Tag Archives: Duke

#4 Duke Women defeat Maryland 68-65 on “Big Monday”

January 13, 2009 Mark Watson

Duke defeated a pesky Maryland team 68-65 in a a game that was televised nationally by ESPN. The network came in for "Big Monday" and the Blue Devils came out with a big win to go to 2-0 in the

Queen of the floor burn, Waner has 20 steals in her last four games

ACC and 14-1 overall.

The teams opened the game trading blows which is to be expected in this rivalry. There were 17 lead changes in the game and 15 of them were in the first twenty minutes of play. Once Duke took the lead 21-20 on a Joy Cheek lay up, they took control to take a 40-29 lead into half time.

There were two key factors in their first half success. One was Joy Cheek who had 11 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. In fact, Cheek had 9 of Dukes first twelve points and ended the game with14 points and 11 rebounds after returning to the starting lineup.

The other factor was Waner and Thomas defensive effort on Kristi Tolliver who was held scoreless.

Thomas was four of four from the free throw stripe in the final eight seconds.

But Toliver and the Terps warmed up in the second half and at the 8:38 mark, took the lead 55-54 on a Wiley-Gatewood three point shot.

Just after that play Abby Waner came back with an assist to Chante Black to take the lead back. Waner later hit a layup which stretched the lead to 64-60, but Marisa Coleman cut it to two with a lay up of her own at the other end at the 1:00 mark.

The Duke defense played tough and Maryland couldn't find the mark as Toliver missed a long three in front of the Maryland bench with 13 ticks on the clock. The Terps then fouled Jasmine Thomas who went to the line and calmly dropped two in to give the Devils a 66-62 advantage.

One might have thought the game was sealed, but Tolliver drained a quick three to make it a 66-65

Duke got a good efforts from multiple players

Duke lead. Tolliver immediately committed a hard foul on Thomas with two second left, but the sophomore stepped to the line and knocked down both helping the Devils to a 68-65 win.

“That was just great man-to-man defense by our team. We wanted to make sure she was contested in a multiple fashion, if possible, because you can’t get the ball out of her hands, so you have to do something to direct the shot as much as possible,” said McCallie on the play of her defense in the final seconds.

Waner added, "I pulled Jas [Jasmine Thomas] aside and told her ‘Make this free throw because trust me it matters’. There are certain things that you learn from losses and I will never take a three-point lead with a few seconds to go for granted."

Thomas had one of her better games of the season scoring 15 points and despite being one of the

A seson high 7550 cheering fans were in Cameron

teams worst free throw shooters she went 6 of 7 from the charity stripe.

Chante Black was strong in the second half and ended the game with 13 points and a career high 14 rebounds.

Abby Waner grabbed 8 rebounds, 7 on the defensive end scored 13 points and dished out 4 assists and 3 steals, both team highs. Waner has now had a phenomenal 20 steals in her last four contests.

"The plays Abby made down the stretch were huge, fun to watch really, plus her eight rebounds were absolutely important to us," Said Coach McCallie during the post game press conference.

Duke got a lot of energy from Bridgette Mitchell off the bench. Mitchell had 6 points and 6 rebounds. Another key contributor was Krsytal Thomas who tallied 4 points and 4 rebounds in just seven minutes of play.

The Terps were led by Marrissa Coleman with 14 points, Lynetta Kizer who suffered with cramps 12

Tolliver hit a huge shot to pull Maryland within 1 with seconds left in the contest — Tolliverhit a huge shot to pull Maryland within 1 with seconds left in the contest

points, Toliver 12 points and Anjale Barrett with 10 points.

Duke handily out rebounded the Terps 56-39 and overcame 25.6% shooting from the field in the final half to win. Another huge plus in the win was the Devils going 12 of 14 from the free throw stripe.

Sidebar Comments -

How big is this win for Duke?

It's plenty big. Big win on a big Monday. This is the best start of McCallies career and she has her most talented team ever. Duke has adjusted to her coaching style which is aggressive physical play and good defense. Duke proved before a

national audience that they definitely deserve their #4 ranking.

Jasmine Thomas -

This game should go a long way with concerns to her confidence. The second year guard is becoming more consistent, but Coach P made a telling comment when she said, Jasmine played well in spots.

Senior leadership -

Chante Black showed up big when it counted and Abby was a true leader on both ends of the floor tonight.

Duke depth -

Coach P has done a good job at build her depth and there seems to be a lot of players able to step

up on a given night. This will be especially critical come tournament time.

