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Coach Gail Goestenkors discovered after Sunday's loss to N.C. State what her team needed to change to play its best. And last night, her plan turned out as well as promised.
Despite a season-best performance from junior Candy Hannemann, Duke's top-ranked women's golf team placed third yesterday at the Wildcat Invitational in Sabino Springs, Ariz.
RALEIGH - With eight minutes left and Duke leading the Wolfpack 46-44, another matchup between the rivals seemed headed to a classic finish.
Another lopsided win for the Blue Devils. Another highlight-filled performance by Alana Beard.
The men's and women's tennis teams face their toughest competition until the NCAA tournament this weekend, as the two Duke squads participate in the National Indoor Championships.
Coach Gail Goestenkors has never been one to gloss over anything. And after her Blue Devils were upset 71-69 by Florida State at Cameron Indoor Stadium last night, she went straight to the point.
You could see the frustration in Will Solomon's slight but unmistakeable smile.
In the middle of the press conference after Sunday's women's basketball game, a cell phone rang in Cameron's Hall of Fame Room.
After receiving a first- half technical foul while trying to call a timeout, Wake Forest's fiery coach Dave Odom had to know last night's game would be frustrating.
The Chronicle
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In a game dominated by spectacular offense, Duke used a clutch defensive stand last night to pull out a tense 86-83 win over unranked Georgia Tech at Cameron Indoor Stadium. After freshman star Alana Beard made two free throws with eight seconds left to put the fifth-ranked Blue Devils (15-1, 3-1 ACC) up by three, the Yellow Jackets looked for a last-second three-pointer to force overtime. Duke's defense came alive, though, as the Blue Devils locked up the perimeter so well that a stunned Georgia Tech squad failed to get a shot off as time expired. "They took the middle lane away," said Georgia Tech coach Agnus Berenato of their final play, which was designed for the Yellow Jackets' quick sophomore point guard Alex Stewart. "We knew what we wanted to run and it didn't happen." A relieved coach Gail Goestenkors was disappointed with her team's defense for most of the game, but felt that executing so well in the final minute should benefit them over the rest of the season. "I thought it was good for us to have a close game since there will be a lot of close games in the conference," she said. "Being at home really helped." The Blue Devils' notorious depth struggled at times, but Duke was able to rely on Beard and senior Georgia Schweitzer, both of whom had perhaps their best games of the season. "I was just focused," said Beard after scoring a career-high 29 points, including making all seven first half field goal attempts. "I think we [also] moved the ball really well." The duo of Schweitzer and Beard exemplified the team's efficient passing, with the freshman assisting her senior co-captain five times, and Schweitzer hooking up with Beard four times. Their combined 53 points helped give Duke a healthy 72-60 edge with just over nine minutes remaining, but sloppy play and a lack of inside presence enabled Georgia Tech to cut the lead to one in the final minute. "We went on a nice run and I thought we were going to put them away," Goestenkors said. "I think we were not focused and we looked a little fatigued. That should not happen." Forward Iciss Tillis looked frustrated most of the night, playing just 15 minutes and getting yanked after throwing up a wild three late in the game. Goestenkors excused Tillis' performance as simply an off night, expressing confidence with her tallest starter. "Iciss has been playing great basketball since Christmas," the coach said. "She picked up the two quick fouls and I think that bothered her. Unfortunately, that happens to freshman sometimes." Tillis was not the only one, though, who was unable to handle the Yellow Jackets' main inside weapon Jamie Kruppa, who lit up the Blue Devils for a career-high 28 points and got to the free throw line 13 times. Kruppa consistently got the ball too deep in the post for the Blue Devils' frontcourt to defend, despite having little of the flashiness of Tillis. In fact, she is usually overshadowed by the Yellow Jackets' explosive New York City shooting guard Niesha Butler. Fortunately for the Blue Devils, Butler came into the game with a lingering flu and struggled through the first half. The junior exploded, though, after the break, ending up with 20 points in a performance that was arguably the most extraordinary on a night when their were several. Heading into the heart of the