GREENSBORO, N.C.—After gutting out a win Thursday against Virginia, Duke will need a cleaner performance to keep its postseason alive.
No. 2 Notre Dame awaits the eighth-seeded Blue Devils at 2 p.m. Friday in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum. A win against the top-seeded Fighting Irish would give Duke a signature win as it tries to make a late push into the NCAA tournament field, but a loss would put the Blue Devils squarely on the bubble as Selection Monday looms March 14.
Although the Blue Devils survived and advanced Thursday, they struggled offensively throughout the 57-53 win. Redshirt sophomore Rebecca Greenwell missed the game with a back injury and is officially day-to-day, and Duke’s guards struggled to find a rhythm without her in the backcourt.
“We need to keep the tempo slowed down and more so if Rebecca is out,” Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said after Thursday’s game. “It doesn’t really matter who you are playing at this point. It matters that you focus on what you need to do.”
The Blue Devils (20-11) dished out just six assists and coughed up 17 turnovers against the Cavaliers—a far cry from their impressive 25-assist game in the regular-season finale Sunday against North Carolina. The offense did not move nearly as fluidly, and most of Duke’s points came off free throws or offensive rebounds and put-backs.
“You didn’t see us working that shot clock down to two or something. We rushed. We didn’t pass as well,” McCallie said. “You have to credit their defense and their heart. We need to settle down and get a good pace on offense [Friday].”
Forwards Azurá Stevens and Oderah Chidom had free reign to dominate the post Thursday, but points in the paint will not come so easily against Notre Dame (28-1). Six-foot-three sophomore Brianna Turner posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 boards when the Fighting Irish won 68-61 at Duke Feb. 1 and the Blue Devils produced just 13 second-chance points, though they outrebounded Notre Dame 49-42.
Stevens partially tore her plantar fascia in the first quarter of that game and played through the injury for the rest of the contest, but missed the last seven games of the regular season before her successful return Thursday. She had to play 36 minutes against Virginia, and Duke will need her to be a major contributor again Friday.
Turner, junior Lindsay Allen and graduate student Madison Cable were all first-team All-ACC selections this season, and Notre Dame’s only loss came on the road against unbeaten Connecticut. One of the Fighting Irish's closest calls in conference play came at Duke in a game the Blue Devils led by five early in the fourth quarter.
But Notre Dame rallied behind its guard play, with Cable knocking down three triples in an 18-point performance to go along with seven rebounds, five steals and no giveaways. Freshman Arike Ogunbowale came off the bench to add 16 points, shooting 2-of-4 from long range.
Perimeter defense was the Blue Devils’ Achilles heel Thursday, as the Cavaliers shot 8-of-19 on 3-pointers to stay in the game. Sophomore Mikayla Venson had an open look in the corner with six seconds left and Virginia trailing by two, but the shot that could have ended Duke’s ACC tournament—and almost assuredly its chances of playing in March Madness—rimmed out.
“We definitely need to do a better job there—you can see that they shot 42 percent. We lost [J’Kyra Brown], who I thought helped them tremendously. She had two [3-pointers],” McCallie said. “We lost [Aliyah Huland El] early, so we did a very poor job. That would not be a good idea [Friday].”
The Blue Devils shot just 1-of-15 from downtown Thursday, a mark that will have to improve for them to have a chance against the Fighting Irish. Stevens made their only triple in the second quarter, and freshman Angela Salvadores missed all seven of her 3-point attempts without her usual backcourt mate to play with.
If Greenwell cannot play Friday, it will take a total team effort to make up for her absence, with Stevens and Chidom outplaying Turner on the inside while Salvadores and classmate Kyra Lambert will hope to neutralize Notre Dame’s dynamic guards.
“We rushed [our shots]. I’ve seen Angela bury every shot she took today, but we rushed,” McCallie said. “It’s a good lesson for us to know that you don’t always play the best offensively but you can get it done. You can get it done by defending and rebounding and hopefully tomorrow playing better offensively.”
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