DWBB: 2018 Season

[DU82]

End of one, 26-17 Duke. Frantic pace, led by Lexie’s 13. tOSU is a run and shoot chaos type team, and we’re getting back on D and controlling them and the tempo.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Really, really happy by the first half so far on the court.
Above the court? Meh. I was apparently way more excited than Coach G about this game. Listening to her analysis is like listening to an NPR gardening show.
This is how I visualize the broadcast booth.

[DU82]

43-31 at the half. Outstanding play on both ends by the Blue Devils. tOSU is not strong inside, and Erin has taken advantage with 10 points and 5 rebounds. Haley with the same, playing great.

The defense is getting back and not allowing Kelsey Mitchell to break free often. She still has 12 points, but has had to really work for them. Former Blue Devil Sierra Calhoun has two fouls, no points.

Great crowd, the student section across from the benches is mostly full between the end lines, and is loud and active.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Haley earns the 2nd half start.

[Stray Gator]

Massive collapse in the Third Quarter results in Duke's 17-point lead being cut to 3 by Ohio State. Ugh.

[downeastdad]

Epic meltdown underway. Come on, Duke!

[DU82]

Third Q two different halves. First was Duke dominating, leading by 17. Second part, couldn’t do much right. Lead is 5, 57-52.

Shots are more difficult, tOSU playing better on D. Odom played terribly in the third.

Have to stay calm, do not let tOSU get out and run.

[downeastdad]

Pretty exciting game, but G is putting me right to sleep. Yawn...

[downeastdad]

9-0 run. That's better. Go Duke!

[chrishoke]

Hanging on.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Super solid victory. Withstood a comeback and said Noooooooooo!

That was lots of fun.

[Ggallagher]

Hope the season for both men's and women's teams settles down before too long. The guys get fifteen or so in the hole and come back to win. The girls get up by seventeen, blow the lead, and then pull it out to win. Just a little bit more tension then I'd care to deal with, but at least they're both winning.

[burnspbesq]

Looking forward to seeing the replay when I get home.

Apropos of not much, Mechelle Voepel fawning over Coach G on Twitter.

[DU82]

Just back from the game. Great atmosphere and great play for the most part by the team.

Defensively, the team followed the game plan and executed it very well. Ohio State averages 95 point a game, and they love to run and shoot. They shot 33% for the game, 28% from three. Duke out rebounded them 49-30 (that's not as much of a surprise, as tOSU's strength is their guards.)

On offense, for the first 2 1/2 quarters, Duke was rolling. Sharp passes, and good shots. Erin scored ten in the first half, taking advantage of the Buckeye's lack of post players. Lexie scored 13 in the first quarter (19 for the game) and Haley was making shots as well. Becca picked it up, ending up with 19 as well.

Then, Ohio State put on the pressure (pretty sure I saw a triangle and two or box and one on Lexie) and we had trouble with getting the ball down court (21 TOs) and getting good shots. I mentioned that Leonna was playing terribly, and on offense she was. Poor shot selection and turnovers (She did play well on the defensive side, with 12 rebounds and a couple of key steals.) After Duke led the entire game other than a tie at 13, tOSU tied it at 57 early in the 4th. They scored three points the rest of the way. Duke kept their poise, and got enough shots to fall, and seemed to get almost every rebound and loose ball.

Credit to the players for playing tough, and credit to the coaching staff for a great game plan.

[Kedsy]

Now that's guts. It's one thing to come back from 17 down (as the men did last week). It's quite another to blow a 17-point lead and then have the wherewithal to not give up, take a deep breath, and score the next 9 points.

Leaonna may not have scored much, but 13 boards, 4 blocks, and 2 steals, including a huge one to clinch the win. Haley had 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists; and Erin double-doubled (10 and 10, with 4 assists). Lexie had 13 points in the first quarter before Ohio State was forced to pay her extra attention. Becca had zero points in the first quarter, but picked up after Lexie left off, and both ended with 19. With the exception of the 22-5 stretch Ohio State used to tie the game, Duke's D really shut down one of the top offenses in the country.

I have to say, this one made me a lot more nervous than either of the men's teams two big comebacks in Oregon. Great win for the women.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Now that's guts. It's one thing to come back from 17 down (as the men did last week). It's quite another to blow a 17-point lead and then have the wherewithal to not give up, take a deep breath, and score the next 9 points.

Leaonna may not have scored much, but 13 boards, 4 blocks, and 2 steals, including a huge one to clinch the win. Haley had 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists; and Erin double-doubled (10 and 10, with 4 assists). Lexie had 13 points in the first quarter before Ohio State was forced to pay her extra attention. Becca had zero points in the first quarter, but picked up after Lexie left off, and both ended with 19. With the exception of the 22-5 stretch Ohio State used to tie the game, Duke's D really shut down one of the top offenses in the country.

I have to say, this one made me a lot more nervous than either of the men's teams two big comebacks in Oregon. Great win for the women.

Couldn't spork you, but as I was reading your post, I kept saying "yes..Yes...YES". (Someone hand out sporks for me.)

[uh_no]

Now that's guts.

Haven't watched the game yet...but when I do, I'm sure I'll have a reason why it wasn't

Really really impressive win. Sunday should be fun

noon- duke/USC
4pm- uconn/ND

[jimsumner]

This was a very solid win for Duke. Very solid.

To a great extent, this was a battle of wills. No one wants to run with Ohio State. They came into tonight's game averaging 94 points per game. They own two wins over Stanford, 85-64 and 94-82.

But Duke largely was able to force them into the tempo Duke wanted. OSU did speed up Duke's offense, which led to some out-of-control turnovers. But on the other end, OSU was able to muster seven fast-break points. Duke clogged up the lane and shut down Stephanie Mavunga, holding her to seven points, less than half her average of 15.8.

Unable to score in transition or on the blocks, OSU was reduced to jacking up one 3-pointer after another. They were 10-36 and only got to the foul line six times, which is what happens when you take 36 3-pointers.

They did make a marvelous comeback to tie the game after trailing by 17, a 22-5 run over a span of just over seven minutes.

They hit four 3-pointers during this span.

But they only played seven players and it seemed to me that this comeback pretty much exhausted their energy supply. They just hit a wall during the fourth quarter and went splat.

Duke turned it over too much--21--but outrebounded OSU 49-30, which is an astonishing margin over a top-10 team.

Losing coach Kevin McGuff said his team let its offense dictate its defensive effort. When they were making shots, they played good D. When they were missing, they weren't.

Kelsey Mitchell--she went 9-27 from the field, 4-17 on 3s--said that Duke just outworked her team, just won too many 50/50 balls.

Some truth in that. But I think Duke's physicality just wore down Ohio State. Which is kind of ironic. The Big 10 has long had the reputation as the physical league, the ACC as a finesse league, in both men's and women's. But this game was the opposite and Duke's physicality won it.

A few notes.

Erin Matthias clearly outplayed Mavunga, 10 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks, her second career double-double. She left the game briefly in the fourth quarter after a hard fall but returned and said she'll be fine after an ice bath.

Leanonna Odom only scored six points but had a game-high 13 rebounds, along with four blocks. This is the first time this season Duke has had two double-digit rebounders.

OSU clearly prioritized pushing Rebecca Greenwell off the 3-point line. She only took four 3-pointers, making two. But she attacked off the dribble, taking 13 2-point shots. She wasn't always successful but she did end the night with 19 points.

Haley Gorecki had the best game of her career, 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three turnovers. She came off the bench but started the second half ahead of Mikalya Boykin. She's not as good as and may never be as good as Georgia Schweitzer, but so much of her game reminds me of Schweitzer.

And Lexie Brown is one of the best players in the country. She was as responsible as anyone for Mitchell's shooting woes and gave Duke 19 points and five rebounds. She hit what I think was the biggest shot of the game, a 3-pointer that put Duke up 62-57, with 6:49 left, as Duke regained control after the OSU comeback.

Ice-water, veins and all that.

Anyway. Another big test Sunday, South Carolina on the road, the third ranked opponent in four games. Hopefully, the learned something about playing tough on the road for 40 minutes in the Villanova loss. But I think Duke is playing with house money here. Few expect them to win but they beat SC last year, albeit at Cameron. A chance to test themselves.

[dukefan_828]

Wow totally forgot i had 4 tickets for the game tonight, hate i missed it. Would have been much better than watching my Redskins get punched in the mouth Awesome win for the Lady Devils in Blue!!

[dudog84]

On the broadcast last night it was stated that Kyra is going to red-shirt this year. I have not seen anything in print, and thought that decision wasn't going to be made for another month. Does anyone have info on this?