Duke played well behind inspired defense, but not quite well enough to beat No. 2 Tennessee in front of a sell-out crowd in Cameron Indoor Stadium Monday night, eventually falling to the Lady Vols 67-64.
Tenth-ranked Duke had a chance late in the game when junior Abby Waner nailed a 3-point shot over the outstretched arms of Tennessee's Candace Parker to tie the game at 64 with just 47 seconds remaining.
After an up-and-down battle with numerous swings and five lead changes, Waner's first three of the night brought the Blue Devils back into contention to complete the upset. But a quick layup by Parker with 22 seconds left gave Tennessee a two point lead, and after Waner missed another 3-point attempt from the same spot with nine tics left, Parker was fouled and hit a single free throw to close out the victory for the Lady Vols.
The loss ended No. 10 Duke's nation-leading 24-game home winning streak and its 3-game streak versus Tennessee.
"Obviously, we're very disappointed," head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "We can see the direction we need to move for us to be a special team."
Duke, however, played a stellar defensive game. They held Tennessee to 14 points fewer than its average, and the Lady Vols shot just 40 percent from the field.
The defensive effort helped propel Duke to a strong first half, as they rendered the Lady Vols' top two scorers virtually ineffective in the first 20 minutes. Parker--arguably the nation's best player--did not score until the 6:48 mark while her teammate Alexis Hornbuckle went 0-for-4 before the break.
Although impressive defense helped Duke fight off the Lady Vols for most of the first stanza, the Blue Devils finally yielded to a 33-33 tie at the break.
"It was definitely one of the best [defenses we've seen]," Hornbuckle said. "They're just so active, they're long, they're big."
The Blue Devils fell behind early in the second when junior Chante Black, who had been dominant in the post, left the game with foul trouble. The Lady Vols scored 12 points in the first four minutes of the period, with Parker accounting for five. With Duke down seven at the half's first media timeout, Black returned to the game and helped her team climb back into contention. The Blue Devils drew even at 48-48 with 12:28 to go in the game, and the two teams see-sawed back and forth until the final minute.
Duke's strong defensive effort on the night was undermined by a poor showing in the one aspect of the game McMallie emphasizes often-rebounding. The Lady Vols outrebounded Duke 40-29, helping the visitors score 21 second-chance points to the Blue Devils' zero.
"We definitely can control that, and I felt like we didn't today-, clearly," guard Wanisha Smith said. "We were outrebounded by 11, so just with things we can control, I did think we let it slip away."
Chante Black led the offensive attack for Duke, scoring with ease in the paint en route to a team-high 13 points. Freshman Jasmine Thomas, on the other hand, played well in the backcourt, scoring 13 points on 3-of-4 3-point shooting.
Waner continued her recent shooting troubles, going 1-of-6 from beyond the arc. Her last-second three was her first in 16 straight attempts at home. The junior finished with six assists.
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