OKLAHOMA CITY — The third-seeded Blue Devils’ defense was dominant at times in the first half, but the No. 2 Aggies forged a lead in the period’s last five minutes and leads at half 29-25.
- Chante Black and Abby Waner have five rebounds each, as Duke is dominating the glass, 23-15. When Duke doesn’t rebound, it doesn’t win. We’ll see if the corollary proves true.
- Duke’s defense has been stifling tonight, forcing bad Texas A&M shots to beat the shot clock. But as good as the defense was, the offense was that bad. Duke has 14 team turnovers and the Aggies have garnered eight steals.
- The Blue Devils simply aren’t shooting that, um, much tonight. They posted a 47.8-percent shooting clip for the half, which head coach Joanne P. McCallie would take any night. But Duke took just 23 shots, compared to the Aggies’ 34. Texas A&M is shooting 35.3 percent.
- Duke is 3-for-8 from the free-throw line. Black is 2-of-5.
- Still, Duke has not made a 3-pointer. Only Waner has taken a long-range shot, and she is 0-for-3. All three were considerably deeper than the 3-point line.
–by Ben Cohen
