At some point in the second half, the question became if, not when, Lehigh would reach 20 points in the NCAA Tournament first round against Duke. The Mountain Hawks walked into the locker room having only scored 10 points and did not manage to score in the second half until nearly halfway through the third quarter.
From the outside looking in, one would assume that the Blue Devils’ signature lockdown defense executed to perfection. They held the Mountain Hawks to single-digit quarters throughout the entire game, culminating in the second-lowest scoring output in women’s NCAA Tournament history.
Still, Duke’s head coach was not completely satisfied with its performance.
“We weren't as sharp in that first quarter as we needed to be and gave up some looks that we would have preferred not to,” head coach Kara Lawson said. “It felt like we were just trying to find our rhythm defensively in that first quarter.”
Coming into Friday night’s matchup, the Blue Devils had not played a game since their ACC championship win March 9, presumably a contributing factor to their initial struggle to find their defensive rhythm. But the team has also struggled with getting off to slow starts at several points thus far this season.
“I didn't think we found our rhythm offensively till the fourth [quarter],” Lawson said.
Despite Duke’s stifling defensive hold on Lehigh, it only led 13-8 by the end of the first quarter, giving its opponent some hope that the Blue Devils’ relatively slow start would give it the opportunity to even up the contest.
In fact, early sloppiness by Duke certainly gave the Mountain Hawks multiple opportunities to score more points and put themselves back into the game. A turnover from Taina Mair led to a steal by Lehigh’s Colleen McQuillen, which gave the Mountain Hawks the perfect opportunity to put themselves on the board early on in the game. But, on the other end, McQuillen’s teammate, Maddie Albrecht, missed the 3-point jumper that would have given her team some much needed points.
The same situation was repeated in the third quarter when McQuillen once again snagged a steal away from the Blue Devils, but missed the layup driving down the court. Additionally, in the third quarter, Duke quickly found itself in early foul trouble which put the Mountain Hawks in the bonus, helping them to reach that 20-point benchmark.
Lawson’s frustration with some of the bad passes and sloppy turnovers committed by her team was obvious, but even when Duke gave Lehigh the opportunities that another team gladly would have taken to make the game far more competitive, it simply could not capitalize on them down the stretch.
In this matchup, those faults were not a problem that Duke’s defense and eventual burst of offensive energy in the second half could not maneuver itself out of. But, the Blue Devils’ habit of getting into early foul trouble or letting excitement lead to turnovers could eventually breed trouble down the line in the NCAA Tournament. In the past, specifically in its early-season losses to South Carolina and South Florida, two teams with more offensive prowess than the Mountain Hawks could produce, giving up turnovers has led to losses for Duke.
While Lehigh could only turn the Blue Devils’ 16 turnovers into eight points, back in December, South Carolina converted Duke’s 18 turnovers into 23 points, showcasing what a more capable team can do when the Blue Devils do not take care of the ball.
The energy with which Duke plays has always been one of its strengths. A hallmark of Duke women’s basketball under Lawson is playing the game at a breakneck speed and enforcing that pace on its opponents. But, as the Blue Devils look to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, carelessness in fouls and turnovers could pose a problem when Duke faces teams with much more offensive strength,
“There’s always a concern that you’ll have an uneven performance,” Lawson said. “You wonder if you'll be a little sloppy, just because there's so much juice inside of them.”
The Blue Devils will now face off against Oregon and a familiar former ACC foe in Deja Kelly with a chance to advance to the Sweet 16 on the line.
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