KNOXVILLE — In the end, the team that relies so heavily on its defense couldn't make the two defensive stops it needed.
Duke forward Monique Currie scored two easy baskets in the final 1:09, and the fourth-ranked Lady Vols couldn't answer in a 59-57 loss last night. It was just the 14th loss ever for Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena.
''Currie comes right down the middle of the floor, and we don't pick her up,'' Tennessee Coach Pat Summitt said. ''You've got to cover the basketball especially when one of the best players on the floor has it in her hands.''
Currie scored a game-high 20 points, and scored 14 of the No. 10 Blue Devils final 18 points in the game. She also had nine rebounds.
She made a wide-open jumper from about 14 feet when the middle of Tennessee's zone opened up to give Duke (6-1) a 57-55 lead. After a Shyra Ely putback on the other end, Currie again found the hole in the Lady Vols' zone.
Holding onto the ball in almost the exact spot, she instead passed on the jumper and dribbled in for a layup to put the Blue Devils back in front with 38 seconds left.
''I think they were a little confused as to what they were in or who they were guarding, because I was wide open,'' Currie said.
The Lady Vols (4-2) got two pretty good chances to tie or take the lead in the final 30 seconds — both on Shanna Zolman jump shots —but neither was successful.
''Late in the game, we let it slip,'' said Zolman, who led Tennessee with 19 points. ''We had a lot of defensive lapses.''
Summitt had called for the Lady Vols to be in their matchup zone with about two minutes left, but Zolman said there was some confusion on the two possessions where Currie got easy baskets.
Some players were unsure if they were supposed to stay in that zone or switch to man-to-man.
''That's just our fault because we did not communicate on the floor,'' Zolman said.
It was another rough outing for Tennessee's offense in what is becoming the story of this team. The Lady Vols shot 28 percent from the floor, a season low.
Duke has held four opponents under 30 percent shooting this season.
''That's how it's been lately,'' Ely said. ''I'm seeing it go down to the bottom of the net and come back out. It's frustrating.''
Tennessee's post game is struggling right now. Ely needed 20 shots to score 15 points.
The Lady Vols were outscored in the paint 34-16 and seemed overmatched by Duke's post duo of 6-foot-7 Alison Bales and 6-3 Mistie Williams.
''You look at our post game, and you look at their post game — we're light years apart,'' Summitt said. ''We have to find a post game if we want to be serious as a basketball team.''
Tennessee will have plenty of time to figure out where it's going. The Lady Vols have 10 days off before playing their next game at home against DePaul on Dec. 12.
''It's like a puzzle,'' Summitt said. ''If you've got five pieces to the puzzle, everyone has to be a part to put the puzzle together.''
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