In head coach Joanne P. McCallie's first season, the Blue Devils stayed in games with defense. They won by outlasting and outhustling their opponent.
Indeed, Duke was 1-8 when it surrendered more than 70 points. When holding opponents to fewer than 50 points, however, the Blue Devils were 10-0.
Lesson learned: If Duke is able to lock down on defense and keep games low-scoring, it will be more competitive against top-10 teams.
Exhibit A: the Blue Devils' 49-44 win against then-No. 4 Rutgers Dec. 6. The team recorded 10 blocks, including six from senior center Chante Black, and eight steals in perhaps its finest defensive performance of the season.
This year's team needs to repeat and build upon such efforts if it hopes to beat elite opponents.
The Blue Devils are in luck, as the team is characterized by flexibility-the foundation to a stifling defense. Players like Joy Cheek, Keturah Jackson and Black will be able to offer different looks to the defense in order to keep opposing teams guessing, McCallie said.
"We have many different people playing different positions this year-much more versatility than we had a year ago," the second-year head coach said.
Flexibility allows the defense to take on many new appearances, including McCallie's trademark matchup zones. Last year, the Blue Devils featured one matchup, but this year, McCallie has introduced another to further her philosophy that the best defense is a collection of multiple defenses.
Still, the Blue Devils will primarily play man-to-man, which they did last year.
Black and senior Abby Waner lead the defense both inside and out-Black was the team leader in blocks last year, while Waner led the team in steals. McCallie expects similar defensive production from two of her captains.
"[Waner] looks great in all areas, whether you are talking about her 3-point shot in practice, or whether you are talking about playmaking and defending," McCallie said. "She's stronger, quicker, and I think I speak for [Waner] and all the seniors-they are a ready group."
Alongside Black will be sophomore center Krystal Thomas, who teams with Black to form an imposing force in the post. At 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-4, respectively, Black and Thomas will be able to anchor down Duke's matchup zone, allowing the quick Blue Devil guards to force turnovers and create scoring opportunities.
In order to make the step to the next level, McCallie plans to build upon her consistent defense with a new half-court offense-that doesn't mean, though, that McCallie has lost sight of defense, the part of the game she has built her career on.
"As coaches you will spend a lot of time on offense, but when you do that defense can lose an emphasis," McCallie said. "I'm really interested in our transition defense, on-ball defense, off-ball defense, and how we handle screens and what we look like."
After all, by Oct. 31, McCallie said the offense was more developed than the defense. That would have surprised some last year given Duke's relatively anemic offensive production. McCallie and the players alike know that the defense has to come around for Duke to compete with the best-starting with the team's opening game Nov. 14 against Oklahoma State.
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