Ironically enough, the key for No. 3 Duke to rebound from its first ACC loss of the year against Boston College Monday at 7 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium might be winning the battle of the boards.
Until their loss in Tallahassee Thursday, the Blue Devils (17-2, 5-1 in the ACC) had dominated inside, outrebounding their opponents by an average of 9.1 rebounds per game. In taking first place in the ACC, though, the Seminoles bullied Duke down low and secured seven more rebounds than their opponent. Duke's weakness in the paint led to multiple second chances for Florida State, which forced overtime with less than a minute left in the game.
Duke will look to improve on its rebounding effort against the Eagles (17-4, 5-1) if it hopes to avoid sliding farther.
"It was very disappointing to be outrebounded," head coach Joanne P. McCallie said Thursday. "That's a key component, and perhaps when coaches talk about defense and rebounding, there's a bit of truth there."
It won't get any easier Monday, though, as Boston College comes to Cameron boasting the league's second-best rebounding margin and one of the top post players.
6-foot-6 center Carolyn Swords leads the Eagles' inside game, averaging 15.1 points and 9.0 rebounds. The numbers are good for seventh and fourth in the ACC, respectively. Duke senior Chante Black, who struggled down the stretch in the Florida State contest, will need to bounce back in order to shut down the Eagles' sophomore.
Junior guard Mickel Picco leads Boston College in scoring, providing a perimeter counterpunch to Swords. She could be the difference maker against Duke, whose struggles against the Seminoles were not limited to their forwards.
"I think they outplayed us, particularly in the backcourt," said McCallie, referring to the Seminoles' starting guards.
It doesn't help the Blue Devils that Picco is on fire of late, coming off of a 22-point performance in her last outing, a 62-51 win over N.C. State.
And the stakes tonight are just as high as they were Thursday. Both teams have just one loss in league play, and the winner of Monday's game will take sole possession of second.
As the Blue Devils discovered after scoring 75 points in their loss, scoring a lot of points may not be enough.
"We are going to have to be a team that plays defense and rebounds," McCallie said. "That's what we have been up until this point, and that's what we are going to need to be."
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