WBB: Duke 79, UNC-CH 51

[CameronBornAndBred]

42-33 at the half, Duke was up by 15 before weathering a heels comeback. Duke's D is great, doing fair on the turnovers, well on rebounding.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Our advantage, and the reason we are winning, 31-15 rebounds with 10 minutes to play.

[Duvall]

"You don't want to have to coach effort if you're Sylvia Hatchell."

Lot of that going around in the Village.

[Duvall]

Great job by the coaching staff to have Duke ready to play tonight.

When's the last time Duke crushed UNC on the glass like this? Oh right, never.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Best they have played this year. Keep it up women, great job!
Big shout out to Allison Vernerey, she had a breakout game. Not as many points as she could have had, but she was great in everything else she needed to do.

[summerwind03]

Very fun game to watch, of course! Really impressive rebounding and just lots of effort.

[78Devil]

Great to watch, but it was almost too good. There is seriously something wrong with me when I feel superstitious that this game may have just used up all our "mojo" vs. UNC this week.....

[JaMarcus Russell]

I don't watch women's basketball very much, but I switched over from the WVU-Nova game and watched most of this game. I was very impressed with the way Duke played. They passed the ball well and were great at picking up loose balls and grabbing rebounds.

While UConn is unstoppable this year, I think the women's team could be a team to watch in the tournament, at least until they have to face the Huskies again (hopefully not until the Championship game :D)

[RockLobster]

WHAT A GAME!

Absolutely killed them on the boards. Beautiful effort. Tonight was just a case of us wanting it more, at least partly.

Hopefully the men can duplicate this effort on Wednesday.

[chrishoke]

Agreed, Duke absolutely wanted it more tonight - great effort - awesome beatdown - smiles all around.

[chrishoke]

"You don't want to have to coach effort if you're Sylvia Hatchell."

Lot of that going around in the Village.

I caught that too - priceless.

I thought the heels gave up in the 2nd half - pitiful and embarrassing.

[GADevilFan]

Great game. I really enjoyed watching it. Incredible rebounding effort. AV is my new favorite player.

[wallyman]

And really gratifying given the early doubts about Coach P. Her team was incredibly intense, particularly on the boards -- her calling card, I guess. But they also seemed to be having a great time, though I guess when you're up by 28 over Carolina, that part's not so hard. Don't think we used up much of our cosmic mojo. Here's hoping for a repeat performance Wednesday.

[buddy]

Took it in at Cameron, and just a great game. This was quite a beat down. Duke wanted it more, was the aggressor the entire game. They did not get down when Jasmine Thomas had to sit in the first half. I agree a big shout out to Allison Verneray, but I thought Keturah Jackson was just superb. She was not afraid to take her shot, played superb defense, distributed the ball well, and generally enjoyed herself. Maybe her best game effort. She showed a lot of leadership after Jas had to sit. By the end of the game Carolina just wanted to get showered, dressed, and home. They had no fight left. GTHCGTH.

[CameronBlue]

Wow, Duke actually had a noticeable offensive scheme this evening that went beyond "give the ball to Jasmine and stay out of her way". Not without its flaws but much better ball movement and high-low play-making. Loved the way the team attacked from the wings and drove the lanes. Rebounding was a surprise because according to Steve Barnes UNC is one of the better rebounding teams in the country (61 boards against Md and they still lost by 10??) Nice, very nice. Great job Duke.

[-bdbd]

Great to watch, but it was almost too good. There is seriously something wrong with me when I feel superstitious that this game may have just used up all our "mojo" vs. UNC this week.....

Nah, just gives the men something for the guys to shoot for -- 28 points sounds about right...

I really enjoyed that. I particularly enjoyed the shots of Sylvia Hatchell - sorry, but that is NOT an attractive woman - who looked on with absolute disdain (during one shot of her on the sideline after a call went againt NC@CH late in the game, at the far end of the court, you could lip-read her saying "Nice job losers!" ) . Do she and Coach P not get along - was that the fastest "blow-by" handshake ever or what?!? Kerlina just gave up with about 8 min to go.

I just wonder how the UCONN game would have gone if we'd played like that last month!! :rolleyes:

Think back to the 80's and the Olympic "miracle on ice." Many people don't realize that the young US team actually played the Soviets a week before the Olympics began, in NYC I think, and the US lost by something like 7-1 (and it could have been worse!). I think of that game like the UCONN 33 point beatdown of Duke in Durham a few weeks ago. And of course, everyone knows what happened when those two teams met again 2.5 weeks later in Lake Placid.... Just saying, anything is possible. We're playing better and better late in the season - good sign.


