Krystal Thomas

Krystal was challenged by her coaches to step up against Boston College center Carolyn Swords; she described her own performance in the 2010 loss as a "complete no-show" (an accurate assessment, with 0 points and 2 rebounds in 18 minutes). In fact, she had scored just 4 points in three prior meetings with Swords and the Eagles. That's why her performance here was so encouraging: she scored 8 points in each half, missed only 4 shots, converted twice at the foul line and hit hooks, post-ups and even a long jump shot. Defensively, she stopped BC's favorite play (a high-post lob into Swords) repeatedly by leaping and tipping away the pass (she came up with 4 steals). When Swords challenged her directly, she managed to block one of her shots. Krystal also sent away a couple of other shots by BC players who were trying to attack the basket. Indeed, it was not unusual to see her standing under the basket 90' away from the action when Duke was pressing the Eagles, just as a last line of defense. She outworked BC for rebounds -- she had almost as many boards (10) as Swords and Stefanie Murphy combined (12). Other than a silly play where she came up with a steal and decided to try to bring the ball up the floor (ending in a turnover), she made good decisions with the ball. Granted, BC rarely double-teams opposing post players, but Krystal had a strong performance against a player who was bigger than she was whom she had never played well against. After her passive performance in Chapel Hill, it was good to see her motivated and even a bit chippy here. Given that Duke will have to go up against Maryland's huge frontcourt next, she would be well-advised to find something else to get angry about.

Allison Vernerey

Alli scored 3 quick points and then missed a couple of close-in shots, though she did hit Gray for an early three. The second half saw a different player, as she scored right away in transition, nailed a hook and then hit a basket with the shot clock running down that gave Duke the lead for good. Duke kept going to her in their big run, with Scheer and Selby finding her for great scores inside. Down the stretch, when BC was trying to make a comeback, she had a stickback and finish from Gray. She nailed six of seven shots in the second half against 6-6 Carolyn Swords and 6-4 Stefanie Murphy. She got great position against them and her teammates trusted her to score when she got the ball, and score quickly. Vernerey also had a couple of key blocks as she played Murphy and Swords tough. She did have a few turnovers, including dropping a pass, but for a high ball-usage game that's to be expected.

Karima Christmas

Rima delivered what coach McCallie referred to as a quiet double-double. She wasn't spectacular (other than going high for a lob pass), she just aggressively did the job. Her aggression was the key to her success. Even though her jumper continued to clank (other than a pull-up from mid-range, a shot she should take more often) and some of her layups rimmed out, she kept attacking the basket. She scored on a couple of stickbacks (a tribute to her 6 offensive rebounds), a drive, on a cut, and at the foul line. She did a fine job of muscling out BC wing Kristin Doherty (1-9 from the floor). This is what Duke will need from Christmas in every game of significance.

Jasmine Thomas

Jasmine struggled with her shot and took just enough of them to figure that out. After scoring on a drive and in transition in the first half, her offense totally dried up -- including missing the front end of 2 separate one-and-ones. On the other hand, her defense and effort was unwavering, as she had 6 boards (4 in the second half), blocked a key shot by Jaclyn Thoman and kept her mistakes to a minimum. The team did well to pick up her scoring slack, as Jasmine didn't have to shoot her way out of it just in an effort to keep her team close.

Chelsea Gray

Chelsea was brilliant in this game, and I especially liked the way she is continuing to figure out what's a good pass and what's a bad pass. In particular, her ability to calculate risk/reward ratios on the run is starting to improve, as she understands that a pass that Vernerey might be able to catch is not necessarily one that K.Thomas can hang on to. She's being given a lot more freedom to improvise in the framework of trying to attack the post, and that showed in the way she used unusual passing angles to attack BC's zone. She was in attack mode from the very beginning of the game as she found Vernerey in the post and J.Thomas in transition after a steal. She drained a couple of early threes, which helped loosen up the defense a bit. In the second half, she had 2 assists inside for Vernerey and found Christmas inside on a cut. Later in the game, she flew into BC's defense and converted a three point play. Chelsea closed the game out with a short turnaround jumper in the post that pushed Duke's lead to 11 with a minute left. Other than a couple of silly back-to-back turnovers late in the game and some missed defensive assignments on Thoman, Chelsea was dominant.