CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Going into her team’s matchup against LSU, Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors had a comprehensive game plan to take advantage of the Blue Devils’ relative strengths over the nation’s top squad. Though these strengths and the corresponding approaches produced an early Duke advantage, it was outside forces working against Goestenkors’ strategies that created a Blue Devil loss.
Offensively, Duke tried to spread the floor and allow room inside for Mistie Williams, the Blue Devils’ best interior scorer, and for her teammates’ backdoor cuts to the basket. Goestenkors showed LSU a number of different looks to try to control the tempo of the game on the defensive end. But Duke’s own foul trouble and Tiger junior Seimone Augustus’ All-American-caliber play undermined Goestenkors’ plan.
Early in the game, the Blue Devils built a 24-12 lead using a 1-3-1 offensive set with Alison Bales at the high post to pound the ball inside to Williams, who scored 13 first-half points on perfect shooting. Bales showed surprising mobility on a play with 8:15 remaining in the half when she caught a pass at the high post and drove to the basket, making a layup. The drive, along with Bales’ reputation as a solid medium-range shooter, drew her defender out and allowed Williams to operate one-on-one under the hoop.
The Blue Devils’ offense showed promise with this play but almost immediately stalled. Bales went to the bench after picking up her second foul seconds after that layup. The team had as many turnovers (six) as points for the rest of the half, and LSU rapidly erased Duke’s early lead.
Foul trouble further plagued Bales in the second half, as she was only able to play 21 minutes throughout the game. Chante Black provided solid interior defense for the Blue Devils but was not the same offensive threat with a mere four points. This allowed the Tigers to double team off her, a luxury they did not have with Bales on the floor.
“They had to go out and respect [Bales] because Ali is our best high-post shooter,” Goestenkors said. “When Chante was in, they were just double teaming inside. They didn’t have to defend her out there because she is not as effective of a shooter.”
Duke needed to hit threes to take defensive pressure off its post players with Bales out, but it was unable to do so. The Blue Devils shot a measly 2-for-13 from behind the arc, as Monique Currie’s 4-for-18 shooting performance left Jessica Foley as the only deep threat. But Foley, still bothered by tendonitis, failed to make a impact, shooting only 20 percent from three-point range.
“Their defense was excellent,” Goestenkors said. “We needed to hit some outside shots to draw them out, and we just couldn’t do it.”
Even with different defensive formations throughout the night, Duke could not stop Augustus, the Most Outstanding Player in the Chattanooga region. The Blue Devils primarily utilized a man-to-man defense, in which Wanisha Smith guarded the taller Augustus, who finished with 24 points on 50 percent shooting. The 6-foot-1 LSU guard was able to shoot over Smith at will.
Against the Blue Devils’ 2-3 zone, the All American exploited a gap at the free-throw line and consistently drew in the zone and kicked out to her wide-open teammates. Augustus also single-handedly obliterated Duke’s initial attempt to press with 7:30 remaining in the game, weaving through all of Duke’s defenders and making a runner in the lane.
The game plan was solid, but the game presented unpredictable elements and unpreventible forces that overwhelmed any prepping the Blue Devils could do.
“That’s basketball,” Williams said. “You have to show heart, and tonight we just came up short.”
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