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Lange had spent the past seven years with Georgia as associate head coach to Joni Taylor, who was hired away last month by Texas A&M. But instead of following Taylor, Lange headed north to Durham.
A key member of the Blue Devils’ coaching staff is headed elsewhere.
Duke's culture is proudly player-led, so it's unsurprising that the decision to voluntarily end its season for the second-straight year would come from the players. Especially given the factors pervading the Blue Devils’ collapse over the past two months, it’s understandable that the team was not fully in lockstep.
The game was a cruel metaphor for how Duke’s season has gone: It came out firing against a quality opponent, playing in a way that belied the newness of the team; then, as the going got tougher, the chemistry slowly deteriorated, until the Blue Devils found their backs against the wall.
Tied at 48 with just over two minutes to play, the contest was poised on a knife’s edge. Pittsburgh's shots were still falling fairly frequently and Duke couldn’t quite seize control of a game that since the halftime buzzer it had dominated.
In a match requiring determination down the stretch, the 10th-seeded Blue Devils overcame a 16-point deficit in the final 25 minutes to take down 15th-seeded Pittsburgh 55-52 Wednesday afternoon.
Exciting news broke Tuesday morning for Duke fans, whose phenom freshman guard Shayeann Day-Wilson was named ACC Rookie of the Year.
It’s finally tournament time in the ACC, as Duke women’s basketball makes the short trip to the Greensboro Coliseum in to take on Pittsburgh in the first round. Here are five things to know before the Blue Devils, at long last, return to the postseason slate.
After the Blue Devils won the opening tip and got on the board first with a 3-pointer from Celeste Taylor, it seemed like they could get revenge from their last meeting and strengthen their case for the NCAA tournament with a win against No. 18 North Carolina. However, that would be the last time Duke led.
With a healthy Duke lineup that featured junior guard Celeste Taylor back on the court and head coach Kara Lawson on the sidelines, the respective star power and leadership that was missing back on Jan. 27’s loss was filled.
After yet another taste of defeat in Thursday’s clash with Boston College, the Blue Devils return for one final regular-season outing at the Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill to take on North Carolina.
Allowing the Eagles to fly into their offensive zone however they pleased made defending them once they got there harder, and that difficulty resulted in more open looks for them and more fouls delivered by the Blue Devils.
A fourth-quarter comeback attempt brought Duke the closest it had been to overtaking Boston College since the game’s opening minutes, but it ultimately failed to do so despite its spirited efforts to give the seniors on the team a victorious last outing at home.
The catalyst this game was sophomore point guard Vanessa de Jesus, who tied her career-high of eight assists.
The optimism was unbridled after Duke upset No. 9 Iowa more than three months ago. After losing Thursday night to Virginia, the Blue Devils are 2-6 since Jan. 24.
The game was far more contentious for the Blue Devils than most would have expected prior to the whistle; struggles on rebounding, wastefulness on the shot and a concerning number of turnovers punctuated a difficult evening for Duke and blatantly illustrated what needs to change if it wants to rediscover its impressive early season form.
Duke will travel to Virginia’s home base at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va., with tip set for 7 p.m. Thursday.
Combo forward Lexi Gordon led the Blue Devils with 13 points on a 4-of-11 clip from the field and 3-of-8 from three without a turnover; point guard Shayeann Day-Wilson had 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting, two rebounds, three assists and three steals against two turnovers.
When point guard Shayeann Day-Wilson popped open in the corner and fired up a perfect rainbow to the rim, it looked like the Blue Devils had found a miracle.
With both Duke and Florida State entering Thursday’s contest at Cameron Indoor Stadium off the back of necessary wins, the stakes are high for whose momentum will continue and whose will falter once again this season.