ACC season, Goestenkors was worried about her squad's interior defense after getting embarrassed by Kruppa. Despite their talent and depth, Duke's youth may mean continued problems in the paint. "That's an area we definitely have to work on," Goestenkors said. "We got two quick fouls on Tillis and Parent [and] played tentative post defense." It is an area the Blue Devils may need to improve in about a month, when they will take on a Georgia Tech team with a healthy Niesha Butler and the comfort of playing at home. Minutes after their last-second defeat, Butler sat in the press room with a hungry smile on her face, already looking forward to the contest with confidence. "We're going to play even harder," said Butler. "The single fact that they're number five and we lost by three shows how good we are." Butler's comments typified a Georgia Tech performance that was not at all arrogant, but hardly intimidated either. "They have a lot of confidence," said Goestenkors. "They really don't care who they play." Note: Student-section tickets to the Women's ACC tournament will be sold via lottery next week. Sign-ups will be held at the Cameron Box Office from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. next Monday through Wednesday. The ticket book costs $224 and has passes to all eight games of the tournament. You need a DukeCard to sign up for the lottery and to pick up tickets at the tournament.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>FAIRFAX, Va. - After a first-half in which Duke's pressing defense struggled to establish its trademark transition game, the Blue Devils once again received key boosts from freshman phenoms Alana Beard and Iciss Tillis. The duo's outstanding defense paced much of Duke's second-half explosion, as the two repeatedly trapped a slower George Mason squad and connected on several fast breaks. "Both picked up their level of intensity on the defensive end of the floor," Goestenkors said. "[That] led to a lot of easy layups." On an afternoon when her perimeter shot was uneven, Beard seemed to excel everywhere else. The freshman showed her ability to finish underneath the basket against bigger defenders and did a good deal of ball-handling as well. Her Duke-leading 20-point performance impressed George Mason's coach Debbie Taneyhill. "She's pretty good," the coach said. "She can do everything... [and] her first step is hard to beat." Yet it was her defensive versatility that stuck out as the Blue Devils began to run up the score on the Patriots. Beard recognized this after the game, and emphasized the importance of her and Tillis' effort on the other side of the floor. "My main part on the team is to set the tempo defensively," said Beard. "Defense is the main key to our offense." After an up and down beginning, Tillis turned up her defensive intensity as well, using her 6-foot-4 frame to stifle George Mason's passing. "Iciss did better in the second half," Goestenkors said. "I knew she was upset at how she was playing. When she gets into an uptempo game she is much more effective." The coach's decision to switch defenses after the break from man-to-man to a match-up zone seemed successful at forcing this higher tempo and allowing Beard and Tillis to stand out. Beard struggled in the first half to contain the Patriots' senior leader Jen Surlas, who racked up an astonishing 21 points against her on 8-for-11 shooting in the first 20 minutes. The change to the zone, however, let the freshman pay less attention to Surlas, who had just two shot attempts in the second half and was pressured by Tillis into an important turnover during Duke's run. After committing a pair of turnovers and fouls before the break, Tillis was able to trap more often, as her quickness and long arms proved too much for a rattled George Mason team. Senior Georgia Schweitzer, who also had a strong second half, lauded the freshmen's play. "I was very impressed with their defense," Schweitzer said. "They came up with a lot of steals. They're very offensive-minded [as well] and they are very aggressive." As the senior hinted at, Beard and Tillis established their offense through their defense, executing in transition to push the game well out of reach midway through the second period. The difference was certainly felt by George Mason, as Surlas commented on the Blue Devils' explosiveness. "We knew they would come harder in the first five minutes of the second half," said Surlas, who noted that they still were surprised by the defensive intensity. "It shocked us a little bit."
After the No. 3 Blue Devils finally broke out of their sluggish play with an explosive 15-0 run to begin the second half, one had to wonder what coach Gail Goestenkors told her team during the break.
