If there was ever a game to avenge a loss, it was Saturday's women's basketball game versus Georgia Tech.
After losing to Florida State last Wednesday, in a game that capped off a period of Duke not playing like the No. 2 team in the nation, the Blue Devils needed to reevaluate each player's role, according to head coach Gail Goestenkors.
"We all just needed to take a good long look in the mirror," Goestenkors said. "We all needed to grow up and take responsibility for what was going on on the court... We just talked about what each individual needed to do for us to be successful and go to another level."
It was distribution of labor in a way, with each player stepping up in her own way--a big way. Without Iciss Tillis, who suffered a concussion in last Sunday's game against Clemson, the Blue Devils were forced to delegate responsibility and, with four players scoring in double digits, the team certainly did so.
In her first game ever leading the team in scoring, senior Vicki Krapohl dominated in the three-point territory with six crisp shots for her 18 points.
The strong shooting continued with Alana Beard's 15 points, Brittany Hunter's 14, and Jessica Foley's 11.
With Krapohl controlling the three-point range, Hunter dominated inside scoring, also leading the team in rebounds with nine. Despite finishing the first half with no points, Monique Currie led the team with 11 assists at the half, one short of the record that she tied in the second half with an assist to Foley for one of the Australian native's three three-point shots.
While Duke did cool down in the second half, its initial strength was enough to silence any possible effort that Georgia Tech could muster up.
"They came out, obviously, off that loss against FSU with a lot more intensity and a lot more passion," Georgia Tech head coach MaChelle Joseph said. "It seemed like we were on our heels in the first half and not on our toes; we weren't aggressive in the first half."
Unfortunately for Georgia Tech, Duke came out with a passion and drive that could not be matched by the Yellow Jackets, or most teams in the nation for that matter. Duke's intensity was so strong that it would have made a huge difference in an evenly matched game. However, add a lopsided talent pool, and Duke came out with a 40-point win.
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