Duke Women Win

[Indoor66]

Duke W - 49 Rutgers- 44

DUKE WINS

[wisteria]

Duke W - 49 Rutgers- 44

DUKE WINS

revenge, sweet revenge.

And a HUGE win for the women team coming off consecutive losses.

[dukelifer]

Duke W - 49 Rutgers- 44

DUKE WINS

While it did not look pretty- this win will give the team confidence.

[blazindw]

Duke W - 49 Rutgers- 44

DUKE WINS

Whoooooweeeeeee!

[FreezingDevil]

Congrats to the women! They really needed this one in a big way and it was fantastic to see them pull out the win.

[killerleft]

Alright!!!!!!!!!!

[zingit]

An ugly game, but a beautiful win.

But really, in a way it was not as ugly as the score might make it seem. To me it seemed like they got plenty of good shots, they just weren't hitting them, especially in the first half--so it's not like their offense was terrible or anything. Sometimes their drives looked out of control, but mainly I think a poor shooting night (and Rutgers' defense of course) was to blame for our "ugly" game tonight.

Great perserverance from our team tonight! Let's keep it up!

[godukerocks]

Yea! Now let's start to turn things around

[DU82]

An ugly game, but a beautiful win.

But really, in a way it was not as ugly as the score might make it seem. To me it seemed like they got plenty of good shots, they just weren't hitting them, especially in the first half--so it's not like their offense was terrible or anything. Sometimes their drives looked out of control, but mainly I think a poor shooting night (and Rutgers' defense of course) was to blame for our "ugly" game tonight.

Great perserverance from our team tonight! Let's keep it up!

Rutgers took advantage of their size to jump to the early 9-2 lead. We switched to a zone, and that was the key to the game, I thought. A lot of the play on offense early looked rushed, and frantic from our side. Plus a bunch of lazy/weak passes. It was good to see some aggressive play from Mitch, Mitchell and Jasmine Thomas in particular (although Jasmine still put up some ill-advised shots; sometimes she needs to remember she's no longer in high school where she could score at will) but Black and Gay need to be more aggressive rather than fall back into a passive mode.

Could somebody who watched the game on ACC Select tell me what the "T" was for late? We couldn't tell at the game.

[zingit]

Could somebody who watched the game on ACC Select tell me what the "T" was for late? We couldn't tell at the game.

It was a Chris Webber-esque move: Rutgers called time-out when they weren't allowed to (because it was our ball).

[godukecom]

back from the game...
i loved sitting in the student section and being a regular cameron crazy. MAN i have NEVER heard the hose that loud for a game, esp after KJ hit the FT with 10 secs left to put us up by 4...

Abby was clutch, hitting 5 FT's with under a minute, two that arguably won the game for us

[jimsumner]

The technical foul was called on Stringer after a Rutgers foul. It was during a dead ball.

The highlights.

Very physical game.

Jasmine Thomas got the start at point. Her first. Waner, Black, Cheek, and Mitchell also started.

Mitchell scored the first two points and then Duke went six minutes without a point, as Rutgers went up 11-2.

Then Duke went zone on D. Gay came in off the bench and hit two mid-range jumpers to get Duke sorta started. Rutgers led 19-17 at the half. Not to put too fine a point on it, the defenses were well ahead of the offenses. At one point Rutgers went 7 minutes or so without scoring and Duke scored only two points. The effort was there but the execution wasn't.

Early in the second half, Stringer pulled her entire first team. After the game, she said her team lacked energy and focus and that Duke wanted the game more than Rutgers.

Stringer has a bit of the poetess about her. She said that basketball is a song and she wants the song to be sung the right way. Her starters were singing out of rhythm, out of harmony.

Rutgers' bench didn't hurt them that much. In fact, reserve center Rashidat Juniad had 8 points, 3 boards, and inflicted numerous bruises. Physical player.

Gay gave Duke a lift early in the second half and Duke opened up a four-point lead. But they couldn't build on it. Missed free throws didn't help.

See-saw down the stretch. Duke made one almost unimaginably bone-headed play late. Rutgers up 40-38, Kia Vaughan one and one for Rutgers. She missed the freebie and absolutely not one Duke player moved an inch. No logical reason to think it was a two-shot foul, they just had a collective brain cramp. The Rutgers putback made it 42-38 and could have been critical. Everybody joked about it after the game but Abby admitted it would have been different had Duke lost.

The technical was huge. Duke was up by two in the final seconds, Rutgers missed a shot, Jackson rebounded and was fouled. Stringer evidently thought that Rutgers was fouled on the shot. She refused to talk about the call after the game but she was biting her tongue. Abby made the two technicals, KJ made one of two, and Duke finally had some separation.

Black was doubled down low but still had 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 blocks. Stringer said that 'Te intimidated her team. Gay was the only other double-figure scorer, also with 11 points.

Neither team shot well. Good defense responsible for a lot of that but still. Duke shot 19-57, 1-14 on 3s; Thomas made the only three but missed five. The 3 was a big one, giving Duke a 38-37 lead. Duke was 10-18 on foul shots and that was with Abby going 5-5.

