Less than a week after blowing out No. 2 Tennessee, the top-ranked women's basketball team (5-0) struggled at the Paradise Jam in St. John in the United States Virgin Islands.
Although the Blue Devils defeated Hampton (1-3), Old Dominion (1-3) and No. 17 Arkansas (4-1) during the tournament, Duke were less than dominating against the Lady Monarchs and needed overtime to dispatch the Lady Razorbacks.
"We didn't play like the No. 1 team," junior Iciss Tillis said after the second game. "Even though we are the No. 1 team, we have to come out every single game and play like it. For some reason... we just haven't had our eggs in one basket."
Junior Alana Beard, who set a new Paradise Jam record with 70 points over the three games, joined Tillis on the All-Tournament team and was named MVP. As a team, Duke played strong defense, stealing the ball 33 times and blocking nine shots over the course of the tournament.
No. 1 Duke 74, No. 17 Arkansas 72 (OT)
Beard missed the front end of a one-and-one at the end of regulation to force overtime, but the All-American sunk two free throws with one second left in the extra session to give Duke a 74-72 victory over No. 17 Arkansas Saturday.
"I have been struggling with my free throws," said Beard, who finished with 27 points. "That is something that I need to work on. I have been working on them since I have been here."
Duke fell behind early, as the Lady Razorbacks took a 25-16 lead on a Dana Cherry layup with six minutes remaining in the first half. The Blue Devils, however, cut the deficit to two by ending the first half with a Tillis three-point play followed by four consecutive points from freshman center Mistie Bass, who finished with 13.
Arkansas held a small lead for most of the second half, and Duke took back the lead for the first time
The Lady Razorbacks, however, surged back and regained the lead. The Blue Devils did not lead again until Matyasovsky stole the ball from Lakisha Harper and drained a jump shot.
"We learned a lot about ourselves," Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "We got down and did not panic. We never lost our poise."
A pair of free throws by Sarah Pfeifer and a layup by Shameka Christon gave Arkansas a 61-59 lead, before Bass sank a layup with 2:22 remaining in regulation. Neither team scored again in regulation.
Overtime went back and forth before India Lewis, who finished with 16 for Arkansas, hit a pair of free throws to tie the game with seven seconds remaining.
Beard was then fouled with one second remaining and made free throws to give Duke the victory.
"They are just a great team, very versatile and [they] have great athletes," Matyasovsky said. "It was a good test for us and it gets our confidence up to know we can win in overtime. We need games like that. It is better than killing a team, as we can learn what we need to work on."
The Blue Devils rebounded from 32 percent shooting in the first half to shoot close to 50 percent in the second and 5-for-9 in overtime.
"I think this was a good game for both teams," Beard said. "We need to be put in these situations, as this was the first time [we played] in this situation. As Coach G said, we didn't panic at all. We played with a lot of poise out there. We made a lot of mistakes, but overall we played some good basketball."
Duke 65, Old Dominion 52
Duke scored 33 points off the Lady Monarchs' 28 turnovers, as the Blue Devils cruised to a 65-52 victory Friday night.
Beard paced the team with 28 points and Tillis added 14 points and 11 rebounds in the first of her two double-doubles in the Paradise Jam. Nevertheless, the Blue Devils were less than pleased with their victory.
"I was not happy with our overall effort and feel like we didn't show a lot of poise against their pressure," Goestenkors said. "Again, we have a good bit to work on. [Old Dominion] did a great job on the boards. We need to do a better job rebounding the basketball and just show a lot more poise and patience on the offensive end of the floor."
Duke was out-rebounded 39-34 and hit less than 37 percent of its shots on the night.
Okeisha Howard led the Lady Monarchs with 16 points and Monique Coker registered a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
"It was a win," Beard said. "We have to be thankful for a win. We still haven't played up to our level. I just think we need to put the little things together and as a team, I think we are going to do that. I have the confidence in my teammates that we will put everything together."
Duke 71, Hampton 34
Thursday, Hampton had to be thankful every time it got the ball across halfcourt.
The Lady Pirates turned the ball over more frequently than they scored as the Blue Devils rolled to a 71-34 victory.
Hampton, with 31 turnovers and a 23.3 shooting percentage, fell far behind Duke early and never challenged. The Blue Devils, however, were not impressed with their own performance.
"We didn't play well tonight," said Tillis, who scored 14. "People just look at the score and think if you beat someone by this margin of points you played well. But that is not the case. We are a great team and being No. 1 comes with responsibility. Our coach told us that we didn't play up to the level of play we are used to playing. Even though if we would have beat them by 80, the performance we had on the court was completely unacceptable for our team."
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