Editorial: A fond farewell

It wasn't supposed to end like this. Six months ago, the women's basketball team was ranked tops in the country and was the odds-on favorite to win the national championship. Nearly all of the previous year's players were returning, and they were joined by the nation's best freshman class.

Together, they represented the culmination of years spent building Duke's women's program into a national contender on the level of perennial favorites Connecticut and Tennessee. Their teams seemed destined for rebuilding years, setting the stage for Duke's team to enter into national preeminence.

And so it was with heavy hearts that the Blue Devils walked off the court in Atlanta Sunday after losing a game they very easily could have won; their seeming inability to pull away from opponents in close NCAA Tournament games had finally caught up with them. The loss set up a championship game that will feature, of all teams, Connecticut and Tennessee, and the Duke players will have to wait at least another year before challenging women's basketball's dynasties.

Still, Duke women's basketball has already made it. The Blue Devils dominated opponents all season and won their fourth-straight conference title - their only loss coming to Connecticut in a game that showed resolve and heart on the part of Duke players when they nearly came back from a daunting Connecticut halftime lead. That game was also the first-ever sell-out for women's basketball in Cameron Indoor Stadium, and if the attendance at other games is any sign, local support for the team is growing. At the same time, head coach Gail Goestenkors and her players have represented their university with class, integrity and selflessness. They carry themselves in a manner that should make students, faculty and staff proud, and that should be a model for other revenue athletes. Women's basketball has become an integral part of the Duke community, and the team does not need a national championship banner or trophy to demonstrate how far it has come.

The program is still young, and its infancy is likely a major reason why the team does not draw the same support as the sport's dynasties. Yet its success on the court and the admirable way in which it represents the University make the women's team both fun and very likable - and worthy of the University community's support. Goestenkors has worked tirelessly over her 11 years as head coach to build the women's basketball program, and one can only watch and wait, with optimism and excitement, to see what she can accomplish in the years to come.