NORFOLK, Va. -- Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors told reporters a story at Monday's press conference about a time in the airport when Alana Beard threw away her gum, only for it to be retrieved by a young, and obviously devout, fan.
The face of women's basketball has risen to new heights, and on the road to the Final Four, two of its greatest products will collide when the Blue Devils (30-3) meet Minnesota (24-8) in Tuesday night's Mideast regional final. Duke and Minnesota have never met on the court, but the Big 10 power should not be underestimated. The Blue Devils own a 7-6 record against Big 10 teams, and the Golden Gophers share Virginia and Purdue as common opponents. Minnesota defeated UVa and fell to the Boilermakers.
In addition, the Golden Gophers' 24-8 record is misleading. Minnesota was running without its two-time All-American point guard Lindsay Whalen for five weeks while the 5-foot-9 guard was out due to a hand injury. But during those weeks, ironically, the Golden Gophers were able to come into their own and each player was forced to play at a higher level. In the end, Whalen's injury may have been for the best.
"I know people say things happen for a reason and I was waiting for five and a half weeks to figure out what what that reason was," head coach Pam Borton said. "I think everyone really stepped it up. Janel [McCarville] really came into herself... Everyone really had to step up and become a leader."
Not only did the team strengthen itself as a unit, but players like center Janel McCarville grew into tremendous tournament threats for opposing team. Duke's offense was pushed to the perimeter against Louisiana Tech Saturday night, but tonight it will have to face McCarville, who leads tournament play in defensive rebounds and blocked shots. In addition, against Boston College Saturday night, the 6-foot-2 center had her seventh straight double-double with 25 points and 15 boards and a defensive effort that kept BC's second-leading scorer Amber Jacobs to just one field goal.
"I remember playing her more than once," said Mistie Bass, Duke's forward and a Wisconsin neighbor of McCarville. "She's pretty much the same player. She's just sharpened up on a lot of her skills. I'm looking forward to playing against her again just on another level. I'm going to just play hard against her and do everything I can to help my team succeed."
Now that Whalen is back, the duo of Whalen-McCarville is proving to be a dominant force for Minnesota. Whalen alone is averaging 23 points per game and ranks first on the all-time Minnesota scoring list and sixth all-time in the Big 10. Paired with the inside bulk of McCarville, the two have taken their number seven seed to the Elite Eight.
"They play off each other; they know what each other are thinking," Borton said. "We have put in a system where the players can read each other and they do a great job of that. Sometimes, you can see Lindsay with three people on her and Janel is open somewhere. Lindsay finds her, somehow, and it works. They just know what the other's thinking."
"We're going to put different people on Lindsay," Duke's head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "We will probably start off with Alana [Beard] on her and just try to contain her. Lindsay does such a good job penetrating and every time she goes in, she always makes something good happen."
But the Blue Devils' experience and star-studded cast is not to be underestimated either. This will be Duke's third consecutive regional final which means it will both have the upperhand in knowing what it's like to play at that level and knowing what it's like to go home--a motivation which is, at least, equivilant to an underdog's desire to win.
"Whenever you have been in this situation it helps," said Beard, who has seen all three of those regional finals. "We have been in this situation and we are hungry. Like Minnesota, we know how it feels to be the underdog in the Sweet 16 and we have to make it to the Final Four. We know how it feels to go home from here... We got off the court [Sunday] and that's it, celebration's over and it's time to get down to business. We're here to win."
This is exactly what the oddsmakers and national media pundits expect: Duke to win. But that's of little consequence to the Golden Gophers.
"We are playing as underdogs," McCarville said. "Experience always helps. It helps people know what to do, lead, and it adds a sense of comfort. It is definitely not overrated."
With this knowledge and drive, the Blue Devils seem more mentally prepared and focused than ever before.
In addition to heart and experience, Duke gets the nod in raw talent.
McCarville is indisputably a huge offensive and defensive threat with her inside presence and agility. But the Blue Devils have depth in their bench to switch up defenders on McCarville. Brittany Hunter, when healthy, can put up double figures with her size and agility--the 6-foot-3 center scored 12 points in 13 minutes in her first game back and had 20 points and 10 rebounds in Duke's season finale against N.C.
State. Goestenkors also alluded to the possibility of putting Alison Bales into the lineup. The 6-foot-7 has been able to put up a number of blocked shots in the playing time she has received during the regular season.
Borton said in Monday's press conference that she doesn't think Duke is "going to throw anything at us that we haven't seen." And while Minnesota has faced tough offensive attacks during tournament and regular-season Big 10 play, it have not seen anything like Beard. With 26 honors in her senior year alone, including AP First Team All-American, ACC Player of the Year, and Naismith Finalist for Player of the Year, Beard's wide range abilities on the court from leadership to long-range shooting will be a problem for defender Shannon Bolden.
"She can hit the outside shot and we would rather have her do that then to penetrate," Bolden remarked. "Alana is really an athletic player. She can do it all' she's an all-around player."
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