CHICAGO - Duke's first road trip did not treat the Blue Devils well, as Hartford handed No. 6 Duke its first loss of the season in the DePaul Invitational Friday.
Duke's loss to Hartford (3-1) certainly came as a surprise, but the Hawks controlled throughout, fending off a late second-half surge to upset the Blue Devils 53-51 in McGrath Arena.
"There was no offensive chemistry in the Hartford game," senior guard Abby Waner said. "Shot selection was bad, and in terms of being tough we just gave up. We didn't dive for it. There's no excuse for it-we weren't ready to play."
Duke (3-1) was able to score 34 points in the second half and went on a 9-2 run late in the period to bring the game to within two. With only eight seconds left, however, the Blue Devils weren't able to complete the comeback despite having the ball in leading scorer Chante Black's hands to try to take the game into overtime.
The team's strengths became weaknesses, as Duke simply could not execute its fast-paced style in order to seal the victory. Its high-intensity press defense failed to force turnovers, as the team posted a minus-1 turnover margin. Not only did Duke fail to take care of the ball, but it also lacked its typically strong performance on the boards, as it only outrebounded the Hawks 48-45.
"We need to take care of the basketball and be dominant on the boards," head coach Joanne P. McCallie said.
Maintaining possession on offense and generating second-chance points will also be difference-makers for the team this season, especially if the offense continues to struggle to shoot the ball, as it did Friday.
A 26.6 percent clip from the field crippled the Blue Devil offense and the defense wasn't able to fill the void as it did in the first two games.
Black has been doing her part for the Blue Devils on both ends, averaging 8.3 rebounds per game. She pulled down 13 boards against Hartford, but her play would not be enough to overcome the team's poor offensive performance.
With such high expectations for the season, an early November loss to an unranked team will either inspire the Blue Devils or set them back. They hope it's the former.
"We need to change-we're not going to do this again this year," Waner said, referring to the team's lackluster season last year. "It's on us. There is no one else to blame but ourselves. We have to commit to a change."
But in its first opportunity to demonstrate that change in Saturday's consolation game against Southern (1-3), Duke's play didn't see any instant improvement.
Statistically, the Blue Devils dominated in their 93-52 win. Duke forced 29 turnovers, outrebounded Southern 48-33 and shot 38 free throws.
The team crushed an inferior opponent, but it came a day late.
"I hope that's not the case, that we have to be a team to lose to learn," McCallie said. "That's not exactly the type of team we want to be."
Following Friday's loss, the Blue Devils gathered to watch the first half against Hartford that put them down 22-17. What they saw was a lack of chemistry, poor shot selection, meager toughness and a staggering 18 turnovers in just 20 minutes of play.
When Duke stepped on the court Saturday, the difference in tone was noticeable. The intensity, though, was shortlived. The Blue Devils led the Jaguars 50-18 at halftime, but finished the game making some of the same mistakes they had committed just the night before.
"You want to rebound well from a loss, and I don't know if I'd necessarily say we rebounded well," said Waner, who led the team with 24 points Saturday after scoring nine Friday. "We played better, but we still have a lot to work on."
Trying to find positives in their trip to Chicago, McCallie said she was pleased with the intensity in the first half against Southern. Still, she saw far more room for improvement as the season progresses.
"We'll take the good with the bad and just try to learn from the whole experience," McCallie said.
The reality is that the experience was a rough one. Duke arguably played just one good half of basketball in two games against weaker competition. And consequently, as DePaul played Hartford in the championship game Saturday night, Duke boarded a bus back to the airport.
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