Speaking of Abby, she still doesn't have her A game. She committed a bad foul late in the first half for her third foul and started the second half on the bench. But she made some big foul shots down the stretch. She only played 23 minutes.

Duke committed 18 turnovers but forced 20. Rutgers outrebounded Duke 44-42.

Attendance 6,450.

Emily Waner did not play. Coach's decision. Given the size and speed of the Rutgers guard, probably the right call. Wanisha did not play, day-to-day, hopefully back by the end of the month. Same with Krystal.

And no, I didn't see anything that remotely suggested dissension. This team was together, focused, and animated. Like I said earlier, the execution isn't where it needs to be but I'm pretty sure it's going to get better and better still.

Duke really needed this game and really wanted it. It's not easy shooting 33%from the field, 55% from the line, committing 18 turnovers, getting outrebounded and still beating the third-ranked team in the country but it's darn near impossible to do so if you're not pulling together. They were pulling together.

[chrishoke]

Great summary Jim. This was a huge win - this team, i believe , is gaining confidence and will be a force. Chante was a force on defense.

[DU82]

Thanks for the details, Jim. I also wondered why Emily didn't play.

On the brain freeze, all the Rutgers players other than Heather Zurich froze too, I thought. Not sure what happened, since I do remember the officials signaling 1 and 1.

I'm sure Vivian thought the Rutgers player was fouled on that last shot, but for once the refs were consistant on how they called the rest of the game. Given there was only one foul in the first ten minutes, Rutgers started playing even more physical than in those minutes. There were a lot of scrums for rebounds in the second half, and Rutgers won most of them.

[zingit]

The technical foul was called on Stringer after a Rutgers foul. It was during a dead ball.

Whoops, apparently Jim understood it better than I did. Ignore my post above.

Great summary, and I definitely agree that there was no sign at all that the team was unhappy with each other or their coach.

[Pavy]

It was a great win, and it definitely left me with a smile on my face. Watching the players celebrate was a joy to watch (as it has never been questioned they like each other just fine). I would not have given us a chance if Abby Waner didn't have a great game, or at least have fantastic individual performances by other players. I was wrong. This win was about will, heart, and refusing to lose.

That being said, we still can't really match up right now against the top of the ACC. Rutgers didn't adequately attack the zone, and didn't play smart. I haven't seen them play this year, but the game was of poor quality for both teams. Rutgers just didn't make shots that better teams (or lets say teams on better days) should make. What I was befuddled by was why they abandoned the press by end of the first half. Despite some overly aggressive fouling on traps, it seems like it could be an effective tool against a sub par ball handling team. I was very surprised to see that they did not challenge Brittany Mitch, and allowed Coach P to steal minutes from her as point guard. We did show progress on defense, yet I'm still not seeing an offense in place. Chante Black was being swarmed on the inside, and yet no one penetrated and tried to split up the wall of players leaning towards the paint. After a few misguided desperation passes to Black that obviously led to turnovers, there wasn't any effort made to try to get her the ball. I just come from games not understanding what the offensive strategy is. Who is supposed to attack, who is supposed to be the focus of the offense? At times, it seems like a free-for-all. At least this time, Jasmine Thomas had extended minutes as point guard, and was kept for continuous periods of time. The substitution was also less herky-jerky than it has been.

This win is a great time to turn things around for Duke. This team needs works, and it needs changes. More than that, it deserves changes. There is no question they have passion. What there needs to be now is a new perspective on offense and some way to for the team to build its identity. There's a big potential learning curve here, and it has to be exploited in order for us to go far.

[Bluedawg]

The technical foul was called on Stringer after a Rutgers foul. It was during a dead ball.

The highlights.

Very physical game.

Jasmine Thomas got the start at point. Her first. Waner, Black, Cheek, and Mitchell also started.

Mitchell scored the first two points and then Duke went six minutes without a point, as Rutgers went up 11-2.

Then Duke went zone on D. Gay came in off the bench and hit two mid-range jumpers to get Duke sorta started. Rutgers led 19-17 at the half. Not to put too fine a point on it, the defenses were well ahead of the offenses. At one point Rutgers went 7 minutes or so without scoring and Duke scored only two points. The effort was there but the execution wasn't.

Early in the second half, Stringer pulled her entire first team. After the game, she said her team lacked energy and focus and that Duke wanted the game more than Rutgers.

Stringer has a bit of the poetess about her. She said that basketball is a song and she wants the song to be sung the right way. Her starters were singing out of rhythm, out of harmony.

Rutgers' bench didn't hurt them that much. In fact, reserve center Rashidat Juniad had 8 points, 3 boards, and inflicted numerous bruises. Physical player.

Gay gave Duke a lift early in the second half and Duke opened up a four-point lead. But they couldn't build on it. Missed free throws didn't help.

