jjohnson@heraldsun.com; 419-6667
DURHAM — It’s hard to imagine approaching a game against an undefeated team with the résumé No. 1 Connecticut has built so far this season as just another game. But that is what No. 7 Duke is determined to do tonight (7 p.m., ESPN2) against the Huskies.
“You play your game and you have to be ready for their attack,” said Duke senior forward Joy Cheek. “We can’t change because we’re playing Connecticut.”
A pair of winning streaks will be on the line in the game. Connecticut (17-0) has won 56 straight overall, while the Blue Devils (15-2) have won 23 in a row at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The key to the game, according to Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie, will be the team that controls the transition game will have a major advantage.
“You’re not going to X and O your way to a win against Connecticut,” McCallie said. “We understand that Connecticut is a great team. Everyone understands that. Transition is a big part of their game. All the same preparation is going into this game for us. We’re not going to do anything special for this one game.”
The biggest thing McCallie wants her squad to do is play smartly and not fall into the mental traps laid by Connecticut.
“They force teams to play with a low [basketball] IQ,” McCallie said. “They make teams make mistakes they normally don’t make. We have to play with a high IQ.”
The Huskies are led by Tina Charles (18.2 points, 8.9 rebounds), Maya Moore (18.2 points, 7.4 rebounds), Kalana Greene (12.0 points, 4.6 rebounds) and Tiffany Hayes (10.1 points, 3.5 rebounds).
Duke will be the fourth ACC team the Huskies have faced this season. Connecticut beat Clemson 87-48, Florida State 78-59 and most recently North Carolina 88-47.
Cheek and Jasmine Thomas said they each watched a little bit of the UConn-UNC game but there wasn’t a whole lot they could take away from it other than knowing how well the Huskies get up and down the court. Anything that can slow Connecticut down will be a help, both said. They expect a huge crowd for the game, which will mark only the fifth road game for the Huskies.
“You don’t rely on the crowd to dictate games,” Thomas said. “It’s all about what you can do. If we’re on all cylinders, who knows. We’re taking it like any other game.”
The teams have played seven previous games with Connecticut holding a 4-3 advantage. The teams last played in 2007, McCallie’s first season, in the finals of the Paradise Jam when the Huskies prevailed 74-48. Connecticut’s last visit to Durham came during the 2003 season, when as the No. 2 team, they knocked off the No. 1 Blue Devils 77-65 in the first women’s sellout in school history. Oddly, the higher-ranked team has only won three of the seven contests and the home team has never won.
There are many intersections between the two rosters. Jasmine Thomas and Krystal Thomas teamed with UConn’s Maya Moore to help Team USA to the U19 World Championship in 2007. Cheek and Charles are best friends and played together in the 2005 USA Basketball Developmental Festival. Duke’s Bridgette Mitchell and Kaili McLauren also were teammates at the festival on another squad.
