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Women's Basketball
vs Countdown to Craziness
Thursday, December 4
Durham, N.C.
7:00 p.m.
Duke University
71
vs
47
Iowa
Duke Downs Iowa, 71-47, In ACC/Big Ten Challenge
12/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. -- The good thing about defense is that it can often make up for bad offense. For one half of basketball, the Duke Blue Devils were very thankful for that.
Chante Black scored 18 points and No. 12 Duke overcame a horrific offensive start to roll over Iowa 71-47 on Thursday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Joy Cheek added 13 points for the Blue Devils (5-1), who missed their first 14 shots but used a 9-0 run toward the end of the first half to establish a 28-14 advantage at halftime. That lead grew to more than 30 points during the second half.
The Blue Devils took a while to warm up offensively making just 11 of 36 first-half field goals but were intense on defense from the get-go, forcing turnovers on four of Iowa's first five possessions and 28 for the game.
"The defensive intensity was incredible throughout," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "I really enjoyed seeing that because we haven't always come out of the gates that strong."
Hannah Draxten scored nine points for the Hawkeyes (4-4), who shot just 30.2 percent in the loss. Megan Skouby, who entered the night averaging 17 points per game, missed most of the first half after sustaining a cut over her left eye which required stitches and finished with eight points.
"Their defensive intensity and their physical style really took us out of our game and obviously forced us into a lot of turnovers," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. "And that was tough."
The coaches were plenty familiar with each other. McCallie coached at Michigan State from 2000-2007, facing Bluder's Hawkeyes 13 times. Still, the pressing defense the Blue Devils employed was something Bluder hadn't seen much of in their Big Ten meetings.
McCallie, in her second season at Duke, agreed that her defensive philosophy has changed a bit.
"The quality of this team, the athletes particularly the athletic side is just fantastic," McCallie said. "So therefore man-to-man (defense) and being able to press the press takes on a new kind of deal when you've got quickness and athleticism."
Abby Waner had a team-high five steals for the Blue Devils, who forced 25 or more turnovers for the fifth-straight game and also had 18 steals. She also had eight points and seven assists, and Shay Selby scored a career-high nine points.
But most of Duke's offense came in the second half, as both teams failed to score before the first media timeout and Duke had one dreadful possession during which it missed seven back-to-back shots.
"I just think they played through it," McCallie said. "There was enormous intensity (defensively), and sometimes that intensity spills over to speed on the other end of the floor and perhaps not as much balance."
Cheek scored eight of the Blue Devils' first 14 points, and Duke's pair of fast-break baskets off turnovers helped extend a 16-12 lead to 25-12.
"There's nothing you can really do about it but keep shooting," Cheek said. "You're not going to stop shooting the ball, so when I saw an opening I took the shots and they just happened to fall."
Players Mentioned
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