They say the devil is in the details. But in Durham, the Blue Devils are in the details—and numbers.
22
All good things must come to an end, including Duke men’s lacrosse’s perfect season. While the opposing team was Notre Dame, Duke may have brought about its own demise with an uncharacteristically sloppy offense. The Blue Devils committed 22 turnovers, the most in any game this season and well above their average of 15.6 per game. Fifteen of the turnovers came in the first and third quarters, perhaps demonstrating a lack of focus coming out of the locker room. Now reeling from the frustrating wake-up call, Duke must regroup and make sure Saturday's 22 turnovers stays the season high.
6
Duke field hockey took down No. 3 Louisville Saturday in one of the most efficient shooting displays you are likely to see. With just six shots opposed to Louisville’s 20, the Blue Devils tied the Cardinals 3-3 before winning in a shootout. Yes, you read that right. Of those six shots, four were on goal, and of those four shots on goal, three went in. The three goals were divided evenly between Eva Nunnink, Noor van de Laar and Libby Thompson. On the other side of the field, the Blue Devil defense deserves just as much credit for holding the Cardinals to a season low 3-of-20 shooting.
3
Louisville didn’t just struggle to contain the Blue Devils in field hockey. This week also saw Duke women’s lacrosse deliver a stinging 12-10 defeat to the Cardinals in its home stadium. Katie Cronin and Eva Greco led the offensive effort, combining for half the team’s points with three goals each. Extra praise must be given to Greco, who left the field Thursday with three shots, three goals and not a single miss. Though the redshirt sophomore has played in eight games, this was her first scoring outing this season, and a flawless hat-trick nonetheless.
21
Baseball’s rivalry weekend started off strong but got much, much worse over the next two games. The decline in the Blue Devils’ play culminated in a crushing 21-8 defeat Monday night. This marks the first time since a game against Maryland in April 2012 that Duke has given up 21 runs. The game was over after the Blue Devils went down 9-3 in the second inning, but the final 12 nails in the coffin came in the fifth and sixth innings. Confidence is sure to be sparse after a loss like this, but nevertheless, the Blue Devils will need it if they want to liberate themselves from the bottom of the ACC standings.
5
Women’s basketball head coach Kara Lawson will not settle for anything but the best. Since the season’s abrupt end due to COVID-19, she has added three former five-star recruits to her roster. In just the last week, Lawson secured wing Lexi Gordon from Texas Tech and guard Celeste Taylor from Texas. Lawson is assembling a well-balanced team with Gordon, a solid shooter, and Taylor, a notably physical defender. After a disheartening mass exodus of the women’s basketball roster, in which five players opted to transfer, the future is starting to look bright again.
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