Offense clicks for Duke women's basketball, but turnovers continue to haunt

The Blue Devils struggled to hold onto the ball Thursday night, but when they did, they seemed to score almost at will.

When the Blue Devils edged out an all-too-narrow victory 70-63 against Wake Forest Sunday, it looked as if the departure of freshman guard Sierra Calhoun would take a significant toll on Duke’s offense for the rest of the season. Although Thursday night's 74-72 victory against Syracuse came by an even narrower margin, it was not because the Blue Devils had trouble scoring.

Duke drained 11-of-14 field goals in the game's first 10 minutes and had already tied its season-high with seven 3-pointers in a game—on just nine attempts— when the halftime buzzer sounded with the Blue Devils ahead, 45-37. Duke headed to the locker room shooting 61.5 percent from the floor.

“In the first 10 minutes, we were superb. We cut right through [the press] and did what we were supposed to do,” Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “But the bottom line is you have to execute throughout, and we did not do that.”

Duke’s dominance on the offensive half was undeniable when it was able to maintain possession, but the team was plagued by 25 turnovers that gave Syracuse several extra possessions and kept the Orange within reach all evening.

“We went up 15 [points] and relaxed, and that’s not what you do,” McCallie said. “If you go up 15, you put the pedal to the metal and you keep doing what got you there—we didn’t do that.”

Syracuse’s zone defense was no match for a versatile and accurate Blue Devil offensive attack. After two early triples, freshman forward Azura Stevens moved inside to join an unstoppable high-low post effort, combining her talents with senior center Elizabeth Williams as well as Duke’s other forwards. Getting the ball at the free-throw line, Williams scored on several opportunities or passed to a cutting teammate for one easy layup after another. Williams and Stevens combined for 28 points, and Duke outscored the Orange 30-16 in the paint.

To complement the dominance in the lane, the Blue Devil outside shooters made Syracuse pay from the perimeter as well, finishing 9-of-15 from beyond the arc. Duke’s offensive display in the game's opening minutes set the tone for the entire night. In an impressive start, Stevens scored Duke’s first 10 points, missing just one field goal in the process.

The rest of the team helped to share the scoring effort, as Williams scored the team’s next four points and redshirt freshman guard Rebecca Greenwell added a trey of her own. The Blue Devils made six of their first nine attempts.

“It felt good, especially when I hit one or two [threes]—it really increased my confidence,” Greenwell said. “But I tried to take smart shots, not just force it because I’m feeling hot.”

Greenwell finished with 20 points, including four 3-pointers, and junior guard Mercedes Riggs knocked down both of her long-range attempts to score a season-high six points. Four Duke players reached double-figures, all shooting 50 percent or better from the field.

Despite the impressive shooting effort, victory was anything but guaranteed throughout the entire contest. The Orange scored 28 points off of the Blue Devils’ numerous turnovers and managed to tie the game in the final minute. Syracuse fired 38 shots from beyond the arc and converted 13, which proved to be enough to stay close.

Rebounding—one of Duke's strengths all season long—was the Blue Devils' main defensive weakness Thursday. Syracuse outrebounded Duke 37-35, and 19 of those 37 Orange boards came on the offensive glass. Entering Thursday’s matchup, Duke had averaged 50.0 rebounds per game and allowed just 32.2 to their opponents.

“We knew we had to rebound. If we didn’t rebound, we had no shot,” Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “I told them, ‘We don’t rebound, we get blown out. I don’t care what percentage we shoot.’”

Duke’s defense has had better nights—including a Dec. 7 contest when it held No. 1 South Carolina to 51 points in a loss—and as the conference season continues, the Blue Devils will have to find the combination of powerful offense and defense that will be needed come tournament time.

“Every game’s going to be a fight, and it’s going to come down to the wire because we play in the toughest conference there is,” Greenwell said. “We just have to treat every game like it’s our hardest game of the season.”