GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Duke women's basketball coach Gail Goestenkors warned her Blue Devils in the locker room that their East Regional semifinal meeting with Old Dominion yesterday would more likely resemble Darwin than Naismith.
"We knew it was going to be physical," said Goestenkors. "I told them before we came out, 'Y'all, this is going to be survival of the fittest. This is going to be a war. We need to play like warriors, because the toughest team physically and mentally would win.' "
The 10th-ranked Blue Devils survived the war with a 76-63 victory over the Lady Monarchs and a berth in tomorrow night's regional final against Tennessee.
What happened at the Greensboro Coliseum wasn't science or art or anything pretty as the two teams staged what often looked more like a rugby scrum than a college basketball game.
But, in the end, Duke (27-6) advanced to its second consecutive regional final with something as basic as A-B-C: good, hard-nosed defense at the point of attack.
After Old Dominion point guard Natalie Diaz had burned them for 11 first-half points, the Blue Devils stepped up their defense on her, looking to get the ball out of her hands.
It worked, too, as Diaz had just four points after intermission, thanks to a swarming Duke defense.
"Duke's a great defensive team. They played aggressive and their backcourt played very well," said Diaz. "They pretty much matched me and it was effective to keep me from scoring."
On the offensive end, the Blue Devils, who won the regular season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, did a better job of handling the ball in the second half, with only eight turnovers after committing 16 in the first half.
"What we talked about for the second half was taking care of the ball and we did," said guard Nicole Erickson.
Old Dominion (28-4) did a good job of keeping Duke's All-American center Michele Van Gorp under wraps, with a double team that kept her from handling the ball. Van Gorp had just six points in 22 minutes and fouled out with 1: 54 to go.
But Erickson picked up the slack, with a game-high 24 points. The 5-foot-6 senior made all 11 of her free throws and all three three-point attempts, the final one coming with 2: 07 to go to give Duke a 10-point lead.
"We have such great depth, and because of that, you never feel the pressure," said Goestenkors. "Nicole's had off-nights before, but when you have the depth and the balance we have, you can feel a little more confident."
Pub Date: 3/21/99