Duke headed to Texas looking for revenge against the team that knocked it out of the the 2008 NCAA Tournament, but instead left the Lone Star State with a similar outcome.
After breezing past Houston Baptist 104-35 in their season opener, the No. 6 Blue Devils were unable to maintain their momentum against Texas A&M, falling to the Aggies 95-77 Sunday at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas.
Texas A&M (1-0) jumped out to an early lead with a fast-break layup by Tanisha Smith just three seconds after tip-off. Duke responded soon after with a layup by senior Bridgette Mitchell. From there, the teams remained evenly matched until Danielle Adams sank a 3-pointer with 9:49 remaining in the first half to charge the Aggie offense.
The Blue Devils (1-1) went into halftime trailing by 10, but started the second half with an offensive run. Propelled by a steal from Keturah Jackson with 15:41 to go in the game, the Blue Devils outscored the Aggies 11-1 to cut the lead to three. However, Texas A&M quickly responded with 10 unanswered points.
“We worked hard defensively to get that little run going, and we made poor decisions when we got it within three,” said junior Jasmine Thomas, who led the team with a career-high 26 points and nine rebounds.
But the Blue Devils’ offense was one-dimensional and freshman Allison Vernerey was the only other player to score in double digits, posting 11 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
Nevertheless, Duke’s major struggle was its inability to stop the Aggies on the offensive end.
“You’re looking at five people in double figures for them,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “Our team defense did not perform. That was a problem.”
Three-pointers were a huge strength for Texas A&M, which connected on 9-of-15 shots from beyond the arc. The Aggies got a surprising spark from Adams, a center, who added 24 points—including three 3-pointers—in just 22 minutes of play.
“[Adams] is really unique,” McCallie said. “She was really her own kind of cat out there.”
Despite the loss, McCallie said that she was pleased with the team’s rebounding and physicality in the paint. Duke outrebounded Texas A&M 46-41 in the contest. The coach and the players emphasized, however, that the team will have to learn how to maintain its composure and execute at critical times as it moves on this season.
“They did everything that we expected them to do,” Thomas said. “We just didn’t outmatch them.”
The loss followed an impressive victory over the Huskies Friday. Despite winning by almost 70 points, Duke trailed 8-6 in the opening minutes after missing 8-of-11 shots.
“I think we definitely started out too fast,” senior Joy Cheek said. “I think what ignited them was us turning the ball over, so it is definitely something we can control at the beginning of the game.”
Cheek’s lay-up with 14:21 left in the first half propelled the Blue Devil offense to a 10-0 run.
From there, the team found its stride offensively and never looked back, going into halftime with a 41-14 lead. Duke had five players score in double figures, led by Mitchell with 18 points. Cheek added 16 points, while Alexis Rogers and Krystal Thomas chipped in 14 points apiece. Karima Christmas, a Houston native, contributed 10 points in front of her hometown crowd.
Despite the team’s dominance, it struggled with taking care of the ball, committing 23 turnovers against the Huskies, and was ineffective from outside the arc, going 1-for-12 from 3-point range. Both weaknesses played key roles in Duke’s loss to the Aggies, giving the Blue Devils something to work on as the year progresses.
“From every game you want to learn something,” Cheek said. “You want to win first, but then you want to learn.”
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