bstrickland@heraldsun.com; 419-6671
DURHAM -- Before Virginia Tech could set up its defense off the opening tip, Duke guard Jasmine Thomas darted to the basket for a lay-up.
For the remainder of the half, that had to suffice.
Duke missed layup after layup before halftime, but at least the Blue Devils were getting good looks at the basket.
Duke's defense never allowed Virginia Tech such a luxury, holding the Hokies to 15 first-half points to give the offense plenty of time to get things going in Thursday night's 69-38 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"Sometimes the ball doesn't go in, and that's OK as long as you're defending," said Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie, whose team led 22-15 at halftime. "That was the most awesome defense in terms of holding a team that's so powerful in transition, a team that's scored so many points against other opponents.
"I was pleased. I didn't have a lot to say to them."
Duke's defense, nearly as dominant in the second half, held the Hokies to their lowest scoring total in an ACC game since they joined the conference in 2004. Duke's offense played along in the second half, shooting 60 percent on the heels of a 25.7-percent first half.
Center Krystal Thomas returned to the starting lineup for the first time in six games and responded by scoring 13 of her game-high 17 points after halftime. Jasmine Thomas added 14 points -- eight in the second half -- and Joy Cheek scored eight of her 10 in the second half.
"We never stopped just because we missed a few shots in the first half," Krystal Thomas said. "We just stayed with what was working, and the shots began to drop."
While defense throughout the game and offense throughout the second half helped sixth-ranked Duke (16-3, 4-0 ACC) remain as the lone unbeaten in ACC play, Virginia Tech (11-7, 1-3) was left to settle for being the only team to beat North Carolina in ACC play.
A week ago, the Hokies scored a 79-64 victory over the Tar Heels, a game in which senior Utahya Drye out of Northern Durham High School scored 16 points to become the 22nd player in Hokies history to top 1,000 points.
Thursday, Drye scored just eight points on 2-of-8 shooting but certainly wasn't alone: Virginia Tech center Brittany Gordon led the Hokies with 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting, but the rest of the team was a combined 8-for-42 as Virginia Tech shot 25.5 percent.
"Utahya had some good looks at it tonight. It seemed the lid had a rim on it," Virginia Tech coach Beth Dunkenberger said. "We had some good looks, and I kept thinking, 'At some point, they're going to fall.'
"I give credit to Duke's defense. They got us tired, and shots that normally fall don't because you legs are gone from facing that pressure for 40 minutes."
At the midway point of the first half, Duke led 8-4, having already missed a half-dozen layups. The Hokies closed within 16-15 heading to the final two minutes, but a flurry by first-half standards -- hoops for Karima Christmas, Jasmine Thomas and Cheek -- made it 22-15 at the break.
Duke then opened the second half with a flurry even by its standards, a 14-2 run that featured a hoop apiece from all five starters for a 36-17 lead. While Duke opened the half 5-for-5, Virginia Tech only got one field goal attempt during the stretch to go with seven turnovers. The Hokies finished with 26 turnovers after totaling 26 over its previous three games.
As a result, Duke was able to put Monday's 33-point loss to No. 1 Connecticut in the rear-view mirror and put the ACC race -- which continues Sunday at Maryland (8 p.m., Fox Sports) -- front and center.
"That game is gone, and the ACC is where it really counts and where we're really trying to make our mark," Cheek said. "It would have been nice to win that game, but it's in the past, so we just have to come out strong for ACC play."
NOTE -- Beginning Sunday, the Duke women will join 14 other Duke teams in wearing "Save Haiti Saturday" patches to raise awareness for earthquake relief efforts headed by Project Medishare for Haiti, Inc. Duke graduates Nick Arison, Jenna Green and Doug Rosenberg spearheaded the "Save Haiti Saturday" initiative.
