Krystal Thomas

For most of the game, Krystal was pretty quiet on offense. She had assists to Christmas for a three and Vernerey on a high-low, but she only took 3 shots and made just 1 on a nice pass from Selby. However, when the Heels took their last lead at 54-53, Krystal hit back-to-back shots inside and found Peters for a three and on a cut. She also piled up 8 rebounds (though several of those came on one possession) and played as hard as she could against Shegog & Breland. While she didn't get any blocks, she did force a couple of travels with great position defense.

Allison Vernerey

Alli gave it everything she had despite feeling ill and was one of the players who carried the team in the first half. She scored on a runner to start the game, finished a high-low, ran the floor to score in transition and finished a tough shot on a pass from Christmas. She also scored early in the second half. Throughout the game, she played the best defense on Breland, using her mobility to match her step-for-step and using her length to bother a couple of her shots. Alli also blocked a couple of shots to go along with that steady defense, including a nasty stuff on Breland.

Karima Christmas

Rima took a nasty spill early in the game and bruised her elbow, but she kept fighting and scrapping. She hit an early three and then went top shelf for a rebound and stickback. She hit 2 free throws when she was fouled after blocking out and finished the half with an assist to Vernerey on a nice wing entry. In the second half, she pulled up in the lane to hit a short jumper, finished in transition and scored on a cut. Rima also took a charge and grabbed a game-high 9 rebounds. This was exactly the kind of performance that Duke needed from her to take pressure away from Jasmine. She scored in a variety of ways, attacked the basket and boards and stayed out of foul trouble. She even took a charge in this game.

Jasmine Thomas

Jaz turned it up a notch Sunday as she dropped in jumper after jumper and helped put the clamps on UNC's guards. She started the game with an assist to Selby for three; Jasmine seems to have an eye for her when she's open. She then hit 2 free throws, hit a 17' jumper and then sank a three. She followed that up with a 15' jumper and a three on a broken play late in the first half, tallying 12 in all. Jaz also picked up a steal and took a charge in the half. She opened the second half with another long jumper and later drove and hit a ridiculous, twisting leaner to break a 51-all tie. During Duke's back-breaking run, she had an assist to Christmas in transition, hit 2 foul shots and hit the three that was part of the five-point play. She was deservedly the tournament MVP for the second straight year, adding that trophy to her list of accolades.

Shay Selby

Shay didn't play a ton of minutes in this game and had some problems with turnovers. That said, she also had an assist to Krystal Thomas and hit an open early three. I liked starting her to keep her involved and to bring an additional veteran presence to Duke's lineup.