Conn 81, Duke 48 END OF GAME: Lorin Dixon put the icing on the cake for the Huskies, converting a four-point play with seven seconds remaining. Check out dukechronicle.com for postgame analysis on Duke's first home loss since 2008.
Conn 74, Duke 47 SECOND HALF 3:03 remaining: Duke fans deserve some credit for sticking around as long as they have, because this one isn't pretty. The Blue Devils have scored five points in the last ten minutes and Connecticut is expertly breaking traps and wasting away the clock.
Conn 70, Duke 44 SECOND HALF 7:14 remaining: Karima Christmas finally broke a 4:20 scoring drought with a putback, but the positives are few and far between for the Blue Devils in the second half. Connecticut is having its way inside and out no matter who is on the floor.
Conn 65, Duke 42 SECOND HALF 11:24 remaining: This one is getting out of hand for Duke. The Blue Devils are playing pretty well, but the Huskies are just faster to every loose ball, sink all of their open jumpers, and never get flustered. Furthermore, it's too hard to cut the lead as long as Duke is trading 2s for 3s. The Huskies are so prolific from long-range that it's impossible to hold them scoreless for too long.
Conn 52, Duke 34 SECOND HALF 15:52 remaining: So much for that promising start. The Huskies' lead has ballooned to 18, led by seven points from Doty and five from Greene, as the role players are really killing Duke. The only silver lining is that UConn has scored so fast that the Blue Devils still have time to come back, if they can ever find a way get stops on defense.
Conn 41, Duke 30 SECOND HALF 18:42 remaining: UConn just extended its lead, but it's been a strong start to the half for Duke as Thomas stole the ball on the opening possession for a fast-break lay-up and Keturah Jackson just stole the inbounds pass. Unfortunately, sandwiched within that was a Tiffany Hayes 3-pointer to keep the Huskies ahead. Connecticut has connected on six 3-pointers to two for Duke, and the Blue Devils aren't a particularly potent outside shooting team, so that stat should favor the Huskies all night.
HALFTIME:
Some first-half tidbits:
- Jasmine Thomas leads all scorers with 11 points, particularly impressive since she's mostly been creating for herself.
- Greene leads UConn with 10 points, and Charles has 7 rebounds.
- Rebounding is even at 16 boards apiece.
- UConn leads points in the paint, 14-8, and points off turnovers, 11-5. That's the difference in this game right now.
Conn 38, Duke 28 END OF FIRST HALF: Solid end to the half for Duke to keep the lead at 10 as Jasmine Thomas took it coast to coast for a lay-up right before time expired. Nevertheless, it has to be a little distressing for the Blue Devils to have played so well to finish the half and still be down by double digits. Duke will have to tighten it up on both ends of the floor by limiting turnovers and the Huskies' points in the paint to keep this a close game in the second half.
Conn 36, Duke 25 FIRST HALF 3:01 remaining: Just when Duke seems to be making a run, the Huskies take it up to another level. It doesn't matter that Charles and Moore are both off the court--Caroline Doty and Kalana Greene are just picking up the slack for Connecticut. Doty got into it with Shay Selby after the Blue Devil drew a charge, and Doty has taken it personally, sinking two jumpers in Selby's face.
Conn 23, Duke 15 FIRST HALF 8:04 remaining: The offense is starting to click for Duke, but the Blue Devils are conceding too many points in the paint to UConn, which has to be killing Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie. On the other end, Moore has picked up two fouls and is taking her first rest of the contest. Let's see if Duke can capitalize.
Conn 18, Duke 11 FIRST HALF 11:23 remaining: The Blue Devils are mixing it up on defense, and are having some success creating turnovers with trapping, even if it means leaving Moore open. Tina Charles is really giving Duke fits on the glass, converting a number of second-chance opportunities and coming tantalizingly close to converting a few more.
The Blue Devils also have to a better job of taking care of the ball. They are turning it over far too frequently to stay with such a high-powered offense.
Conn. 8, Duke 3 FIRST HALF 15:58 remaining: UConn came out firing with threes on consecutive possessions--one from defending National Player of the Year Maya Moore--and the Blue Devils will have to be more effective offensively to keep pace. Duke has already missed four shots and turned the ball over three times.
Meanwhile, a group of football players next to the band is doing its best to keep the crowd entertained during timeouts, stealing the show from the surfing Blue Devil.
PREGAME: We're about 80 percent capacity here at Cameron Indoor Stadium--and the student section is PACKED--as the No. 6 Blue Devils take on the No. 1 Huskies. Duke will have to play a perfect game to have a chance at upsetting Connecticut.
STARTERS
for Connecticut:
3 Tiffany Hayes
5 Caroline Doty
23 Maya Moore
31 Tina Charles
32 Kalana Greene
for Duke:
5 Jasmine Thomas
13 Karima Christmas
15 Bridgette Mitchell
21 Joy Cheek
31 Keturah Jackson
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