FRESNO, Calif. – No. 2 seeded Duke will play in its third consecutive NCAA Regional Final tonight, in search of an upset over Stanford to reach the Final Four for the first time since 2006 and in McCallie’s tenure as head coach.
Duke (27-5) is fresh off a dominant 74-47 victory over St. John’s in the Sweet 16 and hopes to ride the momentum to a victory over the Cardinal (34-1) at Save Mart Center, though ultimately the team prides itself in is its development over the course of the year.
“It’s important to grow through the season as much as possible, win or lose, it is a process, I believe in that, and I think we have done well all year,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “I think we are getting back at it and each person is getting better, and that is what connects the dots with a little more excitement.”
Top-seeded Stanford will be a difficult matchup for the Blue Devils, with star senior Nnemkadi Ogwumike leading the team in front of a California crowd that will be cheering on the home team.
Ogwumike notched 39 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday night’s 76-60 win against South Carolina, and she is averaging 21.8 points and 10.3 rebounds for the season. Her sophomore sister Chiney has been instrumental to the Cardinal as well, averaging 15.6 points and 10.1 rebounds.
Despite the duo and its nightly double-doubles posing difficult challenges to a Duke team boasting only eight scholarship players on its active roster, the Blue Devils have their own weapons to fight with.
They came out hitting 57.6 percent from the field in their first three tournament games, the highest of all teams so far, and all five starters—Tricia Liston, Haley Peters, Chelsea Gray, Shay Selby and Elizabeth Williams—are averaging double-digit points.
Although the offense is finally coming together in the tournament, the team has worked throughout the year to become a cohesive group.
“I just felt that our togetherness was a little better starting from the first round, and we’ve just been feeding off of each other really well, and it’s been showing on the court,” Gray said. “We’re closer than we’ve ever been right now, so that’s really good for us.”
The adversity the team has gone through has united the tight-knit group, and Duke’s outlook has only been on the upturn since its first game in Nashville, Tenn. Especially since its first-round ACC tournament loss to N.C. State, the Blue Devils have emerged into a team that can defend well, create shot opportunities and make baskets, rising to the occasion against big opponents.
“I hate to say it, but the loss to N.C. State really made something click in all of us and just kind of make us realize that these games aren’t guaranteed when it comes to tournament time [because] everyone’s playing their best basketball,” Selby said. “This is our last go around, this is it, it’s our big chance to win and go to the Final Four.”
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