Heading into the locker room at halftime of Duke women’s basketball’s road game against No. 3 South Carolina, things weren’t looking good.
The Blue Devils trailed 51-31 against the Gamecocks, and were struggling on both ends of the floor. Even the defense, famously stout and problematic for opponents, had given up a significant amount of ground compared to how head coach Kara Lawson expects her group to operate. Particularly around the perimeter, South Carolina was able to create mismatches and open space for its shooters. With such a talented roster, the Gamecocks made Duke pay for nearly every single wide-open shot. South Carolina shot 80% from deep in the first quarter, scoring 4-of-5 attempts.
“Organization was really poor in the first quarter,” Lawson said after the game. “[The Gamecocks] just got wide-open threes. That was not the game plan.”
Coming out for the second half, things didn’t look like they were going all that much better for the Blue Devils. The two teams matched each other with 17 points each in the third quarter, so while the defense was able to throttle the explosive South Carolina attack the offense continued to struggle.
Finally, in the final period of play, things began to shift. Gamecock head coach Dawn Staley made a platoon swap, taking out all her starters with the lead seemingly secured. Duke pounced, going on a quick 10-point run as guards Taina Mair and Oluchi Okananwa each drained quick corner threes and forward Jadyn Donovan managed to take the ball from coast-to-coast for a layup and a jump shot on the next two possessions.
Ultimately, though, the late push wasn’t enough. Forward Chloe Kitts reentered the game for the home team and slammed the door shut with three consecutive buckets down low in quick succession. Kitts had a dominant night, finishing with 21 points to tie her career high.
Even despite the tough 81-70 loss, this game had a lot of value for the Blue Devils. Duke showed significant maturity by sticking in the game until the end and battling up to the final buzzer, proving that it is capable of making one of the best teams in the country sweat and showcasing a level of fight that will be necessary as the Blue Devils head into a grueling conference schedule.
“It’s easy to, when you're down a lot, kind of give into the game and give into the momentum,” Lawson said. “And we didn't do that this game, I knew from the beginning, this game would be revelatory for us, and what it does is it shows you your weaknesses and exposes you, and then you go back to work on them.”
Particularly present in the late-game push were the sophomores, especially Donovan and Okananwa. They hauled down a total of 15 rebounds in the game, a big part of why Duke actually managed to out-rebound a taller South Carolina group. Okananwa in particular had a remarkable five offensive boards, especially considering she is a 5-foot-10 guard.
So while the result wasn’t what the Blue Devils were looking for heading into this one, this game still had a lot of value. Hanging with one of the strongest squads in the country and taking the night’s rebound competition is no easy feat, but Duke pulled it off. Lawson expressed both sides of the coin in her press conference.
“[The Gamecocks] really dominate teams on the glass. And so our goal was to be able to get some extra opportunities and be able to try to limit them to one shot,” Lawson said. “So it's great that we were able to out rebound them. I don't know. We don't get a prize for that, or we don't get a win in the win column, so I don't know how great it is, but I am proud of the effort.”
Now, it remains to be seen how the Blue Devils will respond to the loss. Last year, after losing a tough battle to then-No.1 South Carolina, Duke marched down to Clemson and was promptly blown out 80-64 by the Tigers. With a solid Virginia Tech squad coming to Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Blue Devils will need to stay focused.
“I think we'll have their attention, they’re a focused group, and they do a good job of understanding what it is we need to fix,” Lawson said. “So it's a quick turnaround for us. Obviously, we'll just try to get back home and just get back to more of ourselves.”
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Martin Heintzelman is a Trinity junior and Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.