CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Duke must keep Louisiana State from running, or it may get run straight out of the gym.
Playing in its fourth consecutive Elite Eight, the women’s basketball team looks to take its fourth trip ever to the Final Four when it takes on LSU (32-2) tonight at 9 p.m. The past three seasons Duke has been a No. 1 seed, but tonight the second-seeded Blue Devils (31-4) have to take on the tournament’s top overall seed.
“Last year was much more stressful,” head coach Gail Goestenkors said. “We were the No. 1 overall seed, and we were expected to win.
“This year a lot of people didn’t even expect us to beat Georgia with the injuries that we’ve had. I think it’s great because everyone can just go out and play.”
The Tigers have played like the team that occupied the top spot in the polls most of the season, breezing through their first three games. The team—which was undefeated in the SEC but lost to Tennessee in the conference tournament—has beaten its NCAA Tournament opponents by 34, 33 and 42 points, respectively, and all the blowouts have begun early. But LSU has yet to take on a team seeded higher than ninth, the easiest road of any of the Elite Eight competitors.
“They’ve had the big leads so they have a lot of confidence right now,” Goestenkors said. “They have so many weapons that it’s going to take a supreme team effort on our part.”
Duke will likely try to slow the tempo and keep the game low-scoring, a recipe that helped Rutgers and Tennessee hand LSU its only two losses of the season. The Tigers average 73 points per game this year but have only managed 57 points per game in their two losses, including an overtime loss at Rutgers during which the Tigers only scored 49 points.
If turnovers plague the Blue Devils, the team will have even more trouble slowing down the Tigers. LSU has forced 19 turnovers per game this year and has scored 21 points per game off its opponents’ miscues in the tournament.
“We need to play great team defense,” Goestenkors said. “We all have to be on the same page offensively and defensively. I think it will come down to who executes well, who takes care of the ball and rebounds.”
Junior Seimone Augustus, the only unanimous first-team All-American selection, is the Tigers’ weapon of choice, leading the team with 19 points per game. The versatile scorer has been especially impressive in the tournament, scoring 18 points per contest despite playing limited minutes because of LSU’s large leads. Duke All-American Monique Currie will likely draw the task of guarding Augustus, who is coming off a 10-for-12 shooting performance against Liberty.
Duke may win the battle on the glass between the starting front lines, and LSU’s most productive post player comes off the bench. Freshman Sylvia Fowles adds 11.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game to bolster LSU’s post play, which receives only eight points and 8.7 rebounds from its veteran starting duo.
Another post reserve, Crystal White, transferred to LSU from Duke in the middle of the 2001-2002 season. White, who plays seven minutes a game for the Tigers, is facing her former team for the first time since leaving for Baton Rouge.
“It will be kind of like practice because we practiced against each other so much,” Duke senior Wynter Whitley said. “It might be a little awkward for her, but I think that’s natural.”
White’s current team is the definite favorite, but the Tigers are not underestimating the Blue Devils. Duke defeated Tennessee 59-57 in December, and first-year head coach Pokey Chatman said she has not seen any real weaknesses while watching Duke.
“They are one of the better defensive teams we have played all year,” Chatman said. “They do a good job of playing to their strengths, and to me that’s always a sign of a great basketball team.”
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