Duke “Lady Blue Devils” vs. Virginia “Lady Cavaliers”

Duke slams Virginia

Duke’s smothering defense too much!

Greensboro Coliseum – Greensboro, NC

Greensboro, NC – The “Lady Blue Devils” from Duke deployed a smothering defense on Virginia right from the opening tip and didn’t let up until the final horn sounded. Their defense was so dominant in the first half that Virginia could barely get the ball across mid-court.

Duke’s Chante Black is such a dominating, fundamentally sound player that it’s hard to exploit a real weakness in her game. You see her night in and night out battling players her height 6-4 but with heavier frames and you think that physically she can’t match-up with them but just ask Virginia’s powerful 6-4 center Aisha Mohammed who is an imposing figure.

Black scored two quick hoops and altered a couple of shots and Bridgette Mitchell drilled a three-pointer as Duke raced out to an 11-2 lead.

So dominating was the Duke pressure that Virginia would not score another basket until the 12:40 mark but by then they were down 20-4.

Jasmine Thomas did a nice job of directing the “Lady Blue Devils” from the point, she also played solid defense on Virginia star Monica Wright.

A three-point play by Wright would spark a 7-2 Virginia run. But Duke kept up a strong pace to lead by as many as 25 in the first half, 42-17, with just under 2:00 minutes to play.

The “Lady Cavaliers” would close the half with a 10-2 spurt, highlighted by former 4SHOT Hoops All-Star Kristen London’s (Chamblee H.S., Chamblee, GA) lay-up with five seconds left in the half, to cut the lead to 17.

Duke scored 20 of its 42 first-half points off 14 Virginia turnovers. Black would finish the first half with 12 points as Duke took a commanding 42-25 lead into the half.

In the second Virginia never got closer than 18 points as they once again fell to the “Lady Blue Devils”; Virginia hasn’t beaten Duke since the 2000 season.

The “Lady Blue Devils” will meet Florida State in the second of two semifinal games on Saturday.

The Final Score:

Duke 76 – Virginia 53

Box Score