OAKLAND - After removing a King Kong-sized monkey from their backs by advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time in Duke women's basketball history, the Blue Devils faced a new question Saturday: Could they take another step into the unknown playing 3,000 miles from home against a team that beat them earlier this season?
Duke answered that question with a resounding "yes," dispatching Florida 71-58 at The New Arena in Oakland, Calif. Nicole Erickson scored 14 of her game-high 20 points in the first half to help the Blue Devils (24-7) avenge a 70-63 loss to the Lady Gators (23-9) on Dec. 29.
Erickson's 6-of-9 shooting allowed the Blue Devils to finish the first half with a 33-26 lead despite having three starters, including Hilary Howard and Michele VanGorp, held without a single point. The second half was a different story, as the Lady Gators put the clamps on Erickson and held her to 1-of-7 shooting from the floor.
"I really couldn't tell you what I did differently in the two halves," Erickson said. "The second half, I got some open looks but I was just unable to hit the shots."
Still, Erickson was able to contribute in other ways, helping her team break Florida's frequent full-court trapping and hitting four free throws to run her streak to 22 in a row from the line. As the Blue Devils have done all year, they found other players to step up offensively, including Howard (all 10 of her points came in the second half) and Lauren Rice (who scored nine of her 14 points after the break).
On the defensive end, the Blue Devils' mission was simple to state but difficult to execute: stop Murriel Page and Tamara Stocks. Page, the nation's leading rebounder, and Stocks, a 6-foot-3 freshman standout, combined for 35 points and 20 rebounds during the teams' first meeting.
The job of controlling Page fell mostly to Peppi Browne, and she proved equal to the challenge.
"It was my job to contain her," said Browne after limiting Page to 13 points, including just two field goals in the second half. "The goal was to limit her touches and keep her from getting the offensive rebounds. My job was to front her, and if I got in trouble, get help from other players around me."
Browne managed to avoid the foul trouble that plagued her when she drew the same assignment in December. When Browne was on the bench, Rice and Rochelle Parent were able to hold their own against Page.
Page also missed some time in the first half. With 8:28 remaining in first half, VanGorp was called for an offensive foul clearing out after a defensive rebound. Page emerged from a crowd of players with blood running from her chin, and it took several minutes for her to return sporting a bandage and a new jersey.
"It didn't affect me at all," Page said about the injury. "I'm used to getting banged up.... I really didn't know that I had done it until one of my teammates told me."
Tonya Washington led Florida in scoring with 14 points off the bench. Washington also tied Page for the team lead in rebounding with five, well under Page's average of 12.8 boards per game.
Florida used a late 10-0 run to finish off Duke in December, and showed several signs of making a similar run Saturday. The Lady Gators closed to four at 52-48 with 5:39 left in the game, but three straight points from Rice got Duke out of trouble.
A driving layup by Dana Smith made it 61-54 with 2:10 remaining, but Howard responded with a three-pointer-Duke's only three of the game-that seemed to take the wind out of Florida's sails.
"It seemed like every play down the stretch was a big play," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. " When Hilary Howard hit her three down the stretch, I thought that was kind of the dagger in the heart for them."
Duke looked flat at times winning two games at home en route to the West Regional, while Florida rampaged through two big victories against Montana and Virginia Tech. Saturday, however, the Lady Gators were unable to find the same combination of dominating rebounding and pressure defense that sparked their earlier triumphs.
"The things that got us here were defense and rebounding, and lo and behold, they're the two things that are going to send us home," said UF coach Carol Ross after watching her team pull down a season-low 29 boards. "We did not defend well, we didn't rebound well and I take the blame for that. We just didn't come out ready."
While Florida halted one game short of its Elite Eight appearance last year, Duke's historic run continues Monday night against another Southeastern Conference team, Arkansas. The Blue Devils postgame celebration revealed their joy, but Erickson served notice that they don't plan to sit back and reflect on what they've done just yet.
"We are not done yet," said Erickson when asked if Saturday was her happiest basketball moment. "I'll let you know later. We have a few more games left in us."
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