With the regular season ACC title already in hand, the women's basketball team (22-3, 13-1 in th ACC) will look to celebrate the occasion with a league victory on Senior Night against Clemson, as Alana Beard, Vicki Krapohl and Iciss Tillis will be playing in the final regular season home game of their college careers.
The Blue Devils clinched their fourth-consecutive conference title with a 13-point win at Maryland Sunday afternoon. That win means their performance Friday will have no bearing on the conference standings.
Despite this, assistant coach Georgia Schweitzer does not believe Duke will put forth a lackluster effort against the Lady Tigers (17-8, 6-7).
"We already know we have it wrapped up," the third-year assistant coach and former Duke All-American said. "With it being Senior Night, I think we are really going to have a lot of emotion. And also, [the chance of] finishing another conference season undefeated on our home floor will get us going."
Clemson is coming off a dominating victory at Wake Forest, as the Tigers were led by center Khaili Sanders' 12 points and 12 rebounds for the visiting team.
The Lady Tigers depend on versatile forward Lakeia Stokes for the bulk of their offense. The star is averaging 16.9 points and 7.2 rebounds a game for the season. She also added an 18-point game against the Blue Devils in limited playing time in the first battle between these two teams.
"She's a versatile player who can score in different ways," Schweitzer said. "They post her up, she can shoot the three, and she can take you off the dribble to the basket." In the first meeting, Clemson was outplayed from the start, and trailed Duke by nine at the half. When the Tigers were able to cut the Duke lead to six early in the second half, the powerful Blue Devils promptly responded with a 15-0 run and never looked back. Beard led the team with a game-high 26 points. Beard and the other two honorees of senior night have helped Duke tally some impressive numbers over the past four years. With these players, the Blue Devils have gone 118-13, with a 58-4 record in ACC tilts. They have also been a part of two Final Four appearances. Friday night's contest is anything but a meaningless end of the season game to this trio. The game represents their last time to shine in front of the Cameron crowd in a regular season match up. "I am going to miss playing in this atmosphere," Tillis said. "When I come back to visit Duke years from now, and I come to watch other teams play, I'll remember playing in this gym. I'll remember what it is like." Beard sees Senior Night as just another game. However, the All-American guard truly understands how the program has evolved from her days as a freshman to today. "It has been great to see this program grow," Beard said. "When I came in there would be empty seats all over the place. It wasn't frustrating because I played because I love the game, but I remember our first sellout crowd my freshman year December 27th when we played Iowa State and that was the best feeling ever." Head coach Gail Goestenkors will have her hands full next year without the trio. "I think they have set the standard for all of the other classes that is who we are at Duke women's basketball," Goestenkors said. "We will play hard, we will play smart, we will play with class, play with integrity and we will win." Beard has earned many honors throughout her career. The senior night hoopla, along with all of the other awards she has received, still has not skewed the bigger picture for Beard. "All of those awards, all of those accolades, they mean nothing if youdon't have a national championship," she said.
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