RALEIGH - It was one of those games where you just had to be there.
In a game as statistically even as two teams could play, the numbers give no hints as to the reason behind the 67-62 victory for the women's basketball team Sunday. But for those in attendance there was little doubt what the big difference was between these two teams.
N.C. State head coach Kay Yow called it game experience, Duke coach Gail Goestenkors called it composure and point guard Hilary Howard called it mental toughness. They were all talking about the same thing. The Blue Devils just got the job done because they knew they could and because they knew they should.
They didn't play perfect, they played savvy, just like a seven-senior team should. And in the final five minutes of the game, the Wolfpack could do nothing more than stand around and watch the hottest team in the ACC get hotter as it notched its 10th straight victory.
"Our mental toughness has definitely been there the last month or so," Howard said. "This team has really been able to stay composed down the stretch. That's something we've been emphasizing...and it comes from a lot of things [like] the seniors and the way we're coached."
For N.C. State, it was a stretch run that it hopes will be quickly forgotten. After a three-point play by senior Payton Black sent Wolfpack leading scorer Summer Erb to the bench with her fourth foul with 12:39 still to play, Duke quickly took control of the paint. Three Blue Devil offensive rebounds and six points by Michele VanGorp pushed Duke in front during a period Goestenkors realized was the turning point in the game.
"That was the biggest play of the game," said Goestenkors, who has won just twice in Reynolds Coliseum. "Payton came off of the bench, made that play and gave us a lift. Then we were able to go on from there."
Even with Erb back in the lineup five minutes later, the Wolfpack was unable to find an answer to the Blue Devil defense. Tynesha Lewis, who led both teams with 20 points, put up just a single basket over the final 10 minutes of the game. N.C. State also committed three turnovers in the final two minutes, literally throwing away its chances for a late-game comeback.
It was symptomatic of the problems N.C. State had all game long. Despite playing well during much of the game, the Wolfpack flopped at key moments. The wrong plays, the wrong time, the wrong side of the final score.
"It's not that we played poorly and turned the ball over a lot," said Yow, who ranks fifth among active coaches in wins. "The turnovers we had just came at bad times."
For the second straight conference game, the Blue Devils have found themselves tested in the final stretch, and for the second straight game found their salvation from the bench. In a season where injuries have been the rule and not the exception, Goestenkors has again found what is perhaps the most talented bench in the league.
Freshman Krista Gingrich led the Duke reserves with 12 points, including a pair of key buckets back-to-back to effectively finish off N.C. State. Eight Duke players logged over 12 minutes.
"This was a confidence-building game," Goestenkors said. "It was a great game...and a real credit to the bench. They won the game for us."
Off to its best conference start in school history, Duke will next face North Carolina in an attempt to complete an undefeated run through the first half of the ACC slate. And as far as Kay Yow can see, there is a chance to meet an undefeated Blue Devil squad again.
"This is a team everybody thought should have made the Final Four last year," she said. "They could have gone, and they're returning everyone. They have a shot at a lot this year. They're just a really strong team."
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