The Box -

                          TOT-FG 3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
13 Demauria Liles...... f 3-10   0-0    0-0    5 5 10   4   6 2 2 0 1 35
25 Marissa Coleman..... f 6-14   2-3    0-0    3 2 5   0 14 3 2 0 3 31
12 Lynetta Kizer....... c 5-11   0-0    2-6    7 6 13   2 12 0 2 0 1 30
02 Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood g 3-10   3-5    0-0    0 1 1   0   9 0 1 0 1 26
20 Kristi Toliver...... g 5-16   2-9    0-0    1 3 4   3 12 6 4 2 3 38
10 Anjale Barrett......    4-6    2-3    0-0    0 4 4   1 10 4 0 0 0 25
14 Yemi Oyefuwa........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0 0 0   0   0 0 0 0 0   1
24 Drey Mingo..........    1-3    0-0    0-0    0 0 0   1   2 0 1 0 0 14
   TEAM................                            2 2
   Totals..............   27-70   9-20   2-6   16 23 39 11 65 15 12 2 9 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-37 35.1%   2nd Half: 14-33 42.4%   Game: 38.6% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-7 28.6%   2nd Half: 7-13 53.8%   Game: 45.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 1-3 33.3%   2nd Half: 1-3 33.3%   Game: 33.3%    1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: #5/10 Duke 14-1 (2-0 ACC)
                          TOT-FG 3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
21 Joy Cheek........... f 5-16   1-5    3-4    7 4 11   3 14 2 1 1 1 27
31 Keturah Jackson..... f 0-4    0-0    0-0    1 5 6   2   0 1 1 0 2 17
11 Chante Black........ c 5-15   0-0    3-3    8 6 14   3 13 3 4 3 2 35
04 Abby Waner.......... g 4-11   2-5    0-0    1 7 8   1 10 4 3 0 3 37
05 Jasmine Thomas...... g 4-10   1-3    6-7    0 1 1   2 15 2 1 0 0 34
03 Shay Selby..........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0 0 0   0   0 0 0 0 0   2
13 Karima Christmas....    2-4    0-0    0-0    1 0 1   2   4 1 1 0 0 21
15 Bridgette Mitchell..    3-9    0-0    0-0    6 0 6   2   6 0 0 0 0   9
30 Carrem Gay..........    1-2    0-0    0-0    0 3 3   0   2 1 3 0 0 11
34 Krystal Thomas......    2-5    0-0    0-0    1 3 4   0   4 0 0 2 0   7
   TEAM................                         1 1 2
   Totals..............   26-76   4-13 12-14 26 30 56 15 68 14 14 6 8 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-37 43.2%   2nd Half: 10-39 25.6%   Game: 34.2% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-9 33.3%   2nd Half: 1-4 25.0%   Game: 30.8%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 5-5 100 %   2nd Half: 7-9 77.8%   Game: 85.7%    3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Eric Brewton, Dee Kantner, Edward Sidlasky
Technical fouls: #12/15 Maryland-None. #5/10 Duke-None.
Attendance: 7550
Score by Periods                1st 2nd   Total
#12/15 Maryland...............   29   36 -   65
#5/10 Duke....................   40   28 -   68

Points in the paint-MARYL 28,DUKE 36. Points off turnovers-MARYL 7,DUKE 11.
2nd chance points-MARYL 11,DUKE 15. Fast break points-MARYL 6,DUKE 4.
Bench points-MARYL 12,DUKE 16. Score tied-1 time. Lead changed-17 times.
Last FG-MARYL 2nd-00:04, DUKE 2nd-01:27.
Largest lead-MARYL by 3 1st-14:08, DUKE by 13 1st-00:44.

Duke Basketball

Henderson leads Duke past Florida State 66-58

January 11, 2009 Mark Watson

The second ranked Duke Blue Devils took out a pesky Florida State Seminole team 66-58 to remain undefeated in ACC play. The two teams felt each other out like prized fighters in the first half, each

Henderson has put up double figure points in seven straight games

counter punching and posturing for the big blow. In basketball terms that means every dribble, pass and shot was contested and getting an open look is tough when locked up in a clinch.

With the Blue Devils cold on the offensive end, they relied on their defense which held Florida State to 20.6% from the field in the first half. They went on to take a 19-14 lead to the locker room, thanks to Gerald Henderson who had nine of the Dukies first ten points.

"I was rolling. We were kid of stagnant and most of my points came of my defense. When I was able to get out in transition, thats when I was my best," said Henderson of his first nine points.

Coach Krzyzewski was pleased with his teams effort and elated to win which promted him to say, “Well we won a heck of a game today. Florida State was so ready to play us and it was a clean, unbelievably physical game. The action on the boards was phenomenal. I thought we got knocked back with their height, their length, and their tremendous pursuit of the ball. Our defense won the game for us. The last 16 minutes of the first half, we had a hard time scoring against them. Obviously, 19-14, people will say, “Well, it wasn’t a pretty game.” I’ll tell you what, it was a great game. It was a great basketball game. When you have kids competing that hard – it was just tough to get shots off. “

Duke came out to play in the second half warming up on the offensive end and shooting 59% from the field. The hot shooting allowed them to make a quick 9-0 run which put them up 28-15 which eventually became 27 point lead on a Singler three.

"The start of the second half, we executed a couple of things that got us momentum plays and we did a couple of things that got us turnovers. We got that lead, you almost get that lead too early, although I am happy we got it, don’t get me wrong," stated Krzyzewski.

The Gerald Henderson Show continued as well. His teammates call him "G," and on this day he was indeed the "G" man scoring a career high 25 points to go with 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Henderson has been the Blue Devils hottest player and he has now scored in double figures in seven straight contests.

“Henderson was the star for us today. I thought his physicality, his athletic ability to create some shots was huge," said Krzyzewski.

Without Henderson performance, the game could have been lost for the Noles staged a huge comeback cutting to pull withing eight. But they would get no closer for like a punch drunk boxer their legs were weary as was the Devils.

Krzyzewski commented, