WBB: Duke 83, Ohio State 67

[CameronBornAndBred]

That's a beat down. Congrats on a great win over #3 team.

[Welcome2DaSlopes]

Good Job lady Devils!!!!!!!!

[miramar]

The women shot 50% from the field and 4/10 from 3PT. Very impressive against a quality team, and a good trend following 46% and 52% shooting in the previous two games.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncw/boxscore?gameId=293370150

[Tappan Zee Devil]

Good Job lady Devils!!!!!!!!

I hate to be the PC police - especially since it was a congratulatory post,
but Duke's women teams are not "Lady Devils". They are "Blue Devils" (same as the men).

cheers
Jim

[juise]

Congrats on what looks to be a stong all-around performance by Duke. It's nice to see the offense clicking against a top-tier opponent! A loss by the Heels tonight makes it a little sweeter. I hope they can take care of business against USC and then duplicates tonight's effort against Stanford.

[Indoor66]

I hate to be the PC police - especially since it was a congratulatory post,
but Duke's women teams are not "Lady Devils". They are "Blue Devils" (same as the men).

cheers
Jim

Well, how about The Distaff Devils, then?

[stillcrazie]

The Blue Devils (!) of the female persuasion really surprised me last night. OSU was a bigger, skilled team with a sizable fan base present. Here are some of the best surprises for me:

Krystal Thomas, as a junior, is finally making a difference in the post. She had a couple of monster blocks and got in good position to grab rebounds.

Jasmine Thomas: she got it going in the second half and not only scored 29 total points, she made really smart moves with the ball.

Allison V: She got a lot of minutes for a freshman and for good reason -- she was money in the post, both scoring and rebounding. She looked comfortable out there. She communicated well on the floor and seemed very poised. This bodes well for the future of the team.

Shay Selby: she was tough out there. Really played hard, got at least one steal, had an attitude.

I am more optimistic than ever about this team.

[robc]

My game report is up at DWHoops.com (and I'll try to be better about linking them here from now on):

http://www.dwhoops.com/0910/0912031-Duke-83-Ohio-State-67.php

[stillcrazie]

My game report is up at DWHoops.com (and I'll try to be better about linking them here from now on):

http://www.dwhoops.com/0910/0912031-Duke-83-Ohio-State-67.php

Your recap was excellent. I agree that it was a watershed game for the McCallie era. Good to see the crowd show up for this one. This team is definitely worth watching. Let's hope they maintain the intensity they showed last night.

[Gargoyle]

1. The video stream from Go Duke was quite good. I was not available until after the game was over but it was archived by 9:30. If you like WBB, the coverage is quite comprehensive for a reasonable price.

2. Jasmine Thomas has improved significantly each year she has been at Duke. I believe that she is a better 2 guard than a point. If Chelsea Gray and Chloe Wells live up to their advance billing, Duke will be very strong in the back court next year.

3. I think Keturah Jackson is a major contributor. She is the best on the ball defender we have and stops dribble penetration effectively. From the write-ups, I am hoping that Chelsea Gray will do the same next year.

4. To me the key to the season is TOs (and, obviously, defense). When Duke limits TOs like they did last night, they will be hard to beat.

5. Krystal Thomas and Allison Vernerey are hard working defenders and rebounders. Together, they fought Lavender to a virtual draw. I thought Duke was best when both were on the court at the same time. AV is quicker than I had thought and she could really be an effective 4 if she can extend her offensive game a fit further out from the basket. Duke needs to target post players for next year.

6. Jantel Lavender and Sammy Prahalis are two of the best players Duke will see this year.

7. Although it was hard to tell from the video feed, it looked like a good crowd with a lot of energy from the folks above the rail. It would be great if there was a bit more student support.

[stillcrazie]

You're right about Keturah Jackson -- she has the intensity of Lance Thomas out there on defense, and can score when she needs to.

There were easily over 5,000 in attendance at the game. My impression over the last few years is that you see families and people from the community at women's games, and a few students. Not sure what can be done to get students more interested -- they are missing out.

[Duvall]

Great game. Jasmine Thomas is playing at an exceptional level right now.