The 1st Half After a slow start, Duke's suffocating defense and dominant rebounding enabled them to throttle Miami. This was after a slow start on offense, as Duke was getting open shots that weren't falling. Abby Waner & Lindsey Harding combined for 0-7 shooting from long range in the first half and even post Carrem Gay was having trouble finishing inside. Duke turned things around with ball pressure, offensive rebounding and patiently attacking the smaller Canes in the post. Miami is not deep with talent, but they have several potent scorers. 5-2 guard Renee Taylor leads the ACC in scoring with 21 points a game, but part of that is because she's a volume shooter who also loves to attack the basket. A quick perusal of her stats reveals that she has nearly twice as many turnovers as assists. With the way she dominates the ball, getting her to turn it over would cripple Miami's offense. Duke attacked her dribble at the top of the key and forced her to go right as much as possible, and the result was some crucial steals. Duke switched a lot off screens and used a number of players to jump Taylor, with Lindsey Harding & Abby Waner most often getting in her way. The other major threat for the Canes was Maurita Reid, one of the top JuCos in the country last year. She's been a solid scorer for the U this season, but Wanisha Smith blanketed her (photo) holding her scoreless until the last few minutes of the game. Reid was grabbing rebounds (12, 6 offensive), but the fact that she and backup guard LaToya Cunningham weren't producing put way too much pressure on Reid. It also didn't help the Canes that talented young post Brittany Denson quickly left the game after picking up 2 early fouls. While coach Katie Meier indicated that they had prepared ahead of time to go small as a potential strategem, it was obvious that Duke was not only ready for this, they were poised to take advantage of their now-overwhelming size advantage. Gay and Bales had 6 rebounds apiece in the first half, but the overall effort was encapsulated by Emily Waner's hustle to get 5 boards against quicker opponents. Wanisha Smith continued her recent strong play with an early drive for a scorer and a pass to Bales for an 18' jumper. Harding then fed Bales for a three point play to make it 7-2 three minutes into the game, and it seemed as though Duke was going to roll right away. Miami responded with 6 straight points, highlighted by a coldblooded pull-up three by Taylor--her only one of the game. Duke responded by going to their strengths--Bales was fouled going inside and hit 2 freebies, Harding stuck a jumper, and E.Waner grabbed a rebound and found her sister in transition. Aiding that play was a perfect screen by Gay, shielding Waner as she drove in. After 2 Taylor free throws, Smith turned the ball over and the U had a chance to take the lead again. Miami had 3 chances to pull ahead but couldn't get it done. Abby missed a jumper, but Gay got the board. Tossing it back to Waner, Abby hit Gay for a short jumper. Gay missed again but Smith got the offensive board, and Brittany Mitch found Joy Cheek inside with a hook shot. Gay blocked a shot, and that triggered a fast break that she finished. The Canes were starting to panic and take desperation threes, and Duke was taking advantage. Bales hit another long jumper and then Duke's press produced an easy score for Mitch. When Bales sank yet another long jumpshot, Duke finished up a 13-0 run to go up 26-12. Taylor drove in for a score, but Duke ended the half on an 11-0 run. Duke simply outran the Canes, with Abby Waner scoring in transition and Harding blowing past everyone on a drive. Emily Waner sank a three with two minutes to go in the half, sandwiched around 2 missed treys for the Canes. The Canes kept chucking from long range and missing, and Duke kept converting. Harding hit a jumper with under a minute to go to put Duke up by 23. Miami had just 5 field goals in the half and coughed up the ball 11 times. Duke had just 7 turnovers and 2 of them were offensive fouls on Smith. The two key stats were a 10-1 edge in points off turnovers and a 10-0 advantage in second-chance points for the Devils. Katie Meier noted that above all else, Duke outhustled her team to the ball. It wasn't Duke's size or skill that gave them that first half lead, it was their desire for the ball. Copyright © 2006 DWHOOPS.COM (Orin A. Day, Durham, NC, USA.) All Rights Reserved.