DWBB 2021-22 Season

[loran16]

Dayton now leads 29-27. A 14-3 quarter for Dayton. Kara Lawson didn't sub in any players after the first timeout, and well...the first unit has been significantly worse in both quarters, as it was the bench players who built the lead. Not sure why she is so insistent upon keeping the starters in.

[loran16]

de Jesus and Celeste Taylor in now iwth the second unit, i guess because Day-Gordon picked up 2 fouls, but well...de Jesus just is not a shooter. Duke up 4, 2 minutes left in the half.

[loran16]

DWBB Comes back strong, holds Dayton without a field goal for the final 3 minutes of the half, with Jade Williams with two straight good pick and roll baskets.

[loran16]

Celeste Taylor is good on D, but she is a disaster on offense. So after a bunch of turnovers and missed shots - Daye-Wilson missed two free throws and then a 3, Taylor with a walk on a 3 on 2, it's back to 6.

[loran16]

44-40 now. Third straight quarter the offense has been utterly awful to start. Only in the first quarter did Dayton's O reciprocate.

And Duke travels out of a timeout.

[loran16]

Near repeat of the 2nd quarter. Meanwhile both Daye-Wilson and de Jesus pick up 3rd fouls on charges on plays they stopped to pass and still hit their defenders.

44-42 Duke, after it was 44-32.

[loran16]

As with the 2nd quarter, another duke run to take some control back. Duke going with a two big look here with Jade and Akinbode-James on the floor together.

[loran16]

de Jesus sat most of the third with 3 fouls, as Kara Lawson is super cautious about foul trouble. Double big look worked for Duke, now lets' see if they can have a first 5 minutes of a quarter without a drought on offense.

[loran16]

Duke starts the fourth quarter not with its first nit but again with that same unit that ended the third. Trading baskets early.

[loran16]

The D has been good, and Dayton has missed two open threes to start this fourth quarter, but the offense remains sloppy as can be. Duke going with a two point guard look now, and Dayton is in the bonus which could be an issue.

Curious who plays down the stretch. (one player who has basically not been in the rotation this whole game has been Goodchild, so I'm curious if she's hurt)

[loran16]

Duke going with de Jesus-Day Wilson-Taylor-Balogun-Jade/Akinbode James down the stretch and it is putting the clamps on the D. Balogun hits a 3 to give Duke it's biggest lead of the game: 66-52.

[loran16]

A MUCH better fourth quarter allows Duke to never lose control, make some shots late to push it beyond a challenge, and come out with an excellent road win.

[burnspbesq]

That’s an important win for Duke, on the road against a decent opponent in the opening week. They got punched in the mouth in both the second and third quarters, and each time the bounced back quickly. I will admit to cringing when Duke went big, but it worked; I’d guess they were at least +10 with both Williams and Akinbode-James on the floor.

If they do the work and believe in the process, they will get better every week. The talent is there.

Really looking forward to seeing them in person on the 21st.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I couldn't watch the game but it was nice being able to read the commentary through it this morning. Thanks to those that posted!

It sounds like Duke faced some adversity and overcame it pretty well. That's a good win for this young team. (At least "young" in terms of time they've played together.)

I see that #6 Louisville lost to #22 Arizona last night.

[loran16]

That’s an important win for Duke, on the road against a decent opponent in the opening week. They got punched in the mouth in both the second and third quarters, and each time the bounced back quickly. I will admit to cringing when Duke went big, but it worked; I’d guess they were at least +10 with both Williams and Akinbode-James on the floor.

If they do the work and believe in the process, they will get better every week. The talent is there.

Really looking forward to seeing them in person on the 21st.

Yeah I thought the double big look would clog up the offense tremendously (and the one attempt by Williams to pass to Akinbode-James was predictably a failure), but it's not like the offense was lighting it up with one big and they managed to keep it at least on the same level, while the interior D improved with that look against Dayton.

Massey has NCAAWBB rankings (Sagarin no longer does) and now has Duke at 24 - no idea if that's with preseason weighting or not, but I believe they are. Dayton is now #114, Winthrop is now #349. A Road win at a team just outside the top 100 is a very quality win, especially with that margin.

Our next opponents, up to Top ten Iowa (which will obviously be a HUGE test) are as follows:
UNCW: #268
Alabama: #31
App. State: #240
Troy: #154

So we should have two easy blowouts in there, but Bama should be a challenge, and Troy shouldn't be a massive blowout. 6-0 is still the results that should be obtained, but we'll see if they can pull that off.

[loran16]

First TV Timeout looks a lot like the Winthrop game for Duke. 12-4 Duke, although UNCW is going to the line for free throws. Duke blocking or interfering with nearly every UNCW shot. Just avoid dumb plays and this should be another romp.

[loran16]

I'm gonna stop with the frequent updates this game, as it's really not worth it. Notable is Miela Goodchild, who was basically benched last game, has 8 points, including 2 threes. A nice sign.

[DU82]

Elizabeth was guarding UNCW’s point guard the last couple of possessions. Her length really bothered the guard. If she can do that against stronger teams, that’s a huge asset.

[dukelifer]

I'm gonna stop with the frequent updates this game, as it's really not worth it. Notable is Miela Goodchild, who was basically benched last game, has 8 points, including 2 threes. A nice sign.

3 now and 11 points

[chrishoke]

Lee Volker making some plays and looking athletic.