Keyboard Quarterbacks

By Karen Bailis

Maybe it was the sight of Tennessee men’s coach Bruce Pearl, shirtless, chest painted orange with a white “V” on his torso as part of the student section’s “GO VOLS.” That’s enough to throw anyone off their game.

More likely, it was the Duke defense and its not-so-secret offensive weapon of three-point dead-eye Abby Waner. She was shooting 6-for-9 from Beale Street and finished with a game-high 24 in No. 1 Duke’s 74-70 win over No. 4 Tennessee.

That one-two punch is what powered Duke to a 19-0 run in the first six minutes against Tennessee in Thompson-Boling Arena, where Tennessee had lost only 16 games since 1987. Duke is now 20-0, tying its best start, and ending an 11-game Tennessee winning streak.

There was no Rocky Top. The crowd of 21,118 remained standing until Tennessee’s first score, nearly a full six minutes into the game.

It was all defense.

“Defense wins championships.”

It’s a mantra repeated by Tennessee coaching legend Pat Summitt through her 930 wins in 33 seasons at Tennessee. And her Tennessee teams have long been known for their defense. This one displayed its own flashes of stellar defense as the Vols made a run from 21 points down to tie the game at 48 with 10:48 left. That was as close as they’d get in the first game this season that they never led.

Duke’s traps were stiflingly brilliant in the first half. It took superstar Candace Parker nearly 10 minutes to get her offense started against the country’s No. 1 defense. She found herself shadowed by Carrem Gay and the 6-7 Alison Bales. It was up to Alexis Hornbuckle to keep Tennessee in the game. She finished with a career-high-tying 19 points along with nine rebounds.

Waner and Lindsey Harding had no trouble on offense. Waner finished the first half with 21, while Harding came alive in the second, tallying 14 of her 21 points, and she finished with seven assists.

But it was the defense that was on display. Coach Gail Goestenkors’ squad managed to deny Tennessee and fleet-footed point guard Shannon Bobbitt any fast-break opportunities and contained Parker, which few teams have been able to claim. Containing her meant 22 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks. But after she’d gone off for 30 against Connecticut, keeping her just two above her average is success.

Tennessee got itself back in the game with offensive rebounds and well-timed three-pointers by Hornbuckle and Sidney Spencer and a supporting cast that hit eight in the second half.

But a team that shot 46 percent from behind the arc hit only 47 percent from the free-throw line. And that proved costly. Duke went 14-for-15 from the line, Tennessee 8-for-17. Parker, whose game appears otherwise flawless, was 1-for-7 from the line.

It must have had Summitt seeing red.

And Pearl’s orange chest? He was making good on an on-air promise to Summitt. She made no such promise to reciprocate.

Waner said she would take up the idea with Duke men’s coach Mike Krzyzewski.

“It’s great that the support is here,” Waner said. “We get that from our men’s program too. I’m sure the team appreciated it. It shows a lot about the respect women’s basketball is getting.”