Duke 90 UT Martin 43, 1:10 REMAINING, 2nd HALF:
We're hearing the "More than double!" chant for the first time tonight. Thanks to a couple of 3-pointers and a breakaway layup, the Duke lead is now at an intimidating 47 points. Any chance at a comeback is asymptotically low. Check out Monday's edition of the Chronicle for more coverage of today's game.
Duke 79 UT Martin 43, 3:49 REMAINING, 2nd HALF:
With the lead safely large, McCallie is doing something a little unexpected - playing five freshmen. And though this line up is young, they seem to be equally effective. The lead is not falling at all, but rather increasing an even quicker rate. It's now at 36 points. This can only be good news for the future prospects of Duke Women's Basketball.
Duke 73 UT Martin 41, 5:45 REMAINING, 2nd HALF:
Duke has opened up a 31-point lead against the clearly under-matched Skyhawks. Though their offensive output has surely been impressive, it's Duke's defense that deserves much of the credit for holding UT Martin to a mere 10 points so far this half.
Duke 63 UT Martin 39, 11:30 REMAINING, 2nd HALF:
Forget what I had said earlier about the Blue Devils not taking advantage of their positive size differential. Duke has figured it out, and is distributing the ball to its front-court to slowly put the game out of reach for a scrappy - the favorite adjective among press row - UT Martin team. The Skyhawks do have one player at 6-foot-4-inches, but for some reason, she is not seeing much playing time, even though she would logically be more effective at guarding Vernerey or Thomas.
Duke 54 UT Martin 33, 16:07 REMAINING, 2nd HALF:
Duke came back from the locker room ready to prove their value as a top-10 team. It took them barely three minutes, consisting of a 9-0 run, to augment their lead to 19 points. They have playing with a confidence that they were unable to demonstrate. More specifically, they are finding Kyrstal Thomas for more open looks under the basket. Thomas already has four points this half.
Duke 41 UT Martin 31, Halftime:
Thanks to a 5-0 run near the end of the half, the Skyhawks have successfully closed the gap to ten points. They began taking better shots, and found ways to connect on the 3-point attempts they couldn't seem to hit throughout the majority of the half. The game is much tighter than many would have anticipated, so stay tuned for an exciting second half.
Looking around Cameron Indoor Stadium, there are a surprisingly small number of Duke fans in attendance. By my count, there are fewer than 30 undergraduates here to cheer on the Blue Devils at the NCAA tournament. Last year, football head coach David Cutcliffe was nice enough to buy tickets for a limited number of students. However, due to a lack of students taking advantage of free tickets, much of his generosity went to waste; perhaps why the same offer was not extended this season.
Duke 32 UT Martin 19, 4:45 REMAINING, 1st HALF:
UT Martin simply cannot find any offensive momentum. Duke's defense deserves a lot of credit for forcing the Skyhawks into bad passes. When they don't commit errors and turn the ball over, they seem to only be able to throw up poor 3-point attempts. So far, they are 2-of-9 from beyond the arc. On the other hand, Jasmine THomas just made her second 3-pointer of the game.
Duke 23, UT Martin 12, 9:13 REMAINING, 1st HALF:
Finally the Blue Devils have capitalized on their height. On back-to-back possessions, they have passed the ball inside the paint, where Krystal Thomas and Hailey Peters have bullied their way to the net and put up easy field goals against the much shorter Skyhawks.
Duke 17, UT Martin 10, 11:37 REMAINING, 1st HALF:
Head coach Joanne P. McCallie has switched for a much younger lineup, with two freshmen on the court, Tricia Liston and Chloe Wells. Though many might wonder if this is the right move, with the game still close early in the first half, Wells recently shook off a defender and sank a jumper to give the Blue Devils a 7-point lead.
Duke 15, UT Martin 8, 13:33 REMAINING, 1st HALF:
For their vast size advantage, the Blue Devils have allowed themselves to be bullied inside the paint. Allison Vernerey, four inches taller than her defender, was just out hustled for a potential offensive rebound, and on the resulting defensive possession, failed to bring down the defensive board, allowing the Skyhawks to capitalize on a second chance possession.
Duke 14, UT Martin 6, 15:56 REMAINING, 1st HALF:
Already the Blue Devils seem to be too much for UT Martin to handle. The Skyhawks have tried a zone defense to keep up with a much quicker Duke team, but doing so only left the perimeter vulnerable. On the first possession of the game, Jasmine Thomas made a 3-pointer. Two possessions later, Shay Selby made one of her own.
PREGAME: Welcome to the Chronicle's live coverage of the Blue Devil's first round matchup against University of Tennessee at Martin in the 2011 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. This will be Duke's first game since their March 6th victory against rival North Carolina to win the ACC Tournament Championship. We just witnessed Marist College's upset victory against Iowa State, and the fans are anxiously awaiting the second tournament game of the day here in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Interestingly, today marks UT Martin's first-ever trip to the Big Dance. They have momentum, coming off an 82-76 victory over No. 1 Tennessee Tech to win the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championship. However, they will be faced with more than a challenge against the Blue Devils, who finished the season ranked No. 6 in the nation by the AP and ESPN/USA Today Polls.
Probable Starters:
Duke: Krystal Thomas, Allison Vernerey, Karima Christmas, Shay Selby, Jasmine Thomas
UT Martin: Heather Butler, Jasmine Newsome, Jaclissa Haislip, Alecia Weatherly , Beth Hawn
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