On March 24, Duke saw its march to St. Louis end in dramatic and unexpected fashion- with a loss to a No. 9 seed, becoming only the second No. 1 seed in history to lose in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
It was certainly a surprising ending to a year for a team that had been, until then, playing its best basketball of the season.
But it was also a game that the Blue Devils had seen before.
Three months earlier, Duke, fresh off a home win against No. 14 Oklahoma State and a 67-point drubbing of Maine, went to Chicago and lost to unranked Hartford 53-51. Head coach Joanne P. McCallie saw these two games as bookends to a frustrating season.
"We had an incredible finish down the stretch, a crescendo, then fell short in the Tournament," the second-year head coach said. "[The Hartford and Michigan State losses] both followed blowouts, then us not showing up. They were different teams, I understand, but both games got out of control and were very physical. We had to rise to the occasion and handle that."
In particular, the losses saw defensive breakdowns from a Blue Devil team that was, for most of the year, arguably one of the best in school history. Game after game, Duke used a full-court press that prided itself on creating offense from defense-from forcing turnovers and converting them into fast break points. One game in which the press was in full effect was Duke's Dec. 16 win over Stanford, when the Blue Devils forced a season-high 23 Cardinal turnovers.
It was Duke's first high-profile victory of the year, and it was Karima Christmas' coming out party. The sophomore had 14 points and a rebound that clinched the game.
"Karima has made enormous strides this year," McCallie said. "She had an incredible game, and throughout the year she developed her game more and more. There's no limit as to what she can do."
The Blue Devils then took the momentum from the non-conference showdown into conference play, keeping their swarming high-energy defense intact. Duke finished third in the ACC with an 11-3 conference record.
The crowning moment of the Blue Devils' regular season, though, came on Mar. 1 when North Carolina came to Cameron Indoor Stadium hoping to sweep the season series. What the Tar Heels got instead was an inspired performance from Jasmine Thomas, who scored 19 points, and a timely 3-pointer from Abby Waner, who overcame a woeful shooting day to put Duke ahead for good on senior day.
Waner's performance in the game would be typical of her shooting throughout the year-streaky, with very pronounced slumps-but McCallie saw the senior's season differently.
"I think she greatly developed her game this year," she said of Waner. "She became a better well-rounded player, creating shots off the dribble and becoming a defensive threat. Of course you want more shots to go in, but I'm really impressed in how she grew over her four years as a basketball player."
After advancing to the final game of the ACC Tournament, Duke received a No. 1 seed in the Berkeley Region and set its eyes on a possible Final Four appearance in St. Louis. The Blue Devils were playing their best basketball of the season, and they looked forward to a long trip through the Tournament.
A 39-point blowout of Austin Peay set up a second-round matchup with Michigan State, McCallie's former team. The game was played in East Lansing, Mich.-a home game for the No. 9 seed.
It made for interesting fodder for the media, but few doubted the Blue Devils would struggle to advance. The Spartans had other plans.
"What do you say?" said McCallie, still looking pained at talking about the game two weeks later. "Was it Abby's injury? A layoff? I prefer to hold ourselves accountable that consistency is something to not take for granted, because when we weren't consistent, there goes the season."
In the game, the Blue Devils saw the press fail them. Michigan State broke through it, utilizing pinpoint passing and seemingly boundless energy. And after a collapse in the second half, in which the Spartans scored 17 of the last 20 points, Waner, Chante Black and Carrem Gay's careers were suddenly finished.
"The press wasn't effective," said McCallie. "When you don't score, you get spoiled, and it can certainly affect your pressing ability if you're an immature kind of team. In that environment, we sort of played that way."
For next year, Duke loses its three seniors, and is forced to retool and learn from a humbling end to a promising year. McCallie remains optimistic about the future while recognizing what her team will be losing.
"We're very proud of this season," she said. "It's an interesting feeling-to be very proud, but very motivated [for next year]."
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