11/15---Duke Beats Down South Florida 89-52

My first actual look at Duke this season was a pleasant one. I hope I get to watch other matchups this season. I think I'll be able to get the others on ESPN but sometimes my sports pack screws up and does not show these games, instead airing some obscure men's basketball game somewhere.

The game itself was not earthshattering. It became obvious early on that we would get the win even if South Florida had an early and very short run which put them above us. Don't get me wrong, I love blow out wins for my Devils. My problem with this game was the referees. I don't usually pay attention to what the refs are calling or whether they are the right calls or not, mostly because I'm not knowledgeable enough about the rules of basketball. I can say, however, that they turned last night's game into a bit of a snoozer, calling fouls left and right, both offensive and defensive.

Abby Waner's injured, so I didn't get to see her play. This was obviously bad news for the team, but it was also bad news for me. I mean, it's not like I get to see a lot of Duke games as it is right? Hopefully it's nothing too serious and nothing that will become a problem as the year goes on. This year, more than ever, the team needs the shooting of Abby on the floor a lot.

Overall, I thought that they played really well. It's obvious that there is a gameplan and that the players are following it. There was a lot of good passing to the post players. It was pretty neat actually. Someone would be holding it on the perimeter, looking like she's still diagramming a play. All of a sudden, woosh, the ball zips inside to our very open post players who just put it in the basket quite easily. This is, in my opinion, a winning strategy (although it works so much better when they make free throws, which I'll get to later), although when Abby gets back, I sense a bit more perimeter play.

Defense was, in a word, astounding. South Florida could get nothing going down low. Our posts forced them to drive in way too much, then they'd close in on the opponents and double team them under the basket. The Bulls couldn't get a shot off from that position and they struggled to pass the ball out as well. Full court was used a lot and was effective pretty much the entire game. I loved the hustle of Duke when getting back into position in the half court. Impressively, once South Florida broke the press, Duke didn't let them just get an easy basket. Instead, the one or two players who weren't pressing at the time would close out on them effectively and everyone would hustle back and begin to torment the Bulls with their half court defense. I was a little worried at the beginning because I felt that this was a risky plan given that our normal speedster, Harding, isn't in Duke blue anymore. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was effective even with our slower players. What they lacked in speed, they certainly made up for in heart, often pushing really hard to get back in defensive position. By the middle of the first half, South Florida looked flummoxed and defeated.

There were two negative points as well. However, and I'm not being a homer, I feel that these are relatively minor things that pale in comparison with excellently played defense. Number one, three-point shooting. Number two, free throw shooting.

On the first point, I don't really quite understand it since the players looked pretty open when they shot the ball. Most of the shots were off by quite a bit. I believe that this will improve though when Abby comes back. Don't they say that once one person starts hitting, others will likely follow like a ripple effect? If true, then we'll be fine. One person I'd love to see hitting her threes however is Emily Waner. I'm pretty sure she's a great shooter (if I'm not mistaken) and when she starts hitting more of her shots, with her decision making capabilities, she can be a solid option for major point guard minutes.

On the second point...well...hmmm....Okay, I truly don't understand why Duke has been struggling at the line for quite some time. This is something that is of maximum importance to improve. Why? Because we're getting the ball into the post so effectively and efficiently, the other players are forced to foul us. That's great and all, except when we miss free throws. Then it starts to weigh on my head whether or not we should dump it into the post when there are defenders around them. Okay, so just work on those free throws and we'll be fine. One positive is that it definitely got a lot better in the second half, which is important.

By the way, Brittany Mitch and Keturah Jackson got their first starts. I thought they played quite well actually. Brittany had a bunch of really stellar passing plays. How stellar? I actually remember them today still. She's obviously a very smart player and made pretty good decisions out there. There were two possessions, however, when she was pretty open for a three and didn't take it. I'd like to see her be more aggressive in that department. On another note, she had to leave the game to get stitches under her eye at one point, came back with a band aid on it and looked eager to come back in, which she did. She also played pretty well after that. Can anyone say stud? Go Brit! Keturah Jackson was also really good. She was one of those players who I really marveled at their intensity. She was scrapping and fighting for everything. Coach P also gave a special shout out to Keturah's 7 rebounds. Now, you know you must be doing something right for your coach to mention it like that.

Top 5 Scorers:
Chante Black--16
Joy Cheek--15
Krystal Thomas--10
Karima Christmas--9
Wanisha Smith--9

Top 5 Rebounders:
Chante Black--11
Bridgette Mitchell--8
Keturah Jackson--7
Karima Christmas--6
Gay, Cheek--5 each

Top 2 Assists:
Jasmine Thomas--5
Brittany Mitch--4

Top 2 Steals:
Jasmine Thomas--4
Mitch, Christmas, Cheek--2 each

Top Blocks:
Krystal Thomas--6
*special note: Jasmine Thomas--4 (whoa, hello freshmen!)

Team Comparisons:
FG%:
Duke 46.3% over South Florida 27.7%
3 PT %:
Duke 23.5% over South Florida 20%
Rebounds:
Duke 55 over South Florida 42
Assists:
Duke 25 over South Florida 8
Turnovers:
Duke 15 over South Florida 22

Worrying Stat of the Day:
I'll say free throws simply because it's beginning to bother me that I'm beginning to cringe when we're fouled, although the final percentage was a little higher than I expected watching the game. Even Joy mentioned it in their post game huddle ("got to make those free throws!). That's one thing that can really bite the team in close games against better competition. And no, I don't want to be reminded of that school in New Jersey, thank you very much.

Attendance:
St. Pete's Times Forum in Tampa--NA

Next Game:
Sunday November 18 vs. UNC-Greensboro (first regular season home game for Coach P!)

2007-2008 Duke Blue Devils Women's Basketball: 2-0

Here we go, Devils, here we go!!!