Alana Beard, Vicki Krapohl and Iciss Tillis have compiled some remarkable records over the past four years, and they were not going to let anyone spoil their senior night Friday. The three combined for almost half the team's points in a dominating 102-45 victory over Clemson in Duke's final regular season home game.
The Blue Devils (23-3, 14-1 in the ACC) handed the Lady Tigers (17-9, 7-8) their worst loss ever.
"I'm really pleased with our effort, our intensity and our focus," Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "I think this was a great way to send our seniors out."
Beard had another brilliant game, as she closed in on Johnny Dawkins for the Blue Devil all-time scoring record. She shot a lights-out 11-for-13 from the field and scored a game-high 28 points, leaving her just two points shy of overtaking Dawkins' career mark. The two-time All-American also added nine rebounds and three steals to lead all players in both categories.
"We have our huddle before every game and I tell my teammates to just have fun," Beard said. "In the huddle today I said, 'You all know what you have to do; just have fun and enjoy it.' And I think we did that as a team and it was so much fun out there tonight."
Their energy and enthusiasm was apparent as Duke began the game on an 18-2 run and did not give up a field goal for the first five minutes.
After their initial surge, the Blue Devils got a little complacent as they turned the ball over nine times and committed 15 fouls in the first half. Clemson was unable to capitalize, however, as it shot just 10-for-21 from the line in the half.
With five minutes to go before the break, Duke finished on an 18-3 run as the seniors took over and gave the Blue Devils a 48-20 lead. During the spurt, Krapohl connected on two three-pointers and Tillis scored on a behind-the-back pass from Beard. Sophomore Lindsey Harding scored six of her ten points during the run, including a jumper from the top of the key to beat the buzzer.
"We had a lot of chemistry out there," Krapohl said. "It was fun. We were having a good time on the court and everything just seemed to be clicking."
The second half brought more of the same for the Blue Devils, as they continued their hot shooting and stellar defense. Duke finished with 11 steals and nine blocks. The team also had an incredible 30 assists as it shot better than 52 percent for the game.
Tillis finished her final home regular season game with 11 points and seven rebounds, and Krapohl added nine points and six assists.
Goestenkors was very pleased with her team's effort and praised the seniors for their leadership.
"It took us a little time to get comfortable, and once we did there wasn't a whole lot of coaching involved," Goestenkors said. "With three great seniors that are great leaders and have been through just about every defense you could possibly throw at them, they become very comfortable once they get a feel for things. It makes my job easy."
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