Elizabeth Williams

This was a workmanlike game for Liz, who came into the contest having hit her last eleven field goals. She made her first but pushed her next attempt to end that streak at 12 shots--second best in Duke history behind Sheana Mosch's 17 consecutive field goals. She scored on pin-point passes from Gray and lobs in from the high post from Vernerey, missing a couple of easy shots but mostly wreaking havoc on an overwhelmed UNC-W frontcourt. Seahawk coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke explained that her guards did a poor job of pressuring the ball, allowing Duke to get any shot they wanted. With no resistance from the perimeter, Duke had all day to get the ball inside and the poor UNC-W posts had no chance of contending with Duke's frontcourt. This game was interesting for Elizabeth because in addition to co-leading the team with 6 rebounds and blocking a trio of shots, she had 5 assists. Many of those were to Vernerey, but she also found Liston & Gray cutting to the basket as well.

Haley Peters

Haley sat much of the first half due to foul trouble and had a field goal at the first half buzzer waved off because it came after time expired. She made up for that with 7 points in the second half, including a three, a bank shot, and a short jumper. Haley also found Scheer and Vernerey inside and dug in for 4 steals. This wasn't a vintage Peters performance, but she still hustled and got some results in the second half.

Richa Jackson

If Richa had played more minutes, she would have put up some much bigger numbers. She played excellent pressure defense, leading the charge that shut down UNC-W's leading scorer Alisha Andrews (just 9 points and 13 turnovers). She's one of Duke's best finishers, especially in transition, as 3 of her 4 field goals came off turnovers and transition play. The other was a deadly turnaround jumper with a high arc on her shot. With 5 boards and 4 steals, she proved that she could do the dirty work as well as put the ball in the hoop.

Chloe Wells

This was a mixed bag for Chloe, as she had trouble finishing off the dribble in traffic and flubbed a couple of transition opportunities. On the other hand, her passing was excellent and her ball-hawking was tremendous, as she dished out 7 assists and got a game-high 5 steals. She kept at it in the second half, scoring on two cuts, following her own shot, and splashing in a three. In the first half, she had 3 consecutive assists (including 2 in a row to Vernerey) and her aggressiveness kept Duke moving in transition. Overall, she did a nice job of disrupting UNC-W's offense and keeping their defense off-balance. If her performance wasn't always consistent, she never stopped attacking.

Chelsea Gray

Chelsea was amazing in this game, showing us a number of tricks with the ball. Her body control and ability to alter her approach to the basket in mid-air are amazing. On one drive, she avoided the block by doing a windmill pump fake and bringing the ball low, then laying it in. Her next shot, a three, came when UNC-W went on a run; she gets an incredible amount of arc on her shot. On her next attempt, she posted up her opponent and finished with her left hand. On Duke's next possession, she redirected a Wells pass in transition with a touch pass to a wide-open Liston. Her last shot of the half was a cut on a pass from Wells; Gray had assists to Williams and Vernerey as well in the half. In the second half, she had a stickback, a spectacular steal & runout, and whipped a pinpoint pass to Wells on a cut. She had 10 assists in all to go with her rebounds and steals, and I still felt like she could have shot the ball more. Coach Cooper-Dyke said of her, "She's just so dynamic, patient, strong and as a fellow two-guard, I'm very impressed with her on both ends of the floor. Penetrating and getting to the basket or hitting the deep three pointer."