Devils Soar Over Eagles, 82-29

Game Recap by Rob Clough

Despite that, coach Joli Robinson's team has hung tough with most opponents, even though they've only played 2 home games. The Eagles are trying to lay a foundation for the future, and both coaches noted that they'd like to continue the series. Coach P noted that she thought it was important to play local teams, and Coach Robinson and her players were all thrilled to play in Cameron and get a feel for high-level Division I play. When asked if she'd like to play Duke at McLendon-McDougald, Robinson's eyes lit up, while Coach P said she'd keep an open mind for such a possibility.

Duke had some nice energy during the game's opening minutes but turned the ball over a bit, and seemed a bit unfocused. Central was a bit wary of Duke flying around on defense, missing some opportunities to score because they were afraid to make passes against Duke's pressure. They settled for one-on-one plays, and wound up having their first couple of shots sent back by Jasmine Thomas. The Eagles sat in a zone for most of the game, and Duke tried to pound their way through it. Chante Black scored Duke's first 6 points as Thomas and Wanisha Smith got her the ball. Smith fueled Duke's early scoring burst, picking up assists to Black and Abby Waner for three and hitting a 15' baseline jumper of her own. Keturah Jackson came off the bench and had an immediate impact, getting a stickback and an assist.

The Devils pushed the lead up to 17-3 as they pushed the tempo, with Joy Cheek scoring 4 straight points. J.Thomas had a pretty behind-the-back pass (featured in our top photos section) as she beat Central's defense, finding Cheek for an easy basket. The Eagles made some bad mistakes trying to play at Duke's tempo, throwing a full-court baseball pass out of bounds on one play. Still, they hung in there, going on a 6-2 mini-run as Duke turned the ball over 3 times and missed several shots. The Eagles drove the lane and hit some tough shots one-on-one. Finally, Black scored on a tip-in three point play after two misses by Krystal Thomas. Black then came up with a steal that led to Waner finding Smith for a fast-break basket.

After a couple of more Duke turnovers, Central scored a couple of easy baskets to pull within 24-13 with under five minutes to go in the half. Duke got tougher on the boards, as Karima Christmas went hard to the basket after a rebound and got fouled, hitting both shots. Jackson came up with another steal and dished to Carrem Gay for a layup. Thomas scored in transition and from the free throw line, while Christmas had another stickback. The Devils took advantage of Central's Lavonna Hailey (a former high school foe of Joy Cheek's) shooting with eleven seconds left, since Emily Waner drained a wide-open three with five seconds to go in the half. That finished off a stunning 12-0 run built on hustle, defense and rebounding.

Despite facing significant deficits in terms of size, speed and overall talent, the Eagles held Duke to 38% from the floor in the first half. This prevented the Devils from cashing in on their 13 steals and 15 turnovers as much as they could have. Duke was only 2-9 from three in the half, and so they had to focus to cut through the zone. The good news was that Duke had 10 assists on their 15 field goals. Amazingly, the half featured just 7 fouls, as Central was dogged in their defense but stayed away from trying to get physical, while Duke was aggressive in their ball pressure but their good positioning got them the benefit of the doubt when they got physical.

Wanisha Smith and Jasmine Thomas came out in the second half and powered Duke to 20 points in just seven minutes. Smith had 2 assists and 5 points, including a pretty finish on a touch pass from Black for a three point play. Thomas had consecutive assists to Smith for a jumper and Black inside on a look-away pass. Joy Cheek scored on a post-up and a finish on a fast-break lob from Smith. With the Eagles reeling, A.Waner had a steal and layup, while Christmas stole the inbounds pass and stuck in a tough reverse layup. When the smoke cleared, the Devils led 56-17.

Duke mercifully called off the press at that point, they had already forced 28 turnovers. After an NC Central basket, the Devils went on another scoring jag, this time a 13-0 tear. Krystal Thomas got some extended playing and started to stretch her legs a bit, finally finishing some shots she left short in the first half and getting to the foul line. Central continued to play hard, going on a little 10-7 run, aided in part by Duke missing 4 shots on one possession and Gay missing 2 free throws. Duke's deep reserves, Brittany Mitch and Bridgette Mitchell, got some nice minutes down the stretch, getting some boards and scores.

For the game, Duke had a 30-9 edge in points off turnovers (forcing 31 for the game) and 16-4 lead in second-chance points (with 25 offensive boards). Those 25 offensive rebounds almost matched NC Central's total rebound tally (26). Five Duke players were in double figures, with Duke's bench scoring an impressive 31 points. Coach Robinson thought her team rebounded and defended well in the first half, but that turnovers hindered what they wanted to do, as they had in most of their losses. However, her team was all about "no excuses, no explanations", despite their significant disadvantages, and they have nothing to be ashamed of in terms of effort.

Coach P singled out Nish's versatility, praising her energy and floor vision. Generally speaking, she thought that Duke's players are doing better focusing on each other in each possession and valuing the ball more. She did note that while going to a press rallied the team a bit, she didn't want to rely on that as a team. On the eve of the ACC season, she's happy to be playing with a full roster that's improved over the past few weeks.