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From the very start of the game, Duke was playing catch-up to Clemson’s narrow lead. Although the Blue Devils were favored by 13.5 by HHS ahead of tipoff, they didn’t quite look the part on the court Thursday.
Following a near-upset against No. 1 South Carolina, the Blue Devils looked like a team that could hold its own against the biggest names in women’s college basketball. But from the first whistle, Duke came out as a different team than the one that had taken the top ranked team in the country Gamecocks to the final minutes.
The Blue Devils were never going to win this matchup on the offensive end by scoring in the paint and running sets. Rather, in an environment where Duke was physically undermatched, the team shot 3-pointers and ran in transition. And for most of the game, the plan worked.
South Carolina women’s hoops might be equally as or more dominant than any other program in recent college sports memory. On Sunday afternoon, the Gamecocks showed up in Cameron Indoor Stadium to prove exactly that. The visitors outlasted the Blue Devils in the second half, escaping with a 77-61 victory.
Coming off of a victory in the ACC/SEC Challenge against Georgia, the Blue Devils welcome the South Carolina Gamecocks to Cameron Indoor Stadium Sunday afternoon, looking to upset the top-ranked team in the nation. At the halftime break, the Blue Devils trail the Gamecocks 35-29.
Coming off a road victory against Georgia Thursday night, Duke returns to Cameron Indoor Stadium Sunday afternoon to take on what might be its most formidable opponent yet: No. 1 South Carolina. The Chronicle’s womens’ basketball beat writers are here with their predictions for the marquee matchup.
The Achilles’ heel of this offense is decision making and taking care of the ball, both revealed in the victory against the Bulldogs.
In front of the home crowd at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga., the Blue Devils out-battled the Lady Bulldogs 72-65 in an overtime effort. This marks Duke’s fifth win in five matchups against Georgia all-time.
In general, this was a strong, stat-filling performance by the Blue Devils. If the team was upset after a close loss a week earlier at Stanford, it certainly didn’t show it.
Following a two-game losing streak, the Blue Devils were eager to get back in the win column with a dominant showing against N.C. Central, and dominant they were. They played with a sense of urgency and purpose, en route to a 93-45 win at Cameron Indoor Stadium Sunday afternoon.
When the Blue Devils are firing on all cylinders and when the shots are falling, the squad from Durham is capable of playing like one of the best teams in the nation. Moving forward, this game will be key in building confidence and helping a very young Duke squad grow as the season goes on.
In a thrilling matchup characterized by frequent changes in momentum, Stanford pulled through in overtime to defeat the Blue Devils 82-79.
In Duke’s first loss of the season, a 69-62 defeat at the hands of Davidson Thursday evening, its weaknesses were on full display, providing the blueprint for how to attack the Blue Devils the rest of the season.
Duke returned home to play Davidson, fresh off of a tight loss against North Carolina, Thursday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Led by Suzi-Rose Deegan and Elle Sutphin’s combined 37 points, Davidson held off the Blue Devils 69-62 after an impressive two-way performance.
A seemingly sold-out Columbia gym brought the full road experience for a young Duke squad that is still solidifying its team chemistry.
The Lions gave Duke problems throughout the contest, and nowhere was that more prevalent than in the middle of the fourth quarter, when Columbia suddenly came to life down by ten. In the end, the Blue Devils barely escaped with a 66-62 victory.
Team USA defeated the Blue Devils 87-58, and the majority of the second half was not particularly close. But that didn’t matter. The enormous community support represents not only the increase in enthusiasm about women’s basketball, but it demonstrates the important program building that head coach Kara Lawson is creating in Durham.
The Blue Devils are an above-average college hoops squad, but the national team is arguably the best in the world. Despite that, the atmosphere was friendly and the crowd energetic as the Blue Devils held their own.
From the initial tipoff, Duke imposed a suffocating defensive pressure that left Coastal Carolina struggling to execute even the most routine plays.
The Blue Devils’ defense was too much for Coastal Carolina to handle throughout the contest, as Duke cruised to a 88-42 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the first meeting between the Blue Devils and Chanticleers in either program’s history.