Emotionally charged from Senior Night, Duke managed to stay calm, cool and collected as it mounted a comeback Sunday night to the chagrin of the Tar Heels.
Changing their traditionally fast-paced strategy midway through the second half to throw off North Carolina’s breakneck pace, the Blue Devils slowed the ball down and found their own rhythm. Setting their feet and taking better shots, Duke fixed their biggest error of the first half—wild shooting—to create a 21-5 run that opened up the game for good.
“We were just not as sharp and a little bit more reckless in the first half,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “[But in the second half] we simplified things offensively and the team just slowed down and had more fun on offense…. It was great.”
Exemplifying the smarter shot selection of the Blue Devils was the change in field goal percentage, which differed drastically between the halves. Shooting just 24.3 percent from the field in the first half, Duke came back with a 46.9 percent showing in the second half.
Further fueling the run was an improved performance on the boards. While the Tar Heels controlled everything in the paint throughout the first half, the Blue Devils came out with a new fire under them to begin the second. Bullying around North Carolina en route to a rebounding differential of 27-17 in the second half, Duke reaffirmed their physicality going into the ACC tournament next week.
“They came out a lot harder in the second half with rebounding,” North Carolina head coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “I told them, ‘Look, they’re getting chewed out in the locker room for you out-rebounding them, so I can guarantee you they’re going to come out a lot more aggressive on the boards.’ And they did.”
Another contributing factor to the second half run was the play of freshman Haley Peters. Subbing in with the score 40-38 midway through the second half, she left just three minutes later with Duke up 53-42. Despite playing only six total minutes in the second half, the Red Bank, N.J. native pulled down five rebounds and scored six points.
Looking forward, Duke will hope to use the heightened emotions of Senior Night to provide a parallel for the ACC and NCAA tournament games to come. As Jasmine Thomas said, this game may have been exactly what the Blue Devils needed.
“[Senior Night] brings all those emotions, all the energy together, and everyone realizes that you only get one chance to have this team,” Thomas said. “It brings everyone to realize that it’s time to really focus and get things done…. I think we do have the momentum.”
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