With her top-ranked Blue Devils traveling to No. 4 Tennessee tonight, head coach Gail Goestenkors has some concerns.
She thinks Duke's rebounding needs to improve, and she knows her squad has its hands full trying to contain Candace Parker.
But one thing she is not overly worried about is the expected sellout crowd and the hostile atmosphere inside Thompson-Boling Arena tonight at 7 p.m. in Knoxville, Tenn. She has good reason not to fret-some of her players won at Tennessee two years ago, and most of her team played in the national championship game last year.
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"A lot of our players have played in that environment," Goestenkors said. "And our seniors [Lindsey Harding and Alison Bales], they've been through everything now. We've played in Final Fours and sold out coliseums, and they set the tone for us. If they're comfortable in that situation- and they were both starters the last time we played there, so they should be comfortable in that situation-then I think everyone else will be, as well."
Even so, facing off against a top-five opponent is never easy, even though Duke made it look simple in its methodic dismantling of then-No. 1 Maryland Jan. 13. Going to the home court of such a foe-as the Blue Devils will do twice more this year when they travel to No. 2 North Carolina Feb. 8 and the No. 3 Terrapins Feb. 18 -makes the task even tougher.
The Blue Devils have experience in big-game settings, but tonight's tilt is this Duke team's first true road challenge. And there will certainly be a different atmosphere at Tennessee than the one inside the friendly confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"We need to stand strong," Goestenkors said. "We know they will make some runs-we just have to play with a lot of poise."
Duke has seen its fair share of quality teams and has showed poise in all those games. Tennessee, however, has something-or rather, someone-that Duke has not seen this year in Parker, a universally touted forward-guard hybrid. In a game against Army last March, she became the first player to dunk in a women's college basketball game. She has repeated the feat five times since then.
But it is Parker's versatility, not just her ability to throw down, that wows coaches, dazzles fans and baffles opponents.
"She can take post players outside and go by them," Goestenkors said. "She has guard skills. And then she's got so many moves inside, and she's such a good passer, she's hard to double team. You can't go one-on-one against her because she's got so many good moves, and she's so skilled.
"We're not going to stop her, I have no illusions of trying to stop her. We just have to contain her-we don't want her to go off for 30 points against us."
Although the players on each team have changed, the magnitude has remained constant. In their Jan. 23 game last year at Duke, which the Blue Devils won 75-53, both teams were undefeated going in. In this year's renewal of the emerging rivalry, Duke sports an unblemished record while the Lady Volunteers have lost just once, to the Tar Heels.
Goestenkors, however, is the first to admit this year's game will barely resemble last year's.
"They're totally different," she said. "And so are we. I think that it's an opportunity for both of us to learn where we are and what we need to work on."
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