game after ending a record 51-game ACC winning streak to Florida State, Monique Currie and Duke's women began working on some new records.
Currie tied a Duke team record with 12 assists and Vicki Krapohl scored 18 points on six three-pointers as the Blue Devils rebounded from their loss against the Seminoles with an 81-41 rout against Georgia Tech.
"I think we all just needed to take a good, long look in the mirror and we talked about how we all needed to grow up and take responsibility for what was going on on the court," head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "We watched videotape of the FSU game, and we saw that our defense was not anywhere near where it's been, not just this season but for several seasons, and we just talked about what each individual needed to do for us to be successful and go to another level."
The Blue Devils (18-3, 9-1 in the ACC) suffocated the Yellow Jackets early with stifling defense, forcing six turnovers on Georgia Tech's first seven possessions. Alison Bales' consecutive buckets pushed the early Duke lead to 23-2, and the Blue Devils never looked back.
"They were in the passing lanes, denying every entry pass" Georgia Tech head coach MaChelle Joseph said of Duke's defense. "I thought Duke was very aggressive. They came out, obviously, off that loss against Florida State with a lot more intensity and a lot more passion."
Krapohl's hot shooting, Currie's passing and Duke's intensity on both ends of the court also helped make the difference. Krapohl's six threes were one shy of a school record, and the Blue Devils held the Yellow Jackets to under 30 percent shooting for the game.
"We all just took a look at ourselves and said, 'What can I do to make this team better?' Maybe it's not scoring, maybe it's getting a stop, maybe it's defense, and I think we all did that today" Krapohl said of her team's effort. "We all performed our role, and it made everyone else look better."
The Yellow jackets, who have not beaten Duke since 1994, appeared overwhelmed at the game's outset, committing 19 first-half turnovers as Duke built an insurmountable 49-16 lead. Preseason all-ACC selection Fallon Stokes notched 15 points and eight rebounds for Georgia Tech, which fell to 2-8 in the ACC and 11-11 on the season.
"It was very difficult [trying to match their intensity]" point guard Alex Stewart said. "We were not only trying to match their intensity, but we were just trying to execute offensively on our own, and when we were not succeeding in that, it carried over to bringing us down a little bit."
The second half was closer, but the damage had already been done. The Blue Devils pushed the lead to 40 on a Jessica Foley three-pointer with 13:49 left in the game, a play on which Currie made her record-tying 12th assist.
"That's what great players do," Joseph said of Currie's performance.
"Great players make plays, and when their shot's off, they find a different way to contribute to their team, and that's what she did." The victory pushed Duke to 9-1 in the ACC and made an emphatic statement after stumbling against Florida State last Wednesday.
"We took a look at our last game and saw that we needed to put a lot more effort, a lot more passion, a lot more hustle into every play and on every possession," Currie said. "I just think that carried over into today's game and we just wanted to not play down to the competition's level, but to play on our level."
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