Chante Black   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF TOT 40 16 8-14 0-0 0-0 0 3-5-8 2 3 5 4   Chante hadn't played a game before an audience since the spring of 2006, yet she showed no jitters and little rust. She was able to get the better of Krystal Thomas primarily through her craftiness at the offensive end. When she went straight at her, Thomas was able to defend her. So she drove around her and took her outside, smoothly nailing shots from 10' 15' and 19'. Amazingly, Black played all forty minutes and kept up her intensity the whole time. She did miss her last three shots (after nailing 8 of her first 11), but she at least got offensive rebounds each time. Chante was always heady, but not always efficient. She tried to attack the basket off the dribble a few times, which didn't go as well as planned. She made some ballhandling and passing mistakes as well. Still, she's clearly made herself into the team's top offensive target, attacking the basket at different angles. Working with Carrem Gay, she was the recipient of two high-low passes that resulted in easy scores. All told, this was a fine first showing from Chante, who displayed the sort of skills she had developed a year ago but never got the chance to display. Carrem Gay   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF TOT 37 14 6-13 1-2 1-2 5 5-9-14 1 6 3 2   There's still little flash in Gay's game, but plenty of efficiency. Though she had a number of shots sent back by Krystal Thomas to start the game, she found other ways to contribute. In the first quarter alone, she had a steal & layup, had 2 assists to Black, sank a 12' jumper and finished a feed from Smith. She also hit the first three of her college career and grabbed 14 rebounds. Gay was flooding passing lanes and came up with 6 steals. Gay was active, aggressive, smooth and poised throughout the game. Gay showed her limitations against taller shotblockers when trying to post up for baskets, but proved that she can adjust her game as needed. It's obvious that Gay has absorbed the lessons of a year ago and is ready to become a consistent performer. Wanisha Smith   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF TOT 33 12 4-12 2-4 2-2 4 0-3-3 0 0 1 3   Nish missed some open shots but kept firing. In the second half, she heated up by nailing a three and a short jumper, and later draining another three. She also found Cheek and Gay inside for baskets and hit A.Waner for a trey. Smith played tough defense and generally looked poised, though she looked a little worn out by guarding quick wings like Jackson, Christmas and Mitchell. I did like the fact that she was aggressive in looking for her shot, and got decent looks from long range when her drive was cut off. Abby Waner   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF TOT 26 12 5-12 2-8 0-0 1 3-3-6 0 3 5 2   Abby missed a lot of threes but kept plugging away, nailing 2 threes in the third quarter. When her long-range shot wasn't falling, Abby was able to hit from 19' and 15', the first shot being a quick-hitter. What made this performance a solid one was her hustle. She grabbed 6 rebounds, 3 on the offensive end, and also had 3 steals. Waner is determined to be more than just a shooter, and the way she's been going after the ball is a testament to this. There was a funny moment where she and Emily practically got into a wrestling match going after a loose ball, only to grin when they finally both made it to their feet. Emily Waner   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF TOT 31 3 1-8 1-5 0-0 5 0-1-1 0 2 5 2   Em had a really tough shooting day, hitting just a single three. She found teammates in transition and on quick-hitters, but also had 4 passes picked off. She did a pretty decent job of staying in front of Jasmine Thomas and preventing her from getting to the basket, but will need to hit some shots if she's going to receive extensive playing time. Karima Christmas   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF TOT 30 7 1-9 0-3 5-6 6 3-0-3 1 2 2 1 Photo - Duke SID   The biggest surprise of the preseason had a game that was much better than her stats might indicate. Though just 1-9 from the floor, several of those shots were halfway down before they popped out. Her stroke looked great and she was aggressive in attacking the hoop. The one shot she did hit was actually the one with the highest degree of difficulty, with a defender flying right at her. Christmas' power allowed her to get to the foul line where others were getting their shots blocked when driving. She was active on the offensive boards and just seemed to have a nose for the ball. McCallie noted that it looked like she could run all day, and wasn't even playing at her "highest gear". Christmas is going to have an opportunity to get some serious minutes. Krystal Thomas   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF TOT 38 6 3-8 0-0 0-0 1 1-6-7 4 1 5 5 Photo - Duke SID   Krystal showed her strengths and weaknesses rather clearly. The timing on her shotblocking is superb, using her sense of anticipation as much as she used her leaping ability. She never left her feet when guarding an opponent in the post, but sometimes guessed wrong and wound up with 5 fouls. She was always in the right place for a rebound, but sometimes was either pushed out of the way or had a ball ripped out of her hands. Offensively, she hit a left-handed hook, put home a stickback, and sank a 15' jumper when isolated with time running down. She took a longer hookshot that didn't fall and had trouble getting time to get off some shots in the lane. On one occasion, she tried to bull her way to the basket but charged into Carrem Gay. All in all, she showed flashes of what she's capable of in this game. I would have liked to have seen her paired with Black, and hope we see this combination in Duke's next game. Joy Cheek   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 5 0 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 0-0-0 0 0 1 2 TOT 39 12 5-7 0-0 2-2 1 0-5-5 1 1 2 3   Joy showed off nice touch on her jumper and an ability to attack the basket. She had a massive block early in the game on Smith, but had trouble beating Gay to the spot for many rebounds. In the first half, she scored on post-ups, and in the second nailed some long jumpers--including a shot just inside the three point line. McCallie singled out Gay over Cheek because she did more of the little things on the floor, like getting tough rebounds. For Joy, this will be a matter of being in the right place at the right time--and doing this consistently. Cheek's physical game brings an important dimension to Duke's attack, because she's the only player who can seal a player on her hip and power in for a layup. As long as she uses her power to block out and get rebounds as well, Joy will be getting major minutes. Bridgette Mitchell   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF TOT 28 9 4-7 0-2 1-1 1 0-4-4 1 1 4 1   This game brought Bridgette's strengths and weaknesses into sharp relief. Early in the game, she was taking bad shots and trying to play one-on-one too much. As a result, she missed some defensive assignments and threw some questionable passes. Of course, when put in a situation where there was a broken play and a loose ball was in the air, she made the most of it with a brilliant spin move for a score. Later, she followed a slick pull-up jumper with a pass to Emily Waner for a three. She jumped in front of a Smith pass for a breakaway layup but then threw away the ball after Mitch grabbed a steal. Mitchell is always active, has skills and wants to fit into what her team's doing. There are just times when she's not as focused as she should be. Teammates like Carrem Gay and Wanisha Smith are experts at molding their games around the needs of the team; we'll see if Mitchell can continue to grow in this area. Keturah Jackson   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF TOT 37 4 2-10 0-2 0-2 1 1-0-1 0 3 4 4   KJ had a really rough game. She missed a number of wide-open looks at the basket from long range and close up. KJ prowled the passing lanes nicely, picking up a number of steals, and certainly didn't lack for hustle. She simply struggled against her more experienced, skilled teammates. Jackson needs to maintain her enthusiasm and energy and continue to absorb what's being taught to her. It was good to see her get major minutes (37), which is the most she's played in live competition. Jasmine Thomas   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF TOT 9 4-11 1-6 0-0 6 1-5-6 0 3 5 0 Photo - Duke SID   Jasmine displayed her speed, headiness and aggressiveness the entire game. She found Cheek on two post-ups and a runout, Jackson in transition, and Black & A Waner for jumpers. Thomas also had 2 steals & runouts of her own, nailed a three and a short jumper. Her shooting form remains a bit odd-looking as she cocks the shot way back before she releases and has a funny stance while doing it, resulting in some rainbows being launched. She airballed her first three, but that didn't stop her from taking good shots. Thomas was certainly the most dynamic playmaker on the team, making some other passes that didn't lead directly to scores, but did set up some nice plays. She was a bit wild with some of her passes and lost control of her dribble a couple of times, which is not unusual given her adjusting to the speed of the game. Brittany Mitch   MIN PTS FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF TOT 34 7 2-7 1-3 2-3 2 1-0-1 0 4 5 2   Brittany had a number of big plays in this game, using her own set of unique positives to create mismatches. She had the game's only three point play as she finished a tough shot in transition, nailed a three from the corner and was a terror when the team started to trap and press. Like the other ballhandlers, she had trouble keeping control of the ball at times and made several bad passes. She's certainly still battling to carve out a major role on this team, and while she only hit 1 of her 3 three point attempts, she looked a lot more comfortable taking them. Duke   FG 3FG FT A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF TOT 45-128 8-35 13-18 26 26-48-74 10 19 45 28

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