Aggies Close Book on Duke, 77-63

Chante Black

Chante was once again a stalwart in the post for Duke. A&M recognized her as a threat and frequently fronted her and double-teamed her, but she still fought her way to 17 points and 12 rebounds. She didn't score in the last 6:30 of the game as Duke started to panic and take bad shots. In general, she simply didn't get the ball enough. I would have liked to have seen Duke invert players a bit and get Chante some open jumpers from the foul line, especially if it meant Cheek as the main post. I think it would have opened up Joy's game a bit and given A&M some different looks. All told, Chante played quite well in the postseason, starting with the ACC finals. She perhaps looked a bit fatigued in the second half, but there's no question that she outperformed everyone else on the team.

Joy Cheek

Joy really struggled in this game. She missed shots early, she bricked free throws, she committed multiple offensive fouls and was overwhelmed by Patrice Reado in the second half. Other than hitting a very difficult shot late in the first half, this was one of the toughest games of her career.

Wanisha Smith

In her final game in a Duke uniform, Nish struggled from the field. Her only field goals came on drive, though she did manage to get to the free throw line 8 times. She did have assists to Black, Jackson and Waner but couldn't loosen up A&M's suffocating post defense by hitting those jumpers. It was a frustrating end to a career as a stellar role player who always did what was asked of her.

Abby Waner

After looking tight for the first 33 minutes of the game, Abby scored 11 of her 15 points with under seven minutes to go, including 2 threes. She was plenty active before that, grabbing 7 rebounds and 4 steals, but she also frequently looked out of synch and frustrated. Every time she made a mistake, she redoubled her efforts and came up with a big play.

Jasmine Thomas

This game was a microcosm of Jasmine's season to date: a lot of missed shots, a lot of mistakes at both ends, a lot of hustle and activity. She delivered perfect assists to Black inside and Waner in transition but also threw some puzzling passes as well. She never really looked comfortable on offense, taking off-balance shots. This was obviously by design, because A&M wanted her to shoot on the move, moving side-to-side instead of fading away. Jas did pile up rebounds in the first half and fought hard, but it was too much to ask of her to solve A&M's defense at this point in her career.

Keturah Jackson

KJ had an excellent overall game. She played great defense, attacked the basket, got steals, took care of the ball and even blocked a jumper. Her three point play with twelve minutes left was a big play for Duke, while her steal & layup in the first half tied the game. As always, the main problem with having KJ on the floor is that she's no threat whatsoever to score outside of 2' away from the basket. Once A&M figured that out, they were able adjust to her presence and force her to give up the ball or dare her to shoot.

Carrem Gay

Carrem had a quick burst on offense when she entered the game in the first half, scoring after she slipped a screen and then using her agility to score off the dribble. A&M adusted to her by forcing her to make decisions with the ball and getting physical with her. She was a non-factor in the second half and wound up fouling out because of the way the Aggies adjusted to her.

Brittany Mitch

Brit came in toward the very end and missed her only shot.

Krystal Thomas

Krystal just saw spot duty in this game, which made sense as Chante was dominant and never in foul trouble.

Bridgette Mitchell

Bridgette just played in mop-up time, sharing a defense/offense role with Mitch.