Williams anchors Duke frontcourt

AUSTIN, Texas - Without Mistie Williams in the game, Duke had trouble exploiting its size advantage in the post. Without the senior forward, the Blue Devils had difficulty even rivaling the presence of Texas' athletic frontline.

For all of Duke's depth in the post, Sunday's win against the Longhorns displayed deficiencies in both the team's offensive and defensive approaches. Texas' starting frontcourt of Earnesia Williams and Tiffany Jackson showed the havoc that a pair of quick, if undersized, post players can cause the Blue Devil defense.

Jackson may have single-handedly ended Duke's thoughts of pressing on Texas' first possession. The junior forward, who was left unguarded by the Blue Devils' press, dribbled the length of the court and buried a short pull-up jumper in the middle of the lane.

Knowing that neither Mistie Williams nor junior Alison Bales would be able to contain the athletic Texas forward in a full-court defense, Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors soon abandoned the press, which had been so effective early this season.

"They just were sprinting the floor," Goestenkors said. "We've got nice size, but we weren't sprinting with them. Their athleticism was tough for us throughout the game. I thought they did a real nice job of running the floor."

Even in the half court, however, Jackson and Earnesia Williams pestered Duke's defense. The duo combined for 24 points and four assists and often caused the Blue Devil defense to collapse as they drove the lane against the slower Duke defenders. This left shooters like Erika Arriaran, who finished with 16 points, open on the wing. Goestenkors even tried playing Laura Kurz at a post position to match the Longhorns' speed, but the perimeter threat often looked lost in the flow of the offense.

"They were smaller in the post, but they were also a lot faster," Goestenkors said. "We were trying to take advantage of it on the offensive end, but we didn't do a good job of that. We did initially but when Mistie had to go to the bench with two fouls, we didn't take advantage of it on our end, but I thought they took advantage on their end."

The main reason Duke could not capitalize off its size advantage in the first half is that Williams stands alone as Duke's only post threat who can score with her back to the basket. Freshman Carrem Gay and sophomore Chante Black provide decent athleticism, and junior Alison Bales has shown a soft shooting touch, but when Williams was not in the game the Blue Devils struggled to score inside consistently.