Inside the practice gym Tuesday morning, Cavalier women’s basketball Coach Joanne Boyle was focused on her team’s preparation for Thursday night’s return to Cameron Indoor Stadium, where she played her college ball in the ‘80s and returned as an assistant from ’93-‘02. Then a question seemed to trigger her recollection of that Blue Devil past.
“I think the strangest thing is to be sitting on the other bench for me,” Boyle said. “That’s the hardest thing — not hard — it’s just kind of strange to be down there. But you’re down there to do a job, and this is who I coach. Duke’s always been a part of my life, always will be. But for those 40 minutes, it’s going to be about us and Virginia.”
The Cavaliers (13-9, 3-5 ACC) are coming off their third straight defeat, a 52-63 final against N.C. State a week ago. Virginia’s points per game average has plummeted from 77.4 to 66 since its 76-56 upset Jan. 3 over No. 22 Miami. There’s no question the loss of senior guard Faith Randolph, who broke her thumb Jan. 7 in the loss to No. 3 Notre Dame, has affected Cavalier point totals.
“We’re not getting Faith back for a little bit here,” Boyle said. “So we have to, with what we have, be able to find ways to score, get their confidence going… We can’t just assume at the end of the shot clock we are going to give the ball to [sophomore point-guard] Mikayla [Venson] and let her just figure it out for us.”
An All-ACC Freshman in 2014-2015, Venson has raised her game to even greater heights this season. The Arlington, Va. native leads her team in points per game at 15.1, three-point percentage at .378, and average minutes at 33.2. But the trouble is that defenses are starting to key on Venson, forcing other Cavaliers to beat them.
Not to mention, two contributors early on for Virginia have somewhat disappeared in this Venson-dependent, Randolph-less present.
“Now with Faith out, it’s harder for [sophomore forward] Aliyah [Huland-El] to score,” Boyle said. “It’s harder for [sophomore forward] Lauren [Moses] to score. Lauren understands she’s just got to make herself more available. She’s got to demand the ball and finish easy buckets.”
Although her three rebounds left much to be desired, Moses showed offensive promise in the loss to N.C. State. She finished in double figures for only the second time in the last seven games. Before that stretch, Moses had recorded ten or more points in nine out of 12 contests.
“I think I was definitely more aggressive, you know,” Moses said. “We all wanted to win that game. When we got in that hole, I think I really wanted to do whatever it took to win the game, so whether it was defensively hustling or offensively, I just tried to get it done.”
Moses and her Cavalier teammates cannot let falling behind be the spur Thursday night. The Blue Devils (16-7, 5-4 ACC) might be unranked for the first time since 1999, but they’re 10-3 at Cameron Indoor and enter having won four of five. Averaging 6-foot-1 across the board, Duke reverts to a Coach-Boeheim-esque defense that can rattle opponents.
“The thing that stretches us the most in regards to preparing for them is they’re just really long,” Boyle said. “I mean you look around. They run the matchup zone probably eighty to ninety percent of the game. Again, you talk about not turning the ball over or taking care of the ball. Against their length, we’re really going to have to do that.”
The Blue Devils sport two elite scorers in sophomore guard Rebecca Greenwell and sophomore guard Azurá Stephens, who combined to set 11 Duke freshman records last season. In 2015-2016, Greenwell averages 14.5 points per game and 5.5 rebounds, while Stephens averages 19.1 and 9.4.
“Not letting them get hot, taking a lot of Duke’s things away on offense, while they’re going through their plays, not letting them reverse the ball — those are all important,” Moses said. “And obviously what we’ve been wanting to do all season is rebound and get the ball out in transition.”
Sitting at eighth place in an ACC Conference that expects to receive around six NCAA Tournament bids, Virginia is in desperate need of a victory Thursday night. It won’t come easily against the Blue Devils on their famed home court, but the Cavaliers are not shying away from the moment.
“Personally, I have never played there, but I’ve always seen it on TV,” Moses said. “I’m just excited to get down there and beat them in their home gym.”
Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Thursday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
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