OKLAHOMA CITY - All season long, Duke was compared to the Dukes of old.
The Dukes of Gail Goestenkors that favored high-octane, guard-oriented offenses and high-pressure, man-to-man defenses; the Dukes of the last two years that collapsed in the second half of NCAA Tournament games; the Dukes of the last decade that stole the headlines because they lost, not because some other team won.
And all season long, first-year head coach Joanne P. McCallie staved off comparisons from the last two teams, anxious to create a new future and leave the past exactly where it was. But if it wasn't clear all season, it was painfully obvious Sunday night: This team wasn't an old Duke.
It was different, but the distressful outcome was the same.
In the volume of NCAA Tournament losses, this installment was perhaps more gutwrenching than those of the last two years, suckerpunches that were as shocking as they were devastating. There was no fallaway 3-pointer to force overtime (although Texas A&M's A'Quonesia Franklin did make three clutch bombs) and no chance to win the game at the free-throw line.
This time, Texas A&M was simply better than Duke.
Losing at the buzzer or losing throughout the entire second half, though, made little difference to the Duke players who have experienced both. It was still another loss in the NCAA Tournament, another year without the program's first national championship banner, another season ending with grim faces in the locker room-some players sitting still as statues, others sobbing through the pain.
"Regardless of the way you lose, when you lose, you don't expect to lose," junior Abby Waner said in between tears. "It's just tough losing when you know you can go so much further."
The way Duke played against the physical Big 12 opponent, however, it didn't deserve the chance to advance in this Tournament. The Aggies stole that, too.
Texas A&M took Duke's new look-a rugged, physical offense, built from the inside-out around center Chante Black, and a swarming array of man and zone defenses-and showed the Blue Devils how it was played most effectively.
The Aggies pressured on defense the way Duke tried to. They forced 19 turnovers on nine steals, eight in the first half. They limited Duke to 11 assists and three 3-pointers, none for the game's first 35 minutes. They doubled and tripled Black, who scored a team-high 17 points but only attempted seven field goals, down from her season average of 10.5.
"I felt like I was still demanding the ball," Black said. "There was a lot of pressure on my part.... When the ball did come in, I feel like we did execute more and score better."
"We expected pressure like that," Waner said. "I just don't think we handled it well."
More than anything, Texas A&M refused to allow Duke back into the game, thwarting any sort of mini-run with a made free throw here or a dagger jumper there. Most critically, the Aggies ran away from Duke when the Blue Devils made a charge to start the second half. Good teams win games in the times sandwiching halftime. Not surprisingly, Texas A&M seized control with 20-8 run that spanned intermission.
"I really believe that we could beat these teams," McCallie said. "We did not pull it all together tonight, that's true, but I have a great belief in this team. It leaves you very sad. It also leaves you very motivated for the lessons we can take from this experience."
But "this" team is now history. So for the first time in three postseasons, the regulation buzzer sounded inconsequentially, the game's result long decided. The winners dribbled the clock away as the Blue Devils hastily untucked their jerseys and struggled to restrain tears. Waner embraced senior Wanisha Smith in a lasting hug in front of the Duke bench. The two veteran guards had experienced the pain of missed Tournament chances, but never like this.
Not in an NCAA Tournament game in which Duke never led in the second half and trailed by double digits for the last 10:43. Not in an NCAA Tournament game in which Duke was thoroughly outplayed. Not in an NCAA Tournament game in which Duke never really looked like Duke.
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