RALEIGH -- Duke advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 66-48 victory over Georgia State Sunday, a win that set a school season record for wins with 32, surpassing last year's 31 victories.
Alana Beard, who led Duke against a hungry Georgia State team (20-11) with 19 points, scored the Blue Devils' first five points, including her jumper at the 16:46 mark that put Duke up 5-4, a lead it never relinquished.
Duke's largest lead of the first half was 10, but the Blue Devils struggled to gain any significant control of the game until the latter part of the second half. Their greatest lead of the day came after Jessica Foley sank two free throws with 1:12 left in the second half, to put her team up 66-45.
Two crucial plays set up the victory for Duke, who struggled early.
With 3:56 left in the game, Lindsey Harding stripped the ball from Georgia State's Patechia Hartman, drove down the court and drew a foul while making her layup. Her three-point play gave No. 1 seed Duke (32-1) a 59-43 lead and eliminated any hope of a Lady Panther comeback.
Just 19 seconds earlier, Iciss Tillis recorded a steal and made a layup to put the Blue Devils up by 13.
Head coach Gail Goestenkors was upset that her team started out so tentative, especially on the defensive end of the court.
"I was really upset with the way we were playing," she said. "Defensively, we were rushing things. Offensively, not patient, not executing. I told the players they don't have anything to worry about or be afraid of, except that they don't give their best effort.... I felt we did a much better job in the second half, just attacking more. We had that attacking mindset that I think you need this time of year, on both ends of the floor."
Duke also struggled at times in the second half finding the basket from inside. At the 10:56 mark, Sheana Mosch missed a jumper, followed by a no-good shot by Mistie Bass, an errant layup by Tillis and another two missed layups by Bass.
Foley finally got the offensive rebound and put the ball in the hoop. Duke gained additional momentum two minutes later when Vicki Krapohl, who had missed her first four long-range attempts, sank a three to give her team a 48-37 lead.
The Blue Devils were coming off a 13-day break since the ACC Tournament, and expected its offense to start off a bit rusty. They were, however, surprised by their initial sub-par defensive performance, something they normally pride themselves on.
The Blue Devils responded eight minutes into the second half with an unanswered 8-0 run that lasted nearly five minutes.
Keeping Duke on its heels the entire game, the lower-ranked squad proved to be the toughest No. 16 seed in the tournament, as the Big Dance's other No. 1 seeds, Tennessee, Connecticut and LSU won by a combined 135 points.
"Sometimes a tape doesn't reveal how a team really plays," Beard said. "But they were pretty good on tape and they've been in this position three years in a row, so we didn't expect anything less."
The Lady Panthers were surprised to be playing Duke in the first round and felt that they should have received a higher ranking in the NCAA Tournament.
Goestenkors expressed similar sentiments and was impressed at the high level of play by her opponents.
"I give a lot of credit to Georgia State. They were not a 16th seed," she said. "They do a great job, they're very athletic, very well coached, they execute well and do a good job on defense. I knew that it was going to be a tough game for us."
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"I wasn't really shocked because they are a good team," Tillis said.
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