CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Playing in the same building in which the men were upset a night earlier, Duke's women pulled off a 76-61 victory against Virginia in John Paul Jones Arena Friday.
While the myriad of display screens surrounding the brand new court flashed synchronized flames and encouraging graphics, the No. 1 Blue Devils (23-0, 8-0 in the ACC) quietly pushed their all-time best start to 23 undefeated games.
"It was not one of our prettiest games by any stretch of the imagination," head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "But any win in the ACC, especially on the road, is a good win."
Although Duke only trailed once-when Virginia scored the first basket of the game-the Cavaliers (12-10, 2-6) hung around all night, never falling behind by more than 17 points.
For the second game in a row the Blue Devils failed to run away from an unranked opponent-they won 75-65 against Virginia Tech Monday.
An 11-4 run over three minutes pulled Virginia within seven points, 63-56, with 3:57 remaining on the clock and offered a small scare to the Blue Devils. The effort, however, was short-lived.
Duke silenced the Cavaliers with a succession of layups from Lindsey Harding, Abby Waner and Wanisha Smith that pushed its lead to 69-56. Duke then sunk five of six free throws down the stretch to complete its win.
"I was most proud of the way we closed the game," Goestenkors said. "The way we ended the game was the way we wanted to play for 40 minutes."
Before Virginia's run, both teams wallowed through a 2:25 scoring drought-the longest of a string of scoring shortages that were indicative of the sometimes-sloppy play Friday. Both teams had more turnovers than assists and each scored just two fast break points.
Although the Blue Devils shot 50 percent from the floor, they allowed the Cavaliers to make 44.6 percent of their attempts. Entering the game, Duke was ranked second nationally with an average defensive field goal percentage of 31.6.
Cavalier sophomore Lyndra Littles torched Duke for a career-high 28 points on the night while Harding responded with 21 of her own.
"We did not defend [Littles] at all," Goestenkors said. "She had a fantastic night."
Given Virginia's losses to Connecticut, North Carolina and Maryland by more than 25 points each, Duke's performance Friday continued a recent trend of lackluster performances against unranked teams.
"Every team goes through ups and downs through the course of a season," Goestenkors said. "It's pretty exciting when you know you're not on top of your game, yet you're still able to win."
A matchup at No. 2 UNC Wednesday, however, will test the Blue Devils' mettle for the first time since defeating third-ranked Tennessee Jan. 22.
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