Duke-UH game

Today’s women’s basketball game between Duke and UH was rescheduled to 1 PM to accommodate the Houston Cougars’ appearance in the Texas Bowl at 7 PM. Since people were still at work (that includes our Kris Gardner) the attendance was lower than expected. And those poor working souls missed a great game.

UH came out hitting their shots and set the tone of the game. They led the first half before Duke made their run and took the lead for the first time at 24-22 with 6 minutes left in the first half. Duke went on a 23-7 run to finish the first half. The halftime score was 41-27. Duke took their lead running fast break transition while UH went cold from the field and committed too many turnovers.

After halftime, Duke came out hot and scored the first 7 points and increased their lead to 21 points at the 16:45 mark. UH came back with a run of their own at the 12 minute mark to reduce the lead to 14 points. Unfortunately that is as close as it got. The rest of the game both teams exchanged baskets till the final buzzer. The final score was 84-68.

For UH, the senior tandem of Tye Jackson and Twiggy McIntyre led their team in scoring with 12 and 13 points, respectively. For Duke, Chante Black and Joy Cheek led their team in scoring with 12 and 14 points.

After the game, Tye Jackson’s proud uncle said UH lost this game because his niece was sitting on the bench when Duke made their 23-7 run. There may be some truth in his assessment. But since Tye is coming back from a knee injury, her minutes may have been limited.

The on court action was great, but so was the off court appearances of WNBA players. Former Duke players Mistie Williams and Lindsey Harding were at the game. UConn and Comet’s player Barbara Turner also was there. Mistie arrived with her husband, while Lindsey arrived with her parents and WNBA player, Katie Smith. During halftime, Lindsey was interviewed by local media personnel.