The Cavalier Daily
Serving the University Community Since 1890

Beard, No. 1 Duke fight past Cavs in ACC match

Top-ranked Duke outlasted Virginia in University Hall last night, topping the Cavaliers, 63-52, after scoring 10 points in the last three and a half minutes of the contest.

Virginia (8-8, 2-3 ACC) held the Blue Devils (14-1, 5-0) to their lowest point total of the season and kept pace with Duke in a game played at breakneck speed, with 14 lead changes and 10 different tie scores.

At the half, the Cavaliers led 29-28 and had held Duke superstar and national Player of the Year candidate Alana Beard to eight points. Yet Beard exploded down the stretch, scoring eight straight points inside the seven minute mark to finish the game with 24 and shooting 11-12 from the free-throw line.

"She's a second-half player," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said of Beard. "You really have to defend her in a million different ways."

Duke coach Gail Goestenkors credited Beard's late success to the guard's ability to penetrate in the spread offense Duke played for the last five minutes of the game.

Even with the surge from Beard, the Cavaliers held on to their lead deep into the second half, trading baskets with a Blue Devil team that has won 47 straight conference games.

"Most of the people in this country didn't think we would play as well as we did," senior guard Anna Prillaman said. "We were winning the whole game, we just had to hold on."

Virginia, who played its third straight game without leading scorer and rebounder Brandi Teamer, was led by LaTonya Blue. The junior guard showed her versatility and athleticism by scoring 15 points, dishing out five assists and pulling down seven rebounds.

Ryan declined to comment on Teamer's continuing suspension, saying only that the junior forward's situation would be resolved over the next few days.

Duke barely edged Virginia in many of the statistical categories they have dominated for much of this season. While the Blue Devils average 13.4 more rebounds per game than their opponents, they managed only four more than the Cavaliers. Additionally, five rejections by junior Jocelyn Logan-Friend kept Virginia within one of Duke in the blocked shots category.

"She altered many shots," Goestenkors said of Logan-Friend. "I was very impressed with her."

Yet the Cavaliers struggled to keep control of the ball, recording 24 turnovers to Duke's 13. Offensive rebounds were also a strength for the Blue Devils, who managed 16 second-chance points despite the poor play of 6-foot-5 senior Iciss Tillis, an All-ACC forward.

Tillis shot 2-13 from the floor for seven points and only grabbed two boards in 29 minutes. Sophomore Monique Currie led Duke on the glass with nine, her highest total of the season.

Ryan, who has an inside knowledge of Duke's personnel thanks to coaching for Tillis and against Beard on the USA Basketball team last summer, mentioned Currie as one of the Blue Devils' top players.

"She was tougher to guard than Beard at some times," Ryan said. "She's a great offensive rebounder -- one of the best I've ever seen."

Despite seeing their three-game winning streak snapped and their conference mark dip below .500, the Cavaliers did found the positive in last night's loss.

"I think this is a step forward," Prillaman said. "I can't say momentum, but it is a good thing going into these next two weeks."

The Cavaliers look to even their ACC record at Florida State Friday and then continue their conference road swing in Clemson Sunday.

Local Savings

Comments

Latest Video

Latest Podcast

Ahead of Lighting of the Lawn, Riley McNeill and Chelsea Huffman, co-chairs of the Lighting of the Lawn Committee and fourth-year College students, and Peter Mildrew, the president of the Hullabahoos and third-year Commerce student, discuss the festive tradition which brings the community together year after year. From planning the event to preparing performances, McNeil, Huffman and Mildrew elucidate how the light show has historically helped the community heal in the midst of hardship.