Floodgates open as Duke rolls

Numerous employees inside Virginia’s John Paul Jones Arena were noncommittal when asked if the backdoor had been left open Thursday evening.
It certainly appeared to have been the case.
The frigid temperatures outside the arena matched the Cavaliers’ shooting from the field as fourth-ranked Duke mounted a first-half rally and survived Virginia’s second-half run to deliver an easy 81-67 victory.
It was not Virginia’s shooting percentage from the field, a woeful 35.1 percent, that had coach Debbie Ryan’s blood boiling after her team fell to 18-5 overall and 4-3 in the ACC. It was allowing Duke to connect on 19 of its 25 shots inside the 3-point line that did the trick.
“I just think that they were better than we were tonight,” she said. “We made a nice run in the second half and we just could not get a stop.
“Basically, we did not defend and that is the only way that we score. We score only when we defend and rebound — that is our game.”
Despite the newfound deficiencies, the Cavaliers had over 4,000 fans on their feet with nine minutes left in the game.
That was when Monica Wright connected on a jumper, slicing a deficit that had reached double digits to just three at 48-45.
Duke, residing in first place in the league at 19-2 overall and 7-1 in the ACC, appeared unnerved. That apparently wasn’t so as the Blue Devils scored 11 straight points to shut the door on Virginia’s celebration plans as three different players connected on field goals.
“What we saw tonight was, we saw different players step up and kind of put a dagger in Virginia,” said Duke senior guard Abby Waner, who scored 10 points and was one of four Blue Devils to score in double figures.
Virginia was never able to trim its deficit to single digits in the final 6 minutes as Duke continued to unleash a lethal, full-court pressure defense that led to 19 Cavalier turnovers.
“We work very hard on our presses. Our team is very committed,” Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “I think we press harder than most, and what I liked about that was bring able to use that selectively.”
Early on it appeared that the rout would go in the opposite direction.
Despite early shooting woes — which Duke matched as both teams missed 19 of the game’s first 22 shots — Virginia jumped out to a 13-2 lead on a layup by rookie Chelsea Shine that came with 11:51 left in the first half.
The Blue Devils mounted a slow charge over an eight-minute period, however, and took their first lead at 21-20 on a floating jumper from Karima Christmas that banked off the glass.
Wright answered for Virginia on a designed play off an inbounds with 3 seconds on the shot clock as the junior nailed a baseline jumper, but Duke scored on its next possession and never trailed.
For the game, Virginia was paced by a 29-point effort from forward Lyndra Littles. Wright, who connected on just 7 of 21 shots from the field, added 21 points and four assists.
Duke was paced by Jasmine Thomas, who scored 22 points and registered three of the team’s nine steals.
Virginia will host Virginia Tech on Sunday at 2 p.m.