“We just recognized that you have to be able to play any place, anywhere, any time and in any conditions,” Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said after defeating the Commodores.
Now, Duke is just two wins away from reaching the Final Four for the first time since 2006. To play for those two victories, the Blue Devils will make the trek to Fresno, Calif. for the NCAA West regional.
The first obstacle will be St. John’s (24-9) in the regional semifinal, the No. 3 seed in the region. Finishing third in a rugged Big East conference, the Red Storm are a battle-tested and experienced bunch that have proven they have the talent to defeat any team in the tournament.
In February, head coach Kim Barnes Aricos’ squad sent shockwaves through women’s college basketball when they knocked off perennial power Connecticut on the road. The St. John’s victory at Gampel Pavilion Feb. 18th was just the fourth time the Huskies have lost at home since 2007.
The Red Storm won their next four games, extending their winning streak to nine, before Connecticut exacted revenge with a 74-43 shellacking in the Big East tournament semifinals. St. John’s barely escaped 14th-seeded Creighton 69-67 in the first round of the NCAA tournament, but then posted a road win over No. 6 Oklahoma to earn a date with Duke.
The Blue Devils have even more reason than the Red Storm to be excited about their high level of play in the first two rounds of the tournament, particularly on offense. In the last two games, against Samford and Vanderbilt, Duke averaged a blistering 89 points per game without relying excessively on any one scorer. Gray, Haley Peters, Elizabeth Williams, Shay Selby and Tricia Liston all finished in double figures against the Commodores, while the team dished out 28 assists en route to its 96 points.
The potent offensive showing over the past two contests is even more impressive given the fact that Williams, Duke’s leading scorer, is playing with a stress fracture in her lower right leg. The injury has limited her to 50 total minutes of play in the first two rounds of the tournament and will continue to affect her for the remainder of the postseason. Even with reduced minutes, the ACC rookie of the year still managed to score a combined 24 points in the two contests.
“[Williams] is not 100%,” McCallie said. “I’m really proud of her for fighting through this.”
In the round of 16, Duke cannot afford the defensive lapses that plagued it in the second round, especially against a balanced Red Storm offense. The Blue Devils gave up 17 offensive rebounds against Vanderbilt, enabling the Commodores to score 80 points, the most Duke has surrendered all season. Upperclassmen Sheneika Smith, Nadirah McKenith, Euqenia McPherson and Da’Shena Stevens each average 11 points or better for a St. John’s squad that has won 11 of its past 12 games.
“[St. John’s is] an incredibly athletic, good strong team,” McCallie said. “Everybody can penetrate from all spots. They love transition and they love to press.”
For the Blue Devils, it will be another weekend of travel, but one player may not mind the long flight to the Golden State. This weekend’s contests in Fresno will be a homecoming for sophomore guard Chelsea Gray, who grew up in nearby Stockton, Calif.
“I’m excited, to be playing in front of a lot of family members and close friends,” Gray said.
“We’re excited and I think in a good place, but it’s always a battle,” McCallie said. “[St. John’s and Stanford] are very, very good and you have got to be ready to play.”
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