What team do these Blue Devils want to be? In its come-from-behind 60-55 win over Virginia, Duke showed its tantalizing potential — and its potential pitfalls.
It’s no secret that when head coach Kara Lawson’s squad has struggled, slow starts have served as the main culprit. Although the Blue Devils possess a sterling 13-4 record, their losses spell out a worrying trend; in those four contests, Duke averaged just 23.8 points in the first half.
Of course, the Blue Devils certainly won’t begin each game by blowing their opponents out of the water. Yet, Duke’s penchant for second-half comebacks is what makes the occasionally-sluggish openings difficult to understand.
Regardless of any early deficit, the Blue Devils play with a sort of resilient energy that becomes infectious when they gain momentum. In all of their defeats, however, this brand of basketball was not enough to overcome their first-half woes. Save for its matchup against perennial top-dog South Carolina, Duke’s losses appear self-inflicted rather than a result of a disparity in talent and skill.
Thus, after a 20-point first half all too similar to their overtime slugfest of a defeat in Chapel Hill, the Blue Devils appeared to be falling back once again. While the defense had held up well enough by limiting the Cavaliers to 29 points, the halfcourt offense had stagnated completely. Despite out-rebounding Virginia to a degree that reflected a much different game — 25 total rebounds, including 14 on the offensive glass, to the home team’s 12 — Duke had recorded an underwhelming four second-chance points. Only junior guard Ashlon Jackson had scored above five points as the Blue Devils failed to convert more first-half field goals than turnovers.
“We hurried and rushed in the first half,” Lawson said. “We’d get in the paint, there'd be a lot of bodies and we'd just throw the ball up.”
Duke had been completely disrupted by the Cavaliers’ zone defense; the very moment the ball touched the paint, a swarm of orange jerseys followed, swiping and poking until they gained possession. The home team had little respect for the Blue Devils’ outside shot and frequently abandoned open shooters on the perimeter. Although Virginia’s lead stood at a manageable nine, Duke needed improvements in discipline and energy — and fast. And from the first possession of the final half, the Blue Devils appeared to do just that.
A Jackson three from the right corner opened third-quarter scoring for Duke, promising a more dynamic second-half offense. By the end of the period, the Cavaliers’ lead was reduced to 43-39, as the Blue Devils nearly matched their entire offensive output from the previous half. On the other end of the court, Lawson’s team looked reinvigorated, delivering physical on-ball pressure and forcing contested shots.
In the contest’s last 10 minutes, everything came together for the team from Durham.
Within the first minute of the final quarter, a 5-0 run courtesy of sophomore guard Oluchi Okananwa gave Duke its first lead of the game. After a quiet first half, the Worcester Academy product came alive to lead her team with her seemingly never-ending supply of pure hustle; Okananwa scored nine of her game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter, while also recording a clutch steal to ice the victory.
And as the Blue Devils finally saw open looks translate to points, their defensive intensity rose accordingly. Lawson’s trademark full-court press paid massive dividends; on three separate instances, Duke stole away an extra possession off a Virginia inbound. While the Cavaliers refused to go away quietly, the frenzied Blue Devil defense ultimately won the game’s final possessions.
“We always believe. When you play a season, you get to a point where you've been in most of the situations before,” Lawson said. “We've been down at the half; we've been down a lot in the beginning of the game. Heck, on Thursday, we were down 16 in the third. We've always shown the ability to come back, so we keep believing.”
By the final buzzer, Duke had completely transformed from the team that shot 9-for-34 in the first half. It had mastered manipulating Virginia’s zone, and its defense derailed the Cavaliers’ best efforts to match the Blue Devils’ sudden scoring prowess.
So, is this win a sign that Duke has figured out how to overcome its flaws? Maybe, maybe not. Facing a ranked opponent, this type of comeback may not have ended as sweetly — the Blue Devils’ loss to North Carolina revealed just as much. Luckily for Duke, the team that played the second-half looked ready to compete, and win, against any opponent, no matter how vaunted.
It’s simply a matter of consistency.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.