Duke’s Oluchi Okananwa (5) defends against UConn’s Paige Bueckers in first half action of their NCAA Sweet 16 game in Portland.
For The News & Observer
PORTLAND, Ore.
Duke coach Kara Lawson stood on the sideline in the second quarter, emphatically waving her hands up and down. Settle down, she told her team. Settle down.
It looked more comfortable, especially in the fourth quarter, cutting the UConn lead to five points in the fourth, it dug too big of a hole. The Huskies led the entire game and went up by as many as 20 points.
No. 7 seed Duke (22-12) ended its season against No. 3 seed UConn (32-5), 53-45, on Saturday in the NCAA Tournament regional semifinal. It finished with more turnovers (23), including 13 in the first half, than field goals (18).
The Huskies entered the game as an 8.5-point favorite, according to U.S. sports books, and were given an 80.7% chance of winning. That was for good reason, too. UConn is one of the best overall teams in the nation, ranking in the top 50 for scoring offense and defense.
Despite the disappointing performance, Duke deserves credit for its defense and effort. It fought for loose balls and wasn’t afraid to go one-on-one with anyone in the Husky rotation. Its defense held the Huskies to their lowest offensive output of the season, which was previously 58 points.
Freshman Delaney Thomas entered the game early in the first quarter. Her defensive effort led to a block on KK Arnold’s shot — it was her first block since Feb. 11 against North Carolina — and a UConn turnover on the baseline.
Duke finished with six blocks, six steals and forced 13 turnovers. Duke scored six points from the Huskies’ turnovers.
That was something UConn head coach Geno Auriemma knew his team would need to account for.
“They play with a tremendously high level of energy. To me, a lot of times, really young teams are the most dangerous teams,” Auriemma said Friday. “They haven’t experienced a crushing loss in the NCAA Tournament that they’re carrying around with them. They’re just free and clear, letting it rip.”
Duke’s high level of energy manifested in positive and negative ways. The Blue Devils out-rebounded the Huskies 43-28. Of those rebounds, 16 came on the offensive glass and led to 11 second-chance points.
The early deficit, however, was too big to overcome.
Duke went 18-55 (32.7%) from the field compared to UConn’s 22-55 (40.0%). Plus, it was called for 20 fouls in addition to the turnovers. The Huskies scored 23 on the mistakes and added six points from the line.
ACC Sixth Player of the Year Oluchi Okananwa led the Blue Devils with 15 points, 11 of which came in the second half. Kennedy Brown contributed 10 rebounds in the effort.
Jadyn Watson-Fisher
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