Duke 62-54, END OF GAME: And that's a wrap. Duke misses 7-of-12 free throws in the final minute but gets enough rebounds to prevent Tennessee from getting back in the game. Back with postgame later.
Duke 56-50, SECOND HALF, 1:05 remaining: The Blue Devils can't keep giving the Vols opportunities to come back. Cheek missed two free throws that could have given the Devils a double-digit lead and now Bass knocks down two of her own to keep Tennessee in striking distance. But the Lady Vols haven't hit open jumpers all day. Let's see if Duke keeps bailing them out by fouling.
Duke 56-48, SECOND HALF, 1:31 remaining: This looks more like the Duke team that came on fire late against USC than the one that forgot how play defense against the Seminoles. Thomas knocked down two huge free throws and Cheek knocked down a lay-up to put the team comfortably ahead. On the other end, Duke is forcing Tennessee to make its free throws, and the Lady Vols, namely Cain, have not performed.
Duke 52-47, SECOND HALF, 2:31 remaining: Oh, how quickly things change. The Blue Devils are now mired in a scoring slump of their own as Tennessee has scored seven consecutive points in about two and a half minutes.Duke has struggled to put teams away on the road (see: Florida State) so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Duke 52-42, SECOND HALF, 3:47 remaining: A quick spurt has Tennessee in good position not to set a school record for least points ever scored (the record is 46 points in 1982) but the Lady Vols are still trailing by 10. Black is also showing why her jersey hangs in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in downtown Knoxville as she just made a reverse lay-up.
And now, tiny basketballs for all the fans here. Seriously, you could get a pretty nice haul out of all the free stuff the cheerleaders throw into the crowd during timeouts.
Duke 44-32, SECOND HALF, 7:46 remaining: The Blue Devils opened up a 16-point lead on a 16-0 run but you can't expect the Lady Vols to go away without a fight. Kelley Cain hit a lay-up to end an eight-minute scoring drought for Tennessee, but is it too late?
And the most recent halftime promotion: Little Chick-Fil-A cows are being descended on parachutes for the fans. This is insane.
Duke 40-28, SECOND HALF, 11:48 remaining: Another 10-0 run for the Blue Devils, this time spearheaded by Black and Jackson. Waner has done a good job of finding her teammates in the paint, especially in transition. On this last play, she lobbed it into Black, who hit the lay-up and goes to the line to complete a three-point play. (For the record, she missed the free throw on her last three-point play attempt.)
Also of note is that Duke has stopped taking long jumpers this half. The Blue Devils have only attempted two 3-pointers since the break, which definitely works to their advantage. Tennessee has been settling for jumpers, but to no avail as they are shooting a paltry 25.6 percent.
Duke 32-28, SECOND HALF, 15:38 remaining: Abby Waner has gotten a couple of steals to lead to four-and maybe five-easy fast-break points for the Blue Devils as Chante Black heads to the line to complete a three-point play. Thomas committed her fifth turnover of the game on the team's first second-half possession, which could explain why point guard duties have shifted to Waner.
The Blue Devils are back to attacking the glass, most notably grabbing four offensive rebounds on one possession, even though it didn't result in any points.
Duke 28-23, END OF FIRST HALF: That was a mighty sloppy finish to the period for both teams, as neither of them has been able to take care of the ball as the pace speeds up. Duke has 14 turnovers to Tennessee's 13. Abby Waner hit an open jumper to give the Blue Devils a five-point advantage heading into the break, but the senior's been shooting the ball with such frequency you'd think it was 2007 again. She is 2-of-7 an 0-for-3 from beyond the arc.
Thomas has been lighting it up for Duke and has shown no lingering effects from hobbling off the floor early in the half. She has connected on 5-of-7 shots and leads all scorers with 13 to help compensate for her four turnovers. The Blue Devils' rebounding edge has dwindled but they're leading because they're shooting 10 percentage points better than Tennessee (41-31).
Duke 20-16, FIRST HALF, 3:51 remaining: The Blue Devils had pulled ahead by 10, but Tennessee has closed the gap and had a chance to make it a one-possession game on a missed free throw by Brewer. Duke is settling for jumpers as it is being called for an offensive foul seemingly every time it enters the lane. The Blue Devils have held their own on the boards and hold a 19-12 edge as Joy Cheek heads to the line to shoot two.
In other news, you really get your money's worth here at Thompson-Boling. They've had a promotion during every single timeout and have even given out free whole Domino's pizzas.
Duke 16-8, FIRST HALF, 7:27 remaining: A couple of interesting matchups to watch: When Bass is in the game, the Blue Devils have been attacking her, as Bridgette Mitchell drove to the rim easily and scored two while being defended by the freshman guard. Also, freshman Alyssia Brewer has come off the bench and brought some needed size for the Lady Vols. Chante Black hasn't scored in nearly eight minutes.
Duke 12-6, FIRST HALF, 11:42 remaining: Duke had finally quieted the crowd with a quick 8-0 run, as Keturah Jackson frustrated the Lady Vols with her ball pressure and collected two steals. But 5-foot-2 guard Briana Bass-the Lady Vols' new Shannon Bobbitt?-brought some life back with a 3-pointer and the Vols drew a charge on Karima Christmas on a flop if I've ever seen one.
Meanwhile, the stadium is erupting as the Tenn. football coaching staff is introduced. Didn't realize how old Monte Kiffin was.
Duke 8-3, FIRST HALF, 14:57 remaining: The Blue Devils just got another easy basket inside from Chante Black, but on the ensuing possession, Jasmine Thomas fell to the floor after collecting a steal and had some difficulty getting up. She's come out of the game and was putting all of her weight on her left foot.
Duke 6-3, FIRST HALF, 15:19 remaining: It's easy to see why they call Knoxville the mecca of women's basketball as the crowd here hasn't stopped clapping for the first four-plus minutes. They haven't had much to cheer for, though, as the Blue Devils are scoring pretty easily in the paint. Duke has to do a better job of taking care of the ball as it already has committed four turnovers.
MORE PREGAME: The Lady Vols are entering to "Let it Rock" as the stadium is blacked out and fireworks spark from above each basket. We've got orange lights flashing and smoke is emanating from the players' entrance. Tennessee also has the coolest scoreboard I have ever seen as it is about twice the size of the new Cameron jumbotron. It's still smoky in here as the lights come back on.
PREGAME: We're here at the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn. where fans have been lining up since 5:30 for the 7:30 tip-off. Needless to say, "the Summitt" is packed and pink, as each fan has been given a free "Live Pink, Bleed Orange" T-shirt in honor of the late NC State head coach Kay Yow. Duke is also donning blue and pink uniforms for the first time in program history.
This stadium is up and cheering for the introduction of the starting lineups as the No. 8 Blue Devils take on the No. 15 Lady Vols.
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