DURHAM, N.C. -- With nine minutes to play in the first half, the Virginia women's basketball team seemed to be in good shape against the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils with the score tied at 20 apiece. But the Blue Devils outscored the Cavaliers 14-4 to finish the half and maintained their dominance in the second half to win last night, 87-54.
The first half was marked by sloppy play on both sides of the court, with each team committing 15 turnovers. Virginia (12-13, 5-8 ACC) was able to capitalize on the Blue Devils' (21-3, 12-1) mistakes, scoring 12 of their 24 first half points off turnovers.
In spite of the turnovers, Virginia led a balanced first half scoring attack, with six of eleven players receiving playing time contributing points. Senior guard Anna Prillaman hit her first attempted three pointer and contributed five points. Brandi Teamer was a force inside for Virginia, scoring six points and keeping the Duke post players relatively tamed.
The Cavaliers began to lose ground on Duke with about four minutes left in the first half, when Virginia coach Debbie Ryan recieved a technical foul for arguing a call. The move that could have inspired Virginia instead ignited the Devils, who built a 10-point halftime lead. Senior guard Alana Beard led Duke at the half with 15 points and finished with 27, putting her past 2,500 for her career.
According to Ryan, last night's Virginia squad was markedly different from the one that played the Blue Devils in Charlottesville a month ago when Duke was ranked No. 1. The Cavaliers hung tight in that game but came up short in the end, 63-52.
"I thought Duke played better today than they did up in Charlottesville," Ryan said. "We didn't score as well here as we did [at home]. That was the difference. We made more shots [there] than we did out here."
Duke coach Gail Goestenkors attributed the difference for the Blue Devils in the final nine minutes of the first half and into the second half to be an increase in intensity and ball control. This led not only to points, but also to defensive stops and improved defensive rebounding. At the half, Duke doubled Virginia's count of offensive rebounds 14-7 and had a 19-11 edge overall.
"I'm proud of the way we came back in the second half," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "I thought we had great intensity and great focus."
Duke shot 50 percent from the field for the game, while Virginia could only muster 36.7 percent on 18-49 shooting.
Virginia was also out-rebounded by a count of 38-26. Being out-rebounded has generally resulted in losses for Virginia this season. Their record in these situations is now 2-8. Duke guard/forward Monique Currie led all players with 12 rebounds, and Ryan noted her presence in the paint.
"She's got good size and great strength," Ryan said. "You just have to keep her from going straight ahead because if she does that then she's tough to stop."
Although the team is on the postseason bubble, Ryan maintained the team's optimism.
"I don't think I have to motivate my players in any way," she said. "They're not going to stop playing because something's not going well for us, that's how they are."
The Cavaliers next face Florida State Sunday, beginning the final three-game stretch of the regular season.
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