The Nutshell by Rob CloughThe stat that really tells the story of Duke's victory over Utah Valley State
is
that the Devils scored 95 points but shot just 42% from the field. That's
because they forced 39 UVU turnovers, scoring a ridiculous 49 points off of
them, but the Devils missed at least 20 layups. They weren't entirely
uncontested, but coach McCallie noted that it was all a matter of focus--some
of the players were so "excited to finish" that they rushed their shots. The
best news from the game is that Duke's man-to-man defense in general was
greatly improved, coming up one shy of the team's record of 25 steals. Abby
Waner broke a 15-year-old record of single-game steals, held jointly by Duke
radio announcer Missy Anderson and Kim Hunter. What's remarkable is that she
forced about 5 or 6 other turnovers due to her swarming, preternaturally alert
ball pressure. I've seen players "in the zone" on offense, but Abby was truly
there on defense. Duke pressed their advantage inside despite being
outrebounded, as the trio of Chante' Black, Joy Cheek and Carrem Gay combined
for 50 points, 23 rebounds, 7 blocks, 7 assists and 8 steals. UVU never gave
up, and their star Robyn Fairbanks set a Cameron record with 20 rebounds. The
Wolverines had a couple of nice scoring runs, ripping off 10-2 and 8-0 jags at
times. All told, it was a solid post-exam effort, with lots of energy on
defense, pretty decent movement and spacing, and solid play by the team's
veterans. It was especially nice to see Wanisha Smith back in the lineup.
Editor's Note: Everything has been published!
|
