RALEIGH - On the opening tip Tuesday night at the RBC Center, players from both squads fell to the floor grabbing for the loose ball until a second jump ball had to be called.
From that point on, it was clear eighth-seeded Temple would give No. 1 Duke all it could handle.
In the end, however, the Blue Devils' defense proved to be too much. Duke (32-1) held the Owls (25-8) scoreless for six straight minutes in the second half to preserve a 62-52 win.
With the victory, the Blue Devils advance to their 10th straight Sweet 16, where they will face fourth-seeded Rutgers Saturday in Greensboro.
"We're glad to be moving on," head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "It was a very physical game and an excellent game for us to play. They make you play really ugly. I've seen teams build leads against them, and they always come back."
Although the Blue Devils led throughout the game, they could not pull away.
Temple's resiliency became especially evident at the end of the first half. Duke appeared to be on its away to another easy victory after Allison Bales' jump shot capped a 6-0 run to give Duke a 32-18 lead.
But the Owls answered with a run of their own. Lady Comfort's basket with 19 seconds remaining in the first half concluded a 6-0 spurt that cut Duke's lead to eight. Temple continued to hang tough in the second half, and Comfort's jumper with 9:20 left in the second half whittled the Blue Devil advantage to five.
Comfort's basket would be the Owls' last basket until there was only 3:23 left in the game, and Duke answered with nine straight points, ending on Lindsey Harding's three-pointer with 4:30 remaining. The bucket gave the Blue Devils a 60-46 lead, and Duke held on for the victory.
"They were doing a good job getting the ball inside," senior point guard Lindsey Harding said about the six-minute drought. "We wanted to force them to take difficult shots. That turned the game around."
Harding led the Blue Devils with 18 points and four assists. Wanisha Smith added 15 points, nearly six above her season average, and Carrem Gay recorded a double-double for Duke with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
"Carrem was extremely aggressive tonight," Goestenkors said. "At times, she was at a different level than the rest of the team getting after loose balls and offensive rebounds."
The increased offensive production from Gay and Smith allowed Duke to win despite getting only four points from senior center Allison Bales and eight points from sophomore guard Abby Waner. Bales shot only 2-for-9 from the field and was frustrated by the Owls' physical defense. And after scoring 26 points in the win against Holy Cross, Waner was limited to just five shots from the field.
"They gave me some extra face guards and bumps," Waner said. "It's something I'm just going to have to work on."
As a team, the Blue Devils' 62 points was the second lowest total of the season. Turnovers played a major role in Duke's low offensive output-the Blue Devils turned the ball over 17 times, which Temple converted into 22 points. The turnovers were yet another byproduct of the Owls' defense.
"They did a great job defensively," Harding said. "We also rushed things offensively."
Duke's ability to make stops when it mattered, however, overshadowed its subpar offensive night. Tuesday's game demonstrated that the Blue Devils do not need to score 80 or 90 points a game-they can win ugly games too.
"They're the most physical team that we've played all season," Goestenkors said. "We had to fight for what we wanted, and that's how the NCAA Tournament is."
NOTES:
Saturday's matchup will be the second of the season between Rutgers and Duke, with the Blue Devils dominating at Rutgers, 85-45.... Tuesday's win was Duke's 72nd consecutive against non-ranked opponents and the 35th in a row versus non-conference foes.... Gay's 13 points marked the fifth time in seven games that the sophomore has scored in double figures.... Waner hit one three-pointer in the game, leaving her one away from tying Duke's single season record.
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