67-36 and the ladies looked like themselves again! Everybody played, everybody scored, 53 rebounds, 28 offensive with 19 second-chance points coming out of those. Yes, of course Bryant is an inferior team, but it's also a team that can't get out of its own way, and those are the hardest to play against, because they can't get out from under anyone's feet, least of all yours. Kelly didn't have a particularly good game, neither did Aneah, but pretty much everyone else did. Kamiah and Logan looked great, and Tori is starting to show flashes of what she's going to be.

Bryant's coach needs to have a serious talk with her #3. Getting an Unsportsmanlike and a T in one game is unacceptable. Pat Summitt would have flayed her skin off verbally...or more likely with that icy blue stare (shudder). And I hope their player whose head hit the floor right in front of us is okay. That was a concussion for sure.

Happy Birthday to Logan, Lexie, and Coach O!

O to P

Agree about the injured player. They took her to the bench right under where we were sitting next to the band and you could see that she had absolutely no idea where she was or what day it was. Hope she is OK.

Brian

And whoever said that basketball is a non-contact sport? That play where the Bryant player got hurt looked more like a rugby scrum than women's basketball. I too hope she is okay - hate to see anyone on the ground that long. Bryant got a little pushy and overly feisty a bit in the fourth quarter but I don't think the Dukes bit. I saw Hailee put her hands up and walk away from a couple of times when she was being pushed. I got very concerned when Devon got hit in the face. I saw her head snap back and I was afraid of either a broken nose or a concussion, but she seemed to be okay.

I love watching Tori play. She is fearless on the court and has shown she can shoot a running shot or a three point shot with the best of them.

Anyway, it might not have been the prettiest win but a win is a win is a win. The real season starts a week from today at Hofstra as JMU does its northern swing. We shall start to see if the mostly tough non-conference schedule will pay off.

Agree that the game started to get a bit chippy towards the end but the Dukes maintained their cool unlike #3 on Bryant. Bryant played some good D all game long and frustrated the Dukes in the first half by preventing them from getting inside at all. Things obviously opened up in the second when the Dukes started to pull away.

Tori looks like she will be a god player for the Dukes, seems to have no fear. Devon got some serious minute due to foul trouble by Kayla and Kelly and played well. She seems to be developing well the more she plays. That head shot she took looked bad, I thought she might has lost a tooth or something.

Re the T on Bryant #3 at the end of the game, anyone know what the cause was? She just mouthing off to an official?

While a 4-7 record in OOC play is a bit disheartening it was a tough schedule and the real work starts Dec 29 at Hofstra.

Go Dukes!!

Happy Holiday Season to all the Lady Dukes, the staff and all the Dukes Fans.

Brian

Not sure at all what the T was about, whether mouthing off or whether she hit someone in the scrum (funny, we said the same thing down where we were --we are huge English and Aussie Premier lLeague fans) but that kid needs to be benched by her coach for awhile. She's the one who hit Devon and got the Unsportsmanlike foul in the 2Q. I kinda wish Coach O would let Logan shoot the FTs on those, I think her average might be better than Hailee's.

I'm very high on both Tori and Devon. I was tickled to death when we got Tori, knowing her brother Tobias from Tennessee. I figured, growing up in that house, she'd have a good basketball IQ, and she sure does. The more she plays the more it shows up. And I like Devon--she's tough as nails and probably shaping into the best post player we've got. If she stays out of foul trouble she's gold. It looked to us like she took a shot across the bridge of the nose, although how that little stinker #3 got that high i don't know.

A Happy Holiday season to all of you, whatever holiday you celebrate, and Go Dukes!