As Duke heads to the regional tournament in Philadelphia this weekend, the team is determined to do one thing—not play the way it did Monday.
“That wasn’t a great game for Duke, and there was very little emotion after the game,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “I don’t believe in the philosophy of survive and advance. I don’t aspire to it. I believe in being a powerful team on the floor and going after things, so I can just tell you there was very little celebration.”
In the two-seeded Blue Devils’ 71-66 victory against 10th-seeded Marist, Duke trailed from early in the first half until just 2:27 remained in the game. In the ensuing minute, the Blue Devils expanded their lead to 65-60, sealing a win in the team’s last game this season at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Now, Duke will leave the friendly confines of Durham and travel to the Sweet 16, facing a region whose other three remaining teams—DePaul, Georgetown and Connecticut—are all from the Big East.
“We’re definitely the outsider,” McCallie said. “Nobody’s talking about Duke, nobody has talked about Duke for the entire tournament.... We’re playing DePaul, they’re an excellent team, great balance, excellent defense, 3-point shooting and versatility.”
The Blue Demons’ balanced offense presents a challenge for the Blue Devils, with four players averaging double digits in scoring this season. DePaul’s attack is keyed by junior Keisha Hampton, who averages 16.1 points per game and who made two key free throws to propel her team to a 75-73 win over Penn State in the second round. Fifth-year senior point guard Sam Quigley’s experience could prove valuable as well, not to mention her 10.1 points and 3.9 assists per game.
Quigley leads an offense that rarely turns the ball over, which could cause problems for Duke, who has relied on forcing turnovers and finding opportunities to score in transition. But if there’s a positive takeaway from Monday’s contest, it’s that the Blue Devils did force 20 turnovers against a Marist team that, like DePaul, is usually careful with the ball.
The Blue Demons’ precision handling the basketball is unsurprising given their detail-oriented coach, Doug Bruno, who coached Jasmine Thomas and Krystal Thomas when they played on the U.S. national U-19 team the summer before their freshmen years.
“He was a good coach, a tough coach and got the most out of everybody who was there,” Jasmine Thomas said. “He’s a really good coach, and I just know his girls will be ready.”
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