Alison Bales   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 13 7 2-3 0-0 3-4 1 1-3-4 0 2 1 3 TOT 22 9 3-6 0-0 3-4 3 1-4-5 0 2 1 4   Ali's foul trouble hamstrung her a bit. It was a big reason why she didn't block a shot in this game, breaking a 45-game string. She had a huge impact in the first ten minutes of the game. She had assists to E.Waner and Harding for threes and had a pass inside to A.Waner that led to an assist (if this was hockey, she would have gotten one). When Wake pulled within 6, she scored 6 straight points of her own. Defensively, Wake really struggled to score against her. Only her foul trouble kept her from dominating. Carrem Gay   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 13 2 0-1 0-0 2-2 0 1-1-2 0 0 1 0 TOT 25 3 0-2 0-0 3-4 0 3-1-4 0 0 1 0   This was not Carrem's best game. She looked a bit slow out there, as though she was still recovering mentally from the intensity of the UNC game. I also think Wake's size bothered her more than anyone. Carrem picked up her play a little in the second half, grabbing a couple of big offensive rebounds. Gay is still adjusting to the intensity of a full-time ACC season, and it's clear that she had trouble summoning up the same kind of emotional effort as her older teammates. She can correct that in Duke's next game. Wanisha Smith   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 12 6 2-4 0-1 2-4 1 1-2-3 0 1 1 0 TOT 24 11 4-9 1-3 2-4 4 2-5-7 0 1 1 0   The newly-named ACC player of the week had one of the better performances for the starters, and she made several key plays in the second half to help salt the game away. She had 2 early baskets for Duke, a jumper and a stick-back. In the second half, Nish increased Duke's lead from 16 to 21, thanks to 2 assists, a three and a drive. Overall, she was just solid and consistent--lots of rebounds, few mistakes, good defense on Lavender. The only problem she had was occasionally losing track of Tchangoue, but she wasn't the only one who had that difficulty. Abby Waner   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 15 6 2-7 0-4 2-2 3 0-0-0 0 2 1 1 TOT 25 6 2-11 0-6 2-2 4 1-1-2 0 2 1 1   Abby seemed distracted in the game. One of her turnovers was a pass directly to a Wake player. This was odd because early in the game, she was having a nice impact: a steal and assist, a drive and assist to Smith, an assist to Cheek inside, and a couple of fast break baskets. However, her inability to get any jumpers to land seemed to really get her down, and she started pressing harder and harder rather than relaxing and relying on other parts of her game. She had an especially rough go of it in the second half, when she was 0-4 from the field with just 1 rebound. Part of the problem is that she seemed to shoot just a bit too quickly and didn't seem completely set or comfortable. Duke should have tried to work the ball around a bit more to get her more open looks, but she seemed so tense about missing that even her wide-open shots were rushed. I think Boston College, a team that will likely play a lot of zone, would be a great time for Abby to relax and get into a shooting groove. Lindsey Harding   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 19 7 2-7 1-1 2-2 1 0-3-3 0 1 1 1 TOT 32 13 4-13 1-1 4-4 1 4-4-8 0 1 1 1   Mike Petersen referred to Lindsey as the most dominant player in the conference this season, and that's difficult to argue with at this point. (With players like Crystal Langhorne & Erlana Larkins around, it's still a very open question.) Lindsey did not shoot well for the majority of the game, and knew that she was settling for jumpers instead of attacking the basket. Even when she was driving to the hoop, she was fading away instead of leaning in to draw contact or get a better angle off the glass. She didn't have a field goal in the last thirteen minutes of the first half, though she was instrumental in staking Duke out to their 15-3 lead. Lindsey has truly become a sterling "next play" player, shaking off her difficulties and scoring Duke's first 6 points of the second half. Even when she wasn't hitting shots, she was rebounding like a fiend and hounded Lavender into an awful shooting game. Petersen couldn't stop raving about her, and regretted that his team lost track of her a