Krystal Thomas

Krystal was active and involved, looking for her shot and staying energetic on defense even though the ball rarely moved into the post. Her two assists were heads-up plays: one was a dish to Jasmine after Krystal got an offensive rebound, and another was a pass to a cutting KJ. The problem for Krystal was that she had trouble finishing some very good looks at the basket--she missed a number of 2-foot hooks. To her credit, she was trying to use her left hand to score on a couple of those shots, but just didn't look all that comfortable. Still, one can see that she's trying to add new elements to her game in order to keep up as a viable scoring threat and maintain Duke's offensive balance. Her best shot was a soft turnaround baseline jumper.

Joy Cheek

Joy was awesome in those first eight minutes of the game, especially with regard to her shot selection. She used her power and mobility to punish GSU when she was isolated one-on-one, and her teammates did well in getting her the ball in spots where she she could score. Cheek also ripped down rebounds and was aggressively going after the ball on defense. Then she disappeared, and I'm not sure why. Part of the problem was that the zone started to make her impatient and she turned the ball over a couple of times as a result. She had trouble balancing aggressiveness with good decision-making, and those mistakes may have made her skittish.

Bridgette Mitchell

Bridgette pulled down 4 rebounds in the first half but only got 1 shot attempt. Then she came out and tore things up in the second half, with that three she drained being a great-looking shot. Somewhat troubling were her three turnovers, a couple of which were careless. Still, Duke is a much better team when Mitchell is in attack mode.

Jasmine Thomas

Jasmine was another player who was a bit passive in the first half who made a much bigger splash in the second. Her three point shot continues to look a bit shaky, especially off the dribble, but she's deadly from mid-range and attacking the basket. As a distributor and defender, she was outstanding, and she was especially impressive in grabbing boards, getting 7.

Keturah Jackson

KJ was really feeling it in this game, with nearly every shot she flipped up landing in the basket. I was most impressed by the baseline jumper she hit off of a pass. She had good balance and form on that shot, something that hasn't always been the case with her. She attacked the basket and looked comfortable handling the ball, made great decisions and avoided charges. KJ was the one player who significantly stepped up her play after a bad showing against Texas A&M.

Karima Christmas

Karima was relegated to the bench and seemed a bit out of sorts on offense. She just couldn't get any shots to fall, through she worked hard on defense and hit the boards. The reality is that she's a streaky shooter who will be hot in some games and cold in others, but she just needs to maintain her level of effort and intensity at both ends.

Allison Vernerey

Allison punished GSU in the first half by finishing three nice passes. This is a player who is incredibly aggressive to the ball and constantly looks to attack. What GSU showed is that by sitting on her left hand, they can force Vernerey into mistakes. She airballed a little scoop shot and turned the ball over three times when trying to shift over from the right block to the left. Developing that right hand will take time, but it's something she has to do to maximize her effectiveness.

Kathleen Scheer

Kathleen is the team's zone buster, but she's also obviously trying to make herself useful in other ways. Her length bothered GSU when Duke used a halfcourt trap, she got a couple of tough rebounds and found a gap in the zone and delivered a great pass to K.Thomas, who drew a foul. Her shot was not falling and she looked a bit awkward in trying to create it on her own. She's a player who seems to thrive by staying in motion, but seems just a bit out of synch in a system that doesn't necessarily get the ball to players off of screens. Still, the range on her shot is quite a weapon, and I hope that she gets more comfortable as the season proceeds.

Chelsea Hopkins

Chelsea had a solid showing, finding Vernerey for an assist and not turning the ball over. Her baseline drive for a score looked very smooth, and her defense was active as always. Playing point meant that J.Thomas could play off the ball a bit more.

Alexis Rogers

Lexi had several nice hustle plays, including a diving steal and a stickback. She also got a little bit too physical on some plays, picking up a couple of fouls. I would have liked to have seen her get a few more minutes at the end, simply because of her consistent level of effort.

Shay Selby

Coach P noted that Shay isn't quite 100% in terms of what she can do in practice. She's obviously last in the rotation, but McCallie said that she hopes, as she gets in better shape, that she can work her way up. In this game, she had a gorgeous behind-the-back assist to Christmas in transition and missed two good-looking shots. Selby is a player who can definitely help Duke, and I hope that McCallie continues to work her up the rotation.