See-saw down the stretch. Duke made one almost unimaginably bone-headed play late. Rutgers up 40-38, Kia Vaughan one and one for Rutgers. She missed the freebie and absolutely not one Duke player moved an inch. No logical reason to think it was a two-shot foul, they just had a collective brain cramp. The Rutgers putback made it 42-38 and could have been critical. Everybody joked about it after the game but Abby admitted it would have been different had Duke lost.

The technical was huge. Duke was up by two in the final seconds, Rutgers missed a shot, Jackson rebounded and was fouled. Stringer evidently thought that Rutgers was fouled on the shot. She refused to talk about the call after the game but she was biting her tongue. Abby made the two technicals, KJ made one of two, and Duke finally had some separation.

Black was doubled down low but still had 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 blocks. Stringer said that 'Te intimidated her team. Gay was the only other double-figure scorer, also with 11 points.

Neither team shot well. Good defense responsible for a lot of that but still. Duke shot 19-57, 1-14 on 3s; Thomas made the only three but missed five. The 3 was a big one, giving Duke a 38-37 lead. Duke was 10-18 on foul shots and that was with Abby going 5-5.

Speaking of Abby, she still doesn't have her A game. She committed a bad foul late in the first half for her third foul and started the second half on the bench. But she made some big foul shots down the stretch. She only played 23 minutes.

Duke committed 18 turnovers but forced 20. Rutgers outrebounded Duke 44-42.

Attendance 6,450.

Emily Waner did not play. Coach's decision. Given the size and speed of the Rutgers guard, probably the right call. Wanisha did not play, day-to-day, hopefully back by the end of the month. Same with Krystal.

And no, I didn't see anything that remotely suggested dissension. This team was together, focused, and animated. Like I said earlier, the execution isn't where it needs to be but I'm pretty sure it's going to get better and better still.

Duke really needed this game and really wanted it. It's not easy shooting 33%from the field, 55% from the line, committing 18 turnovers, getting outrebounded and still beating the third-ranked team in the country but it's darn near impossible to do so if you're not pulling together. They were pulling together.

the write up in today's paper said the same thing on the 'T'

An official then called the Rutgers bench for a technical foul. Coach C. Vivian Stringer would not discuss it, but Duke officials said Stringer was hit with the technical for standing on the court.

I'm a bit concerned over Abby. 7 points is not like her, even on an off day.

Abby on the emotion after the game:“We needed this game to get us on a roll. Obviously we’ve had a rough stretch, we’ve been through a lot and we’ve been learning and growing from it. The best thing was that it was on our home court and we got to celebrate with our fans here. We’re going to enjoy it tonight, but we’re moving on tomorrow and preparing for our game on Saturday.”

i like the emotion i saw. I saw chest bumping, slapping, and more life than I've seen in a while. I think the fact that they have already traveled 10,000 miles this season has a lot to do with that.

Opening Statement by Coach Stringer: “I thought Duke played well. They played inspired and they were aggressive going to the boards. They played well as a team and they looked for each other. We seemed somewhat lackadaisical and a little bit slow and just out of sync. No team can have three starters shooting two-for-nine or two-for-10 in the center. It’s not to take away anything from Duke; I thought they played well and they played smart. With the balls that were loose, they wanted them more. I thought Chante Black did an excellent job of intimidating because we did not stay focused with the shots we had. Hats off to Duke; I hope this is what they need to inspire them to go on and be the team that they are capable of being. Clearly, they have a lot of great players, and as I told Coach McCallie before the game, I thought they would find what it was that was missing and unfortunately they found it on our backs.”

[jimsumner]

Stringer said the required nice things about Duke. But I had the feeling that she was doing so because Coaching Etiquette 101 mandated it. She obviously felt that her team was better than Duke and they had lost the game more than that Duke won the game.

Stringer and her players maintained several times that there were numerous gaps in the Duke zone but that Rutgers was too passive and didn't attack the zone. They "settled" for threes. The word "settled" was used quite a few times. Not a positive word to use. "Yep, coulda married a supermodel, but I settled on you. What's for dinner, hon?"

In discussing her decision to take out her starters, Stringer stated that she was more than willing to take a loss to make a point and left many the distinct impression that they had done just that, at least in her mind.

Not trying to rag on a hall of fame coach. It was a very tough, emotional loss and the T that she picked up was a key to that loss. She was asked specifically about the T, started to answer, thought better of it, and said something along the lines of "I've got enough problems, I don't need any more."

FWIW, she was asked to compare Duke, Stanford, and Maryland. She responded that Maryland was the most talented team in the country and did so without equivocation.

Stringer's closing remarks should be highlighted and posted. "It's just December, isn't it. It's early. Lots of basketball left."

McCallie? She did say something along the lines of "despite what you may believe, we are getting better." So, she is aware of the criticism.

[jjasper0729]

ther'es a good article up on BDW

Barnes: Chill Out

It should help to put some perspective on things as well

[Bluedawg]

Duke 51 Pittsburgh 49

Looks like Abby and Joy were the big guns today.

Box Score