For Kristina Engstrom, making the transition from her native Djursholm, Sweden to playing for the nation's top-ranked golf team was less intimidating than it might seem.
When the No. 3 Blue Devils take on William & Mary tomorrow night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the most important aspect of the evening may come before it even starts.
Fortunately for Duke's top-ranked women's golf team, at least someone in Florida knows how to break a tie.
N.C. State may have increased reason to fear Duke's secondary when the two teams meet tomorrow at Carter-Finley Stadium. Unfortunately for the 0-9 Blue Devils, this has nothing to do with their defense, which has surrendered the most yards per play-6.4-of any team in the country this season. The Wolfpack's worries stem instead from the announcement by coach Chuck Amato that freshman star quarterback Philip Rivers has been listed as a game-time decision. Duke comes into the game frustrated after a tough 28-26 loss at Wake Forest last week, but coach Carl Franks has remained positive. "You have got to believe you have got a chance in every game you play," said Franks, struggling to sound optimistic. N.C. State has had a volatile season, starting out 4-0, before dropping three of its last four, including a disappointing double-overtime loss to Maryland last week that could have clinched a winning season. Both teams have generally been weak in the first half before coming on toward the end of games, the difference being that the Wolfpack have been able to pull out victories, trailing in five games heading into the fourth quarter but winning three of them. Why the Blue Devils have yet to put together even one win is still a mystery to Franks. "If I could have figured it out, we would have had it fixed a long time ago," Franks said. "We haven't changed a lot of stuff... we don't need to make a lot of adjustments." If the Blue Devils need a boost of optimism, they should remember that N.C. State opened the season requiring double-overtime to defeat Arkansas State, which is currently 0-10 and rated the second worst team in the nation. That was more than two months ago, however, and the Wolfpack has tallied solid wins over Georgia Tech and North Carolina since then. If Duke has any chance of stopping its 10-game losing streak at Raleigh tomorrow, Franks better hope that the Blue Devil defense-now without junior defensive tackle Charles Porter, who was excluded from last week's trip for disciplinary reasons-will face the Wolfpack sans Rivers. The reason Rivers could be particularly crucial for this game is that Duke has had success against N.C. State's rushing attack, yet has the worst passing defense in the ACC. If the freshman ends up on the sidelines, the Wolfpack may rely more on Ray Robinson, who ran for just 10 yards last year against Duke. The Blue Devils' top priority, however, must be to jumpstart their offense in the first half, something they have not yet done this season. Quarterback D. Bryant has shown significant improvement over the season, though, particularly in last week's second-half offensive surge against Wake Forest. At one point in the game, the Blue Devils scored 23 points in a five-possession span. Franks was pleased with Bryant's performance, but noted that if Duke is to break out of its offensive doldrums, the team will need to be stronger mentally. "D. threw the ball probably about as well as he's thrown it," said Franks. "We just still need to continue to work on some of the decision-making processes." One key could be tight end Mike Hart, who provides needed stability to a relatively young offensive unit. "Mike Hart played very well [against Wake Forest], he's our leading receiver," said Franks. "[He] probably should be considered one of the top tight ends in the league." Just improving, however, will probably not be sufficient for Duke to avert slipping to 0-10 when it plays the Wolfpack. Even if Rivers does not play, the Wolfpack's other impact players, such as potential All-America linebacker Levar Fisher and sophomore wide receiver Koren Robinson, should carry N.C. State to a bowl berth tomorrow.
Duke's top-rated recruiting class wasted little time in showing its skill at its season-opening exhibition game against Athletes in Action Friday night.
After opening the fall season with three straight victories, the women's golf team slipped to second place Sunday at the Rolex/Golf World Palmetto Dunes Collegiate Invitational.
After 23 years of coming up short, the cross country team ran its best race of the year Saturday at the ACC Championships. An experienced Blue Devils squad, led by junior Sean Kelly, avenged second-place finishes the past two years and led Duke to its first ACC title since 1977.