:D:D:D

[Jim3k]

Wow, Duke actually had a noticeable offensive scheme this evening that went beyond "give the ball to Jasmine and stay out of her way". Not without its flaws but much better ball movement and high-low play-making. Loved the way the team attacked from the wings and drove the lanes. Rebounding was a surprise because according to Steve Barnes UNC is one of the better rebounding teams in the country (61 boards against Md and they still lost by 10??) Nice, very nice. Great job Duke.

True about the improved offense. Looks like they are starting to use some screens to protect the shooter, some give and goes (probably done on the fly) and some high-lows. I have not yet seen a pick and roll, though. Maybe with Keturah or Shay running the show, different sets get called. Either way, in this game the offense was organized. Great balanced scoring as a result.

[burnspbesq]

True about the improved offense. Looks like they are starting to use some screens to protect the shooter, some give and goes (probably done on the fly) and some high-lows. I have not yet seen a pick and roll, though. Maybe with Keturah or Shay running the show, different sets get called. Either way, in this game the offense was organized. Great balanced scoring as a result.

When Jaz is on the bench, "stand around and wait for Jaz to make something happen" isn't a viable option.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Rebounding was a surprise because according to Steve Barnes UNC is one of the better rebounding teams in the country (61 boards against Md and they still lost by 10??)
Hatchell said after the game they will need to get to football team to practice against. Think all that weight training just might be paying off? The stronger team will have the rebounding advantage.

[miramar]

On top of the stellar defense and rebounding, that was a really impressive offensive performance for the team as a whole. Jasmine and Cheek shot 5/23 while the rest of the team was 25/48, so I hope that balanced scoring is a taste of things to come.

I really couldn't figure out Carolina at all. I appears that no one has explained to them the importance of the Duke-Carolina rivalry. Duke's 25-10 advantage on offensive rebounds wasn't because of rough play, it was because of a lack of effort and a failure to box out on Carolina's part.

Sorry, Sylvia, I don't think that football players are going to change that for you. You're going to have to fix that yourself.

[Gargoyle]

A few observations:

1. The crowd was great; really into it. I still do not understand why we do not draw a sell out for UNC.

2. Players of the game: 1. KJ, 2. Allison 3. Shay Selby

3. Thank goodness we are starting a post and not the small, "quick" lineup.

4. I really like it when Krystal and Allison are both in the game. If Allison can develop a reliable jump shot from the elbow, that will be a potent combo.

5. KJ is the best on the ball defender for Duke in years. She is in the Amaker, Hurley, Duhon mold.

6. Duke fans who watch both teams really get to see very contrasting styles. McCallie emphasizes points in the paint while K concentrates on the perimeter.

[devildeac]

On top of the stellar defense and rebounding, that was a really impressive offensive performance for the team as a whole. Jasmine and Cheek shot 5/23 while the rest of the team was 25/48, so I hope that balanced scoring is a taste of things to come.

I really couldn't figure out Carolina at all. I appears that no one has explained to them the importance of the Duke-Carolina rivalry. Duke's 25-10 advantage on offensive rebounds wasn't because of rough play, it was because of a lack of effort and a failure to box out on Carolina's part.

Sorry, Sylvia, I don't think that football players are going to change that for you. You're going to have to fix that yourself.

Ssshhh. Don't tell her that...;)

[stillcrazie]

The defense came out hard and never let up. I don't have the stats, but we had several nice blocks and forced a ton of turnovers. As others have said, KJ was on fire, definitely the best defender the team has had for awhile.

AV had 10 points and 6 reb, most if not all in the first half. I'd like to see her put on a few more pounds so she doesn't get shoved around so much in the paint -- come on, most of us women know that gaining weight is not hard to do!

I saw next to the UNC crowd -- they were loud, and every time they started a cheer, the pep band would start up and quiet them down. Of course, the team quieted them down during the second half. Looking forward to the rematch.

[miramar]

but it seems that going to UNC does have its advantages.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/fashion/07campus.html?em

[RainingThrees]

Great job by the womens team. After that UCONN game its good to see us beating other top teams, UCONN is just in a class of its own.