In its first game since a 75-60 loss to North Carolina last Monday, No. 4 Duke looked to defend its home court Friday. And in forcing 26 turnovers, the Blue Devils did just that.
Duke scored the game's first basket, led for the entire 40 minutes and outrebounded the Lady Tigers 50-31 on the night.
Despite the proficiency in other areas of the game, though, it was the Blue Devils' full-court press that disrupted Clemson's game the most.
Duke showcased its defensive pressure in the first half, especially. For the 11th time this season, Duke held an opponent to 22 points or fewer in the first half-the Lady Tigers scored just 19 points and committed 16 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
Quite simply, the Blue Devils' press was overwhelming.
"We were just back on our heels, not attacking," said Clemson head coach Cristy McKinney, who appeared particularly distressed after the game. "We invited them to come and get us a couple of times instead of moving the ball. We were just so tentative, it was like, 'Oh man, they are really going to come after us.' And no, I knew that they were going to come after us. To me, that is one thing that Duke does-they play hard."
Head coach Joanne P. McCallie, sometimes her own team's fiercest critic, was impressed by the way Duke rebounded from a particularly tough loss. And to her, that implied maintaining intensity on defense despite a large lead throughout.
"You just try to play aggressive, excited and hungry in every minute, regardless of the scoreboard," McCallie said. "I mean it's got to be a 'no scoreboard' mentality anytime you play, whether it's a close game or not a close game. That's just something we all preach, and we're just trying to get better at playing every minute and making sure we're not satisfied. Like tonight, the score was in our favor a lot, but the reality is that there are things we needed to work on, and the team really answered the bell."
Senior guard Abby Waner led the team on the perimeter with five steals, while Krystal Thomas protected the rim with three blocks to go along with her nine rebounds.
And although Duke hardly seemed to need the help, the pep band and the Cameron Crazies provided some assistance of their own on the defensive end of the court.
With just less than nine minutes to play in the first half, the band counted down from 10 as the shot clock winded down. Clemson forced up a shot as the crowed yelled zero-only there were still eight seconds left on the shot clock, to the Lady Tigers' dismay.
The way Duke played the rest of the night, an assist from the crowd was just an added bonus.
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