ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - With just under nine minutes remaining in top-seeded Duke's game against second-seeded Texas Tech, the Blue Devils (35-1) had built a comfortable 46-38 lead and appeared to be well on their way to their second consecutive Final Four.
However, nothing has come easy for Duke in this year's NCAA Tournament, and Monday night's game was no exception. The Blue Devils had to endure a ferocious Lady Raider comeback before finally prevailing 57-51 in the finals of the Midwest Regional in Albuquerque, N.M.
In a span of over four minutes, Texas Tech (29-6) went on a 10-0 run - sparked largely by the play of senior forward Plenette Pierson and freshman guard Erin Grant - to erase the Blue Devil's advantage and take a 48-46 lead.
"Texas Tech is a great team and we expected them to make runs," said Duke guard Alana Beard, who finished with a game-high 28 points and was named the Midwest Regional Most Valuable Player. "We just had to stick with it and dig in and play awesome defense."
After finding itself down for the first time in the second half, Duke relied on clutch play from its two Player of the Year candidates and all Midwest Tournament Team members Beard and Iciss Tillis to put away the Lady Raiders.
Beard ended her team's scoring drought with two free throws to knot the game at 48. On the ensuing possession, though, Grant - the smallest player on the floor at 5-foot-8 - fought for an offensive rebound and was able to get putback inside over several taller Duke defenders to give Texas Tech a 50-48 edge with 4:05 remaining.
During the under-four minute media timeout, Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors designed a play for Beard in the post, with Tillis as the second option outside. Beard was covered, so Tillis, who had shot a dismal 2-for-12 from the field up to that point, fired up a contested shot from behind the arc that hit nothing but net.
"I was the second option for a three on that play," Tillis said. "I saw the shot and thought, 'I've had just about the worst night of my life, so what else can go wrong?' So I took it and it went in."
Beard then followed with a three-point play of her own. She ran a perfect give-and-go with Tillis and was fouled as she made her layup. She nailed her shot from the charity stripe, where she was 12-of-14 on the night.
"You have to give Duke a lot of credit because they made plays down the stretch when they had to," Texas Tech coach Marsha Sharp said. "Tillis knocked down that three and Beard got a three-point play. That's what great players do in those situations."
Duke's 57 points were enough to beat the Lady Raiders, but they were also the team's second-lowest total this season and part of a trend of offensive struggles in recent games. The Blue Devils shot just 38.7 percent in their six games prior to Monday night's contest, and their 36.5 percentage against the Lady Raiders only added to their woes.
Just like its previous game against Georgia, Duke started off slow from the field. Texas Tech kept the Blue Devils off the scoreboard until the 14:46 mark of the first half, and built a 10-3 lead with 12:04 to go in the opening stanza.
"We weren't in a good flow offensively," Goestenkors said. "We were rushing things early on, and everything was a struggle - We've been starting off slow but I know my team and I never doubted that we would win. I don't think the team doubted, either."
As inefficient as Duke's offense was at the start of the game, its defense kept the contest close. The Blue Devils used a combination of man-to-man, triangle-and-two, and zone defenses to rattle the Lady Raiders and prevent their prolific guard-forward combination of Jia Perkins and Pierson from running their normal offense.
Pierson was able to muscle her way for 17 points in the paint and grab 17 rebounds, but Perkins - who averaged 16.3 points per game during the season - was held to just two points on one-of-10 shooting.
"I thought we caused them some problems with our changing defenses," Goestenkors said. "Defense is what won the game for us tonight. I'm just so proud of my team to have dug in. It may not have been the prettiest game, but we did what we needed to do to come away with a win. And at this point in the season, that's what it's all about."
With the victory, Duke advances to meet Mideast Regional champion Tennessee next weekend in Atlanta in the Final Four. The win also extends the careers of Duke's two seniors, Michele Matysovsky and Sheana Mosch, for at least another game.
"Since the beginning of the NCAA tournament, I've believed in all my heart that I'd be playing six more games," Mosch said. "I told myself there's no way I'm going home. There's no way I'm going to let this slip away because I won't have another chance. This is what I've been dreaming about my whole life."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.