Duke basketball inexperience shows in fourth quarter of Elite 8 loss to South Carolina
It was the style in which the Duke basketball team has won a lot of its big games this season, ugly and low scoring, but its inexperience in the big moment was too much to overcome against South Carolina.
The Blue Devils led four entering the fourth quarter, 42-38, but could only muster eight points in the final frame and were denied of its first Final Four berth since 2006 with a 54-50 loss.
The reigning National Champions opened the final quarter on an 8-0 run and would never trail again, but Duke, although looking rattled in the moment, responded with back-to-back buckets coming out of a timeout to tie the game.
While the Blue Devils never held a lead inside the final seven minutes, it had an opportunity to go in front with less than ten seconds remaining, but a 3-pointer missed by Ashlon Jackson and Chloe Kitts iced the game at the free throw line.
There were some hiccups inside the final minute from Kara Lawson, too. Jackson’s airball 3-pointer was a stagnant possession from the start which had very little movement on the offensive end of the floor, and she still had timeouts to use but opted not to.
After the miss, South Carolina called timeout to advance the basketball into the frontcourt and the Duke players returned to the court setting up on the free throw blocks instead of defending the sideline out of bounds play. It allowed the Gamecocks to get the ball back in play uncontested.
Toby Fournier was the star for Duke with 18 points and it felt like a near miracle that Duke had a chance to win despite shooting 31.7-percent from the floor and 29.4-percent from 3-point range in addition to only being 7-of-13 from the free throw line.
The Lady Blue Devils only had a lot of offensive success in the third quarter, making 7-of-13 shots while having just four field goals in the first, second, and fourth quarters.
Still, it was another successful season for Duke after winning the ACC Championship and earning a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and, assuming it retains or upgrades its roster in the offseason, it will be in the mix for a Final Four berth next season with an improved offensive skillset.
