School is in session.
Playing in front of an audience of Durham elementary students, Duke put on a masterclass in scrappy basketball Monday morning, defeating Radford by a score of 89-36.
To describe their work as lockdown defense would be an understatement. The Blue Devils put on a clinic in their opening matchup, holding the visiting squad to just three field goals in the second half. Like a year ago, head coach Kara Lawson has designed an airtight defensive scheme with length across the board. Where this team showed the most growth, though, was in the offensive attack. Though a young team, it was the returning class that demonstrated their readiness for a fresh season with new roles and opportunities.
If there were any question marks about the Duke defense at the start of the season, consider them answered. The Blue Devils forced consecutive turnovers on the Highlanders’ first three possessions and never let up from there, ending the outing with 34 in total. Duke started in a full-court press from the start of the game that did not let up until the buzzer sounded.
The only concern on the defensive front so far is foul trouble. Freshman forward Toby Fournier fouled out in the first minute of the fourth quarter. Lawson blamed foul trouble on a lack of discipline in the second quarter and lauded her team for responding with composure and tightening up the defense out of the break.
“It’s very rare you pitch a shutout the whole game. They’re gonna score and they’re gonna have some runs if we play good teams,” Lawson said. “We were able to kind of get our discipline back and stop fouling and be able to just make them take tough shots over us.”
Duke will have to play smart to balance keeping its best players on the court and an aggressive, remarkably effective defensive strategy throughout the season.
Sophomore guard Oluchi Okananwa was a key part of the press that caused Radford so many issues, racking up five steals on the afternoon. That defense lit a fire on the other end of the court. Okananwa ran coast-to-coast for a layup midway through the first half that set the tone: The Blue Devils wanted to score off of every opportunity that the Highlanders coughed up. Duke ended the night with 41 points off of turnovers, a signal that this offense can play at a high pace for the rest of the season.
Lawson’s squad came out swinging with a balanced offensive attack. Taina Mair and Reigan Richardson are a constant threat to score from deep, and the frontcourt creates open shots for them in a way that is almost mechanical. The Blue Devils shared the ball well on offense with six players in double figures. The Duke rotation is already looking deep, with sophomore forward Jordan Wood leading the team in scoring with 13 points and Okananwa bringing energy to both sides of the court off the bench.
Fournier, though limited by foul trouble, found crafty ways to the basket, including an impressive fadeaway jumper in traffic that resulted in an and-one during the first half. Lawson mentioned Fournier’s potential for the rest of the season and the need to keep her on the floor.
“If she plays, she's going to score and rebound. That’s been consistent with what we've seen in practice,” Lawson said.
Fournier racked up 10 points in just 10 minutes on the court, but she also fouled out in the same quick fashion. Lawson added that limiting her foul trouble would be a major goal in the development of the Blue Devils’ young star.
The evident star of the game was Wood. The Chicago native crashed the boards, denied the Highlanders around the rim and made shots around the basket throughout the afternoon. After spending most of her freshman year on the bench, Wood’s impact was immediate. Her coach credited Wood’s productive minutes — recording a plus-45 in the box score — to her offseason work.
”She's made a big jump from her freshman year to her sophomore year, and in her freshman year, she didn't play much, was really on the outside of the rotation, looking in,” Lawson said. “It’s a credit to her and her character and just her work that she did this summer and this fall that she just crawled her way to improvement and is helping us on both ends of the floor.”
Wood discussed her mindset going into the game, one that reveals the approach that the coaching staff has opted for with outstanding success. Their mantra for much of Lawson’s tenure has been that defense creates opportunities, and Monday in Cameron Indoor, it sure did.
“Coach Kara always says, ‘if you're in the right place on defense, everything on offense will work out.’ So I was really just trusting her on that,” Wood said.
The 11th-ranked Blue Devils made their opening matchup a thrilling one for the students in the crowd, and they look poised to make some noise in the ACC if this season follows Monday’s trends. With firepower on offense and discipline on defense, Duke’s season opener earns an A.
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