North Carolina
Duke women’s basketball’s defense still a bright spot, but offense sinks Blue Devils against North Carolina
Coming into Sunday’s regular-season finale towards North Carolina, Duke managed its personal future. A win would assure no less than a share of the ACC regular-season title and a No. 1 seed within the convention match. Nonetheless, the Tar Heels introduced some of the harmful challenges in sports activities: a group with nothing to lose and the whole lot to realize from beating its archrival.
The guests performed spoiler, and a sellout crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium witnessed the Blue Devils’ first residence lack of the season as Duke fell 45-41.
Now typical for Duke’s suffocating protection, the Blue Devils held North Carolina to its lowest scoring complete of the season. Nonetheless, Sunday additionally marked Duke’s fourth-lowest scoring efficiency in historical past, its 41 factors the fewest since scoring 41 in a loss towards Florida State in March 2019. Whereas the explanation Duke completed the common season 24-5 was its protection, the Blue Devils fell wanting the title due to their incapacity to attain when it mattered most. In different phrases, protection alone can not win championships.
The rationale for Duke’s offensive struggles started within the half-court, the place North Carolina’s stress protection compelled 25 turnovers. The sport acquired going with an Alyssa Ustby steal which led to a fast-break layup, and the Tar Heels amassed 16 factors off Duke errors when all was stated and performed. Head coach Kara Lawson tried placing almost each mixture of rotation gamers on the ground in an try to interrupt via the Tar Heel entrance, however other than 9-0 and 6-0 scoring runs, the sport featured a slew of missed alternatives.
The Blue Devils did not convert on a number of transition probabilities, particularly early within the sport. Celeste Taylor and Shayeann Day-Wilson, two of Duke’s main scorers, mixed to shoot simply 4-for-17 from the sector, and every handed up a number of fast-break alternatives to both pull the ball out or throw an ill-advised go to a teammate.
All through the season, buckets created from forcing turnovers on protection have been a significant element in Duke’s scoring. Coming into Sunday’s matchup, Duke averaged 11 fast-break factors per sport, and the one two video games all yr that the Blue Devils failed to attain on the break each got here towards North Carolina. Discovering success in transition can usually relieve stress confronted within the half-court. As a substitute, the Tar Heels successfully eliminated this whole space of the sport, forcing unproductive possessions that solely compounded Duke’s woes.
“We had a plethora of transition alternatives that we didn’t end on, the place we had the benefit. Whether or not it was two on one, three on two, we turned it over, or we missed layups and issues like that,” Lawson stated after the sport. “It wasn’t one participant, however a few of that is simply changing the performs. I assumed we acquired beauty, and we did not make them.”
Most groups that go into halftime with solely 20 factors discover themselves in search of a solution to a deficit. The Blue Devils did so with a four-point lead. North Carolina regarded simply as uncomfortable on offense and completed the sport taking pictures simply 34.1%, and it appeared as if Duke would discover a solution within the second half and journey the help of a sellout crowd to a victory.
The Blue Devils’ protection continued to maintain them into the sport via the fourth quarter, which Duke opened with a 7-0 scoring run that, in the intervening time, appeared to be precisely what they wanted to tug away. Nonetheless, North Carolina adopted that up with a 16-5 run to finish the sport, fueled by 9 fourth-quarter free throws. The Blue Devils, who did a implausible job all sport of stopping the Tar Heels from making subject objectives, gave the guests alternatives to steal the sport while not having to get by the protection.
Within the sport’s deciding second, with Duke trailing by two with lower than a minute to go, North Carolina guard Deja Kelly drew a foul from Day-Wilson. Kelly transformed each from the charity stripe, sealing the win for the Tar Heels.
“In video games like this, the best way to buffer should you’re struggling within the half-court, is to get transition alternatives, or get to the free-throw line,” Lawson stated. “So, [North Carolina] did an excellent job of buffering a poor offensive night time by attending to the free-throw line.”
Sunday was not the primary time Duke’s offense acquired in the best way of its protection’s domination. In its final loss to Virginia Tech, the Blue Devils solely mustered 45 factors on 34.0% taking pictures. And so they scored simply 50 factors towards Miami, a sport the Blue Devils gained on account of their protection. In ACC play, they eclipsed 70 factors simply twice whereas managing a second-place end. That clearly factors to the energy of their protection, however it additionally highlights a obvious weak point.
Because the postseason progresses and the extent of competitors will increase, this offensive output merely might not be sufficient. Duke has proven its potential to beat good groups behind its protection, a lot in order that the Blue Devils have positioned themselves to be a top-four seed within the NCAA match. However they might want to discover a method to rating if they’re to make a run within the upcoming ACC match or the NCAA match.
“They’re annoyed and upset,” Lawson stated. “… Each time we have misplaced this yr, they’ve performed an important job of snapping again, not wallowing in it and simply being prepared to provide an excellent effort.”
Because it so occurs, barring any upsets, the Blue Devils’ first matchup within the ACC match Friday shall be towards a well-known foe: No. 7-seed North Carolina, which performs the winner of No. 10-seed Clemson and No. 15-seed Pittsburgh in Thursday’s second spherical.
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