The Nutshell
Duke got their feet wet in their sole exhibition game of the season
against Team Reebok, a collection of former college players. Duke rolled
to a big early lead against a team playing their ninth game in nine days,
but the aggressive TR squad fought hard and forced a number of Duke
mistakes to stay within 20 points for most of the game. The Devils
stretched a 19 point lead to 27 in the middle of the second half, then put
the game away for good with a 9-0 run late in the game. Coach P was
pleased with the team's pressure (17 turnovers), rebounding (+22) and
willingness to share the ball (22 assists on 34 field goals). While there
were highlights for every player on the team, no one was able to quite put
together two equal halves. For example, Jasmine Thomas dominated Leah
Metcalf in the first half with 10 points and 2 assists, helping to hold
Metcalf to 0-4 shooting and 3 turnovers. In the second half, she missed
her only shot and had 2 turnovers. Wanisha Smith had 2 turnovers in the
first half and 0 points, and put up 16 points and 5 assists in the second
half. To a certain extent, this game was so disjointed because Coach P
used so many players and so many combinations. She's still trying to find
out what works and what doesn't, and this game certainly aided her in that
investigation. Duke will need to work on cutting down on fouls,
transition defense, and hanging on to loose balls.
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