few times. Emily Waner   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 6 3 1-3 1-2 0-0 0 1-0-1 0 0 0 0 TOT 14 3 1-6 1-4 0-0 0 1-1-2 0 0 0 0   Em replaced Abby early on and sank a quick three, but misfired on the rest of her shots. I did like that she didn't restrict herself to just taking threes, but tried to drive a bit as well. Joy Cheek   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 8 4 1-4 0-0 2-2 0 2-2-4 0 0 1 1 TOT 16 13 3-9 0-0 7-7 0 3-3-6 0 1 2 1   For the second straight game, Joy was pressed into extended duty in the post because of Blue Devil foul trouble. And, once again, she rose to the occasion. Though she sometimes doesn't protect the ball as well as one would like for a post and sometimes holds on to it a bit too long, one can see the game slowing down for her. UNC was a real education in speed and power, one that she wasn't scared by. Wake's size was another challenge for Joy, as was replacing Bales instead of Gay in the post. Joy responded with a career-high 13 points, most of them from the foul line. In fact, Joy probably could have had near 20 points if she had finished a few more close-in shots. She also misfired with her usually trusty mid-range jumper, but didn't sweat it when she got to the foul line. Interestingly, she and Mitch were working a nice two-woman game on one possession. Duke was actively looking to get the ball to Cheek in scoring position. Mitch passed to Cheek inside, but she didn't have a good angle to the basket. So she reposted, got in better position (pinning her defender on her hip) and scored easily. Later, she got a three point play, scoring with contact. A fine game for a player who is becoming a dependable option off the bench. Brittany Mitch   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 8 0 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0-0-0 0 1 0 0 TOT 21 6 2-3 1-2 1-1 1 0-4-4 0 2 0 2   One can see Brit's confidence rising with each passing game. Since that breakout game against NC State, Coach G has had more and more trust in Brit; and this is really starting to pay off. The tantalizing skillset and versatility that was promised in preseason is finally starting to blossom in real time. Mitch's ballhandling, passing, rebounding, defense and shooting were all excellent in this game. This was especially true in the second half, when she was the primary playmaker in the last eight or so minutes, hit a three, and finished a three point play. The only negative I can see is that her playing time is eating into Emily Waner's a bit, but that's a problem you like to have: two good players competing for minutes, instead of players not yet ready to take minutes. Boston College's patterned offense will be an interesting challenge for Mitch to attack on Thursday. Bridgette Mitchell   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 6 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-2-2 0 0 0 0 TOT 18 9 2-4 1-1 4-4 0 2-5-7 0 0 1 1   Bridgette is another player that is starting to really get it. While she is still a bit coltish at times, she's starting to minimize her ballhandling and defensive errors. At the same time, she's maintaining her aggressive overall play, especially on the boards. She's a great weapon to insert into a game if the team is struggling with rebounding, because grabbing them is her prime directive on the floor. One might also notice her starting to flash her skillset, nailing her first career three pointer (beautiful form and follow-through). Mitchell got to the foul line, got rebounds and added emotion for a team that was a bit flat and tired. Keturah Jackson   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st DNP TOT 4 4 1-1 0-0 2-2 1 0-0-0 0 0 0 0   KJ got in close to five solid minutes of play. She scored on a cut, hit 2 foul shots, and had a slick pass to Mitchell for a three point play. This is exactly the kind of energy she needs to show out there. Duke   PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 35 10-30 2-9 13-16 6 6-14-20 0 7 6 6 TOT 77 22-64 5-17 28-32 14 17-31-48 0 9 9 10 Wake   PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 20 7-27 2-7 4-6 2 7-16-23 0 3 14 12 TOT 45 17-57 4-16 7-9 8 10-28-38 2 4 19 24 Copyright © 2007 DWHOOPS.COM (Orin A. Day, Durham, NC, USA.) All Rights Reserved.