The Blue Devils had five players in double figures with Haley Peters leading the way with 21 points, a career high on 10 of 12 shooting from the field.  Some of her success was ffrom the fact that Elizabeth Williams drew a crowd every time she touched the ball.  Williams, the freshman sensation, ended the game with a stat line of 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal.

Also in double figures for Duke were Chelsea Gray with 17 points and an eye popping 11 assists, prompting Coach McCallie to kid that she needed more rebounds in the post game press conference.  Gray protected the ball well as Duke had a season low 9 turnovers.  Richa Jackson added 11 points and Allison Vernerey 10 as the other double figure scorers.

The Blue Devils also won the battle of the boards over a Maryland team that was ranked 3rd in the nation in rebounding margin by a 41-30 advantage promting Coach P to say, “We read about the rebounds in the locker room – four, five, eight, five, five, three,” as she scrolled the stat sheet.  She continued, “When you do things like as a team, you’re powerful.”

And Duke did show terrific balance on the offensive end with Chelsea Gray making most of the calls on splendid to the eyes offensive sets.  The Blue Devils were crisp and efficient but so were the game Terrapins for most of the game.  Duke went to  bit of a half court trap press and that helped them to get a bit of a working margin or lead.

The Blue Devils were very effective in the paint where 46 of their 80 points were scored and they had 16 offensive boards which was impressive. “It was a great womens basketball game and it was nice to have it in Cameron,” said McCallie.  She then said, “The quality of the game was the highest quality of game I’ve had since having to good fortune to coach in Cameron.”

And she wasn’t kidding for on this afternoon, Duke and Maryland gave fans more than their moneys worth in a game where the lead was exchanged 13 times.  Duke will next face Clemson on the road this coming Friday before their big home game with traditional power UConn the following Monday.

Here are Coach P’s post game comments from BDN Video, followed by another video with the games high scorer, Haley Peters -

Peters and Liston during the N.C. Pro Am

This season’s Duke Women’s Basketball team will be one of the least experienced groups Coach McCallie has had at Duke.  Despite that youth, the Sporting News have the Blue Devils ranked sixth nationally, and all other preview publications have Duke firmly in the nation’s top ten.  Those expectations come from having a very talented roster and the fact that many of their freshman gained valuable experience on the court in their first year.  BDN caught up to two rising sophomores, Tricia Liston [6-1 G-F] and Haley Peters [6-3 G-F] and we got their thoughts on the team and what they worked on over the summer.  And, for the record, both looked improved on the court during the North Carolina Pro Am.

Hi girls!  Tell me what you worked on this summer?

Tricia Liston - I worked on conditioning, footwork and agility work as well as keeping up with my fundamentals, especially ball handling.  I tried to work on that a little extra.

Haley Peters  - I spent a lot of time working on my ball handling, moving on the court, shooting threes and creating off the dribble.

Did Coach P tell either of you to work on any particular thing in the off season?

Tricia  - Coach wanted me to work on my overall game, my shot, and defense, too.  She wants me to be a little more confident in my defense.  That’s about it.

Haley – She wanted me to spend some of the summer playing the two and the one in order to get more comfortable having the ball in my hands out on the floor.  As a whole, the big thing we wanted to work on as a team were our free throws because they weren’t very good last year and, to get to where we want to get to, you have to be a good free throw shooter.

So, what do you two think about this season’s team?  The roster is an interesting mix of talent, yet you lost some key contributors from a year ago.

Tricia – I’m excited.  We have a new team this year, different from last year’s, and we have the same capabilities, maybe even more, and think that the way we all play together will be interesting to see throughout the season.

Haley – I’m excited about the coming season.  We’re young but we’re really talented, and I think seniors Shay Selby and Kathleen Scheer have a great perspective in what they bring and can be leaders for our team.  We’ve had a good summer so far and we’re talented, so, if we all work together, we can have a great season.

Both of you are going into your sophomore year at Duke having your freshman campaign behind you.  How big is it to just have a year’s experience under your belt?

Tricia -I think it’s huge, just even in the summer I feel way more confident abut my game and our team.  Just playing at the college level, it’s such a wake up call your first season in that it’s so much more different than high school in that everybody can play.

Haley – As a freshman class we experienced a lot last season, being in different situations, and got to play a lot more than most freshmen in the country.  So we all have more experience and I feel much more confident that what I learned will help me step up to be a leader.

Notes – Here is the new schedule for the Duke Women’s Basketball Team.  BDN is looking for someone to help cover women’s hoops in a non paying apprentice position for the coming season.  Ideal candidates would be able to make it to all and or majority of the home games and local road ones as well.  You must be professional and have a good knowledge of the program and be in close proximity to Duke University.  If interested and or want more details, contact me at Watzone@BlueDevilNation.net

CTV Photo

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Both Duke women’s basketball signees — Elizabeth Williams and Amber Henson — each scored double-figure points in the WBCA All-America game over the weekend in Indianapolis, Ind., at the NCAA Final Four. Williams was named MVP of the Red Team, which fell, 83-73, to the White Team. A product of Virginia Beach, Va., Williams totaled a team-high 20 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and one assist in 29 minutes. She hit 8-of-19 field goals on the night. In two All-Star games in a week, Williams scored a McDonald’s All-America game record 23 points and posted 20 points at the WBCA contest. The 6-3 center was also named MVP of the McDonald’s game. A native of Tampa, Fla., Henson hit 5-of-12 field goals as she finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals in 20 minutes of action.

Click on the first thumbnail to see a slide show with larger images.

Click on the first thumbnail to see a slide show with larger images.

Box Score

Click on the first thumbnail to see a slide show with full-size images.

But it was the second half play of true freshman Haley Peters that added a huge sprak to the Blue Devils efforts.  Peters knocked down 5 of 6 free throws and scored 14 points, second most on the team to go with 4 rebounds.

“I thought that was the greatest screen  on that play along the baseline where Jazz hit a three and she got the call,” said McCallie on a play which Thomas nailed the three and Haley was fouled, went to the line, knocked down two free throws for a 5 point play which in hindsight was a dagger.

“When you sit on the bench, sometimes it’s helpful because you can see whats going on out there and see your teams attitude.  When I came in I tried to be an energy player,” stated Peters.

Duke had their hands full with Jessica Breland who scored a game high 27 points to go with her 7 rebounds. “I thought we had done a good job on Breland  until I saw here stat line,” said McCallie in praise of her play.

Duke had a big lift from the players off their bench, mainly due to the aformentioned Peters where they outscored the Tar Heels 28-12.  The Blue Devils also won the battle of the boards holding a 38-27 edge.

Once again, McCallie utilized here deep bench where 11 Blue Devils got minutes.  This seemed to be a strategic move for the Tar Heels wore down a bit during the stretch run.

“I;m very, very proud of our team, our seniors and the leadership exhibited out there throughout this tournament, said McCallie.  She continued, “We’re very excited  to represent Duke and be able to be together and have so much fun.”

Karima Christmas joined Jasmine Thomas on the first team all tournament team while Chelsea Gray was named to the second team.  Had the votes not been taken early, you would have likely seen Haley Peters name as well.

Duke won their seventh tournament title, all since the year 2000.  Duke now holds a 5-3 advantage when playing North Carolina for the title.  The Blue Devils have also played in 10 of the last 12 finals, a testament to the programs strength.

The win pushed the Blue Devils record to 29-3 on the season and they were rated as the second best team in the RPI rating before the game. Duke must now wait two weeks for the NCAA selection show to learn of their next opponent and that game will be played in Cameron Indoor Stadium where Duke hosts a first round regional.

Official Box Score    Quotes from Coach P and Players

The Yellow Jackets cut a large Duke lead down to 2 with 7:10 left, but Duke bounced back on back to back baseline buckets from Karima Christmas and Haley Peters  and then another Christmas lay in and then one from Thomas which sparked an 8-2 run and that edge carried the Blue Devils through to victory.

Karima Christmas had a monster game for the winners throwing in a team high 20 points to go with 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists.  When Duke needed a bucket or a play she seemed will to take on that role.

The Blue Devils came out red hot in the first half shooting an impressive 68,2% from the field and that effort ranks 7th in the schools history.  Duke enjoyed a 13-5 edge off turnovers as well despite the Yellow Jackets vaunted press.

Jasmine Thomas added 12 points, while Chelsea Gray tossed in 10 as the only double figure scorers save the aforementioned Christmas.  Once again, Coach P played 10 players but her bench got a bit shorter via minutes played for some players which is a combination a shortened bench and match ups.

With the win Duke goes to 28-3 on the season and they play the winner of the North Carolina-Miami game at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.  That said, let’s have a nice turnout to support the Blue Devils in Greensboro tomorrow.

Check back for videos.  We had a hard time downloading them in Greensboro but will try when we get to Chapel Hill for tonight’s men’s game.

Jasmine Thomas, photo Rick Crank for BDN

The Duke Women earned a share of the ACC Regular Season Championship with a 66-58 victory over arch rival North Carolina before a sold out crowd in Cameron Indoor Stadium.  The win pushed the Blue Devils overall record to 26-3 going into this weeks Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in Greensboro, N.C.

While this would not be Karima Christmas, Jasmine Thomas and Krystal Thomas’s last game in Cameron due to hosting the first round in the NCAA Tournament, it was their last regular season game.  That meant senior day speeches and as always they were heart felt and emotional. 

The Blue Devils also took turns cutting down the net as they celebrated the victory but you could tell this wasn’t the net they coveted and Coach McCallie otherwise known as Coach P, alluded to that on the post game press conference.

As for the game itself, the Blue Devils found themselves trailing at the half to the pesky Tar Heels who rolled out to an early 15-8 lead.  Duke settled down after the half and their defense allowed them to take a 38-37 lead on a Karima Christmas three pointer and the Blue Devils never trailed again.

Jasmine Thomas gave Duke a commanding 56-42 lead on a three pointer of her own at the 9:42 mark and that allowed them to cruise to a 66-58 win.  Thomas led Duke with 17 points and 5 assists to go with 2 steals.

But it was Karima Christmas who posted a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds and 6 assists of her own.  Fellow senior Krystal pulled down a game high 13 rebounds and you’ll see her in the videos below.

Duke got a spark from Allison Vernerey too, where she tossed in 11 points making and grabbed 6 rebounds and swatted back 2 shots on her birthday.  Shay Selby played with an edge adding 7 points as did freshman Tricia Liston.

Chelsea Gray who is healing an ankle sprian tried to make a go of it but wasn’t successful.  She is now day to day but expected to play in the tournament.

Duke outscored North Carolina 26-16 in the paint and outrebounded their rival 52-46.  The win was the 23rd in a row in Cameron Indoor Stadium where Duke went undefeated this season.  Duke will now take on the winner of the Virginia-Wake Forest winner  having won the tie breaker and earning the number one seed.

Check out the raw but emotional videos below -