TALLAHASSEE - In the season's opening two weeks, the mighty Blue Devils marched confidently into places like Albuquerque, University Park, Penn. and Chestnut Hill, Mass., and each time they walked away with easy victories over highly ranked teams. Monday, for the second time in as many ACC road games, the conference heavyweights quickly learned that life away from home in the ACC is no cakewalk.
Much like it did a few weeks ago in the conference opener against Clemson, Duke (14-1, 2-1 in the ACC) opened up slowly and out of sync against Florida State (l0-3, 2-1). In an abysmal opening three minutes of play, Duke committed three careless turnovers, including a 30-second shot clock violation, and allowed the Seminoles to score on five of their first six possessions. Unlike the shocking 18-point loss to Clemson, however, the Blue Devils recovered for a 73-60 victory Monday night, despite creating a nine-point hole to crawl out of when FSU guard April Traylor sank an uncontested three-pointer at the 16:53 mark of the first half.
"Florida State is always a tough place to play," Duke captain Georgia Schweitzer said. "It seems like every time we come out here we struggle to start out with. We don't really have any good reasons for it."
Faced with a less-than-hostile 918-person crowd, a few junior varsity cheerleaders and a ragamuffin band, there was no apparent reason for Duke's struggle, other than the surprising talent of Florida State. Originally picked to finish eighth in the conference by the ACC media, the Seminoles entered Monday's contest as the only unbeaten team in ACC play following a surprise defeat of N.C. State. Its loss to the Blue Devils dropped Florida State back into a tie with Duke, N.C. State and Clemson for a share of the conference lead, but the entire
"We're just happy to come away with a win, this is always a difficult place to play," said Gail Goestenkors, who emerged victorious for the 15th straight game against the Seminoles. "Florida State's an excellent basketball team and we knew we'd be in for a battle."
It was a losing battle for the opening 16 minutes as Florida State controlled the first half before a late Duke surge tied the game heading into halftime.
Late in the half, Schweitzer lifted the Blue Devils out of the red for the first time. Adding a seemingly pedestrian nine points compared with the combined 42 of freshmen Alana Beard and Iciss Tillis, Schweitzer was "Old Reliable" for the Blue Devils in the opening half as she hit several clutch jumpers that prevented the Seminoles from pulling away. She played all 40 minutes and crashed the glass for eight rebounds, second only to Tillis' 11. Still, Schweitzer's heaviest blow to Florida State's morale came with 3:35 left in the first half, when she dropped a soft jumper-her final points of the night-through the bottom of the net that put Duke in front 25-24 and signaled to the Seminoles that the ACC tournament champs were at last ready to play.
In the second half, Schweitzer did not demand the ball on the offensive end as Beard and Tillis came to life and took over the game. After contributing only six points in the first 20 minutes, the freshmen duo alone outscored the Seminoles as they ran off 36 of Duke's 44 second-half points. Beard's game-high 23 points marked the fifth time this season that she has eclipsed the 20-point barrier.
"I was frustrated at halftime, but I felt I could get things started on the defensive side," said Beard, who shot a dismal 1-for-7 in the first half, including a handful of missed layups, an inside double-pump move that was rejected and an airballed three-point attempt from the corner that missed long by a couple feet.
Beard hit six of her nine attempts in the second half, finding the range on the slashing layups that proved so elusive in the first half. Once she came to life, the combination of her and Tillis sealed the fate of Florida State, which continued to be baffled by the matchup zone of Duke.
After shooting better than 50 percent in three of its last four games, Florida State barely eclipsed 30 percent as Duke clogged the middle and dared the Seminoles to break its zone from outside. Despite heaving 19 three-pointers, the Seminoles only connected once, when Traylor put Florida State up 11-2.
"Obviously we're disappointed..., but I'm proud of our effort; our team never quit and always believed," Florida State coach Sue Semrau said. "What I just told our team was this was an exceptional team that took us out of our game. They're not the fifth-ranked team in the country for nothing."
The Blue Devils again received a solid game from defensive stopper Rochelle Parent, who scored a career-high 12 points, added six rebounds and took her 23rd charge of the season. LaNedra Brown also chipped in four points off the bench in only four minutes of play. Brown showed off her athleticism with a twisting bucket off a nice post-up move that gave Duke its final two points of the first half.
Note: Krista Gingrich did not suit up for the game. Gingrich, who missed the first five games of the season with a tear in her left calf, will miss at least three more weeks after tearing her right calf last Wednesday. Gingrich averaged 1.8 points in nine games off the bench.
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