CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Before Saturday's game against Miami, the No. 11 Blue Devils had won six straight games with relative ease. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, had lost five of seven, including a home defeat to a 2-9 Maine squad Dec. 29. For most of the first half, though, the two teams appeared evenly matched.
But at the end of the period, it took just four minutes for the Blue Devils to put the game away for good.
In that span, Duke reeled off 13 points, taking the score from a tie at 33 to a 46-34 lead at the break. Miami never seriously challenged again, and the Blue Devils opened their conference schedule with a tougher-than-expected 84-72 victory in Coral Gables.
"Miami played the best I've ever seen it play according to film that I've watched," head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "They did some great things on the floor, and our team had to really work hard. I love the aggressiveness we showed and the balance of scoring with five people in double figures."
Miami (7-9, 0-1 in the ACC) came out playing confident basketball and stayed in the game largely as a result of efficient outside shooting by guard Maurita Reid. Reid led all scorers with 22 points in the game, and the Hurricanes shot an impressive 57.1 percent from beyond the arc in the opening period.
Duke (12-3, 1-0) countered with a combination of effective perimeter play and a focus on its low-post players. Chante Black led the Blue Devils with 12 points at halftime, but Joy Cheek, Carrem Gay and Krystal Thomas also had strong showings down low. Their performances were bolstered by the absence of Carla Williams, Miami's starting center and tallest player, who injured her knee early in the contest. With the Hurricanes shorthanded, Duke finished with a 32-20 advantage in points in the paint.
"They're huge and they're athletic, and what they do well is catch the ball," Miami head coach Katie Meier said of the Blue Devils' interior players. "I think if I played with them I might lead the country in assists, because you don't have to make phenomenal passes to those kids."
The Blue Devils put those talents on display during that closing first-half run. Wanisha Smith hit a 3-pointer to put Duke up three, and Black scored inside soon after. Abby Waner then stole the ball and took it the length of the floor before scoring on a spin move and getting fouled, giving the Blue Devils an eight-point advantage. Finally, Smith drained another three and Cheek scored inside, stunning the Hurricanes and putting Duke up 12 at the half. McCallie, meanwhile, was just as impressed with her team's defense during that run as she was with its scoring.
"To end the half, there was one point scored in the last 3:30, so it was tremendous that we were able to clamp down like that," McCallie said.
Duke's top scorers in the game were Black and Smith, who both recorded 16 points. Fifteen of Smith's 16 points came on five 3-pointers, a career high. The Blue Devils return to the court Friday against Florida State at 7 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
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