Duke 60, LSU 52

DURHAM - Round two was tougher.

After routing Hampton in the first round of the NCAA women’s tournament, the No. 2 seeded Blue Devils faced a bruising, defensive-minded Louisiana State team on Monday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Pushed to the closing minutes, they escaped with a 60-52 victory and will advance to the Memphis Regional semifinals on Saturday.

Prior to last season’s second round loss to Michigan State, the Blue Devils had advanced to the round of 16 in 11 consecutive seasons.

Last season, the Devils met the Spartans on their homecourt and were soundly rebuffed by the former team of their head coach Joanne P. McCallie. Players and coaches say they were “punched in the mouth” but didn’t punch back.

Against LSU, the Devils hit back when struck.

For much of the season the Devils have touted themselves a tougher team than the one that showed up in Michigan. In the final minutes of Monday’s game, the weight room sessions were evident as Duke players crashed to the floor after loose ball and finally proved they could rebound on the offensive glass with the Lady Tigers.

Awaiting Duke in the “Sweet 16” is the winner of third-seeded West Virginia and 11th-seeded San Diego State - a upset winner over Texas in the first round. No longer are basketball observers anticipating a meeting between the Devils and Longhorns, who are coached by former Duke coach Gail Goestenkors. She left Durham after 15 seasons on the bench.

Duke collected its 16th win at home this season, matching its single-season school record set during the 1999-2000 season.

Trailing by seven points in the first half, the Devils used the final six minutes of the half to pull the game even at 25-all. Back-to-back steal-and score plays pulled them within two points.

A layup by senior Bridgette Mitchell knotted the score as the clocked ticked off its final seconds. The 6-foot guard grabbed what was the Devils’ second offensive rebound of the game before she made the play.

LSU’s 6-2 sophomores LaSondra Barrett and Courtney Jones made it difficult for Duke players to own the paint.

The Lady Tigers shot 52.4 percent from the field in the first half, a season-high mark allowed by the Devils.

Still, it was defense that saved the Devils in the first half. Switching from a man-to-man set to a 3-2 match-up zone, they slowed Hightower and slowed the Lady Tigers from attacking inside.

Read more: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/in-game-lsu-vs-duke#ixzz0ixSNhx6d