POSTGAME:
All smiles around the Duke huddle, as they will advance to the Sweet 16 and Cameron gives them a standing ovation. After her interview, Krystal Thomas runs off with her hands in the air as she has played her last game in Cameron. Jasmine does the same. Thanks for staying with me throughout this thriller, and be sure to check back in tomorrow's print edition of the Chronicle for a complete game recap and analysis.
Duke 71, Marist 66, FINAL
Krystal Thomas is clutch from the line as she knocks down both, looking very composed while doing so. However, a quick basket by Oliver keeps it within two. Gray makes one of two, and with Marist trying to tie, Ockenden's three pointer bounces off the rim. Peters ices it with two ft's and Duke advances! All smiles around the Duke huddle, as they will advance to the Sweet 16, and Cameron gives them a standing ovation. After her interview Krystal Thomas runs off with her hands in the air as she has played her last game in Cameron. Thanks for staying with me throughout this thriller and check back in tomorrow's print edition of the Chronicle
Duke 66, Marist 64, 39.3 REMAINING 2nd Half
Duke needs to hit their free throws. Vernerey just missed two ft's after an intentional foul was called, and Christmas hits only 1-2. Marist's Caron then hits a 'Jimmeresque' three from 30 feet out. This is the most nervous I've ever seen the Duke bench.
Duke 65, Marist 61, 55.4 REMAINING 2nd Half
Someone needs to remind Chelsea Gray that she has three more years left, because she's playing like it could be her last game ever. She forces a steal and finish to give Duke its largest lead. Oliver makes 1 of 2 from the line, but now they've got to foul. A strange timeout given to Marist as it was called after the ref handed Christmas the ball to inbound it. It's crunch time, now we see who wants it more. Will Duke's FT woes come back to haunt them in the closing seconds...as Vernerey misses both free-throws.
Duke 63, Marist 60, 2:00 REMAINING 2nd Half
Gray hits both FT's and Christmas gets a steal on the next possession from Yarde, which leads to a Jasmine basket and the foul! Yarde just walked by with her head in her hands, but she's got to focus, cause its not over yet, as Thomas misses the and-one.
Duke 59, Marist 60, 2:27 REMAINING 2nd Half
Marist is deadly from behind the arc, and if Duke can't find a way to stop them, they will be going home tonight. Oliver hits a 3, and the Blue Devils, while forcing several turnovers, can't generate any points of them. Gray hits a three though, and is then fouled on the next possession. Duke has a chance to take the lead with these two FT's. However, as a team they are 4-10 tonight. Under three minutes though, it's all about focus. Look for the senior leadership of the Blue Devils to take over.
Duke 52, Marist 57, 7:00 REMAINING 2nd Half
A steal by Karima leads to a breakaway, but Duke fails to get back on defense as Yarde gets a lay-up immediately afterwards. Every Marist fan, (all 40 of them) are on their feet, as Marist continues to knock down shots from the outside. This time is Ockenden. Duke can't seem to close the gap beyond 5, but the players look a thousand times more confident than the first half. And on second glance, Allenspach appears to still have a limp, I'm going to say her return is doubtful for the moment.
Duke 46, Marist 50, 9:30 REMAINING 2nd Half
Yarde however is having the game of her life. She hits another three, her fourth of the game. And Allenspach is back! Or at least she returns to the bench. She looks ready to play, so we'll see when she checks back in. Marist is more than capable without her though as we are witnessing, thanks to Yarde. However the Duke press has done some damage with her out, so her return can't come soon enough. A Gray three gets the crowd on their feet. This is shaping up to be a classic.
Duke 41, Marist 43, 13:00 REMAINING 2nd Half
During the last timeout, McCallie didn't speak with her players at first, simply huddling with her assistant coaches. Looking at the players faces, this is not what they were expecting, but Jasmine Thomas is trying to motivate them, animatedly leading the team huddle.
She's doing her best to will her team to the next round, as she sinks a three. Buckets from Peters and Christmas shrink the Marist lead to the closest its been since early in the 1st half. The pressure is getting to the Red Foxes as they've committed three straight turnovers. The Cameron faithful are on their feet, with chants of LETS GO DUKE. Marist will have to answer this run.
Duke 30, Marist 41, 16:20 REMAINING 2nd Half
Duke came out with a new intensity as they increase the tempo and Selby makes a beautiful reverse lay-up look easy, but Marist simply will not miss a shot. After going 3-6 from behind the arc, Yarde shows she can finish in the paint as welll, as she gets the and-one. Ockenden then on the ensuing possession hits a 3. The Red Foxes are shooting over 40% from 3, while Duke is less than 20%. That's the difference so far, as we're at the biggest lead of the game.
Duke 26, Marist 31, HALFTIME
Duke is able to close the lead to five, but had opportunities to get even closer. However, they are absolutely terrible from the line. Liston misses both ft's, while Selby misses the front end of a 1-1. Duke is simply being outplayed by a Marist team missing its best player. If they don't come out of the half firing, this could be Jasmine, Krystal, and Karima's last collegiate game.
Duke 24, Marist 31, 2:00 REMAINING 1st Half
Jasmine Thomas continues to put the Duke team on her back, as she connects on a three. She continues to be the only Blue Devil capable of knocking down a shot. Marist is shooting lights out from the floor though, as Caron and Best both hit 3's. The Red Foxes are also altering a lot of Duke shots. I've counted at least three blocks in the past two minutes.
Duke 19, Marist 23, 5:44 REMAINING 1st Half
Jasmine Thomas is taking over this game. She follows up an open jumper with a steal that leads to a break-away lay-up. Finally to top it off, she hits a runner in the lane. She's scored the last 6 points. Now a Marist player is down, it appears to be Allenspach, the MAAC player of the year, if she can't return this would be a huge blow to the Red Foxes' upset hopes. She is being helped off, appearing to favor her left leg. Marist fans are praying she can return.
Duke 13, Marist 23, 7:00 REMAINING 1st Half
Duke looks sloppy and is cold from the outside, not a good combination. More importantly, Marist is breaking the Duke press with ease, which is leading to easy baskets. Peters is able to end a 10-0 Marist scoring run with a nice jumper from 18 ft out, but a string of nice Red Fox passes leads to an open layup. Duke looks a little shocked during the time-out, but Marist came ready to play.
Duke 11, Marist 19 10:20 REMAINING 1st Half
Marist showing they can handle Duke down low, as Maria Laterza with a post move for an easy bucket, then on the next possession tips the ball away from Krystal Thomas. Yarde then hits a 3 and McCallie has had enough as she calls timeout. The few Marist fans are on their feet.
Duke 11, Marist 14 11:43 REMAINING 1st Half
Duke employs a full court press and instantly forces a Marist turnover. The Red Foxes ability to handle Duke's pressure will be one of the key matchups in this game. If Duke isn't able to generate points from their defense, they have a tendency to become stagnant at times. Other than the first turnover, Marist appears to be handling the pressure early on. Chelsea Gray checks in and instantly delivers a nice pass to Vernerey for a lay-up, but Marist is hot from outside, as Corielle Yarde answers with a three.
Duke 8, Marist 7 15:39 REMAINING 1st Half
Not sure how often 5'9'' Jasmine Thomas will have a height advantage over someone, but she definitely holds one today over 5'5'' guard Elise Caron. However, unlike UT Martin two days ago, Marist actually has some size down low to match up with Duke's bigs. Duke is playing aggressive early, with Jasmine forcing a steal, but couldn't convert. However, she did knock down a three, only to be answered on the other end by Erica Allenspach.
PREGAME: Welcome to the Chronicle's live coverage of the 2nd round of the 2011 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournamnet. This is Steven Slywka, and I'll be keeping you posted on this game, featuring the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils and the No. 10 Marist Red Foxes. Duke is coming off of a 90-45 win over 15 seed UT-Martin last Saturday, while Marist upset No. 7 Iowa St 74-64. The winner moves on to the Sweet Sixteen to take on the winner of No. 6 Penn St and No. 3 Depaul. Marist has won 27 games in a row, and was the champion of the MAAC conference, while Duke won the ACC. Duke is looking for its 13th Sweet Sixteen appearance in 14 years, while Marist is trying to reach it for just the 2nd time. Additionally, Duke holds a huge home-court advantage with the blue shirts greatly outnumbering the handful of red.
Probable Starters for the Blue Devils: Krystal Thomas, Allison Vernerey, Karima Christmas, Shay Selby, Jasmine Thomas
Red Foxes: Erica Allenspach, Elise Caron, Corielle Yarde, Brandy Gang, Kate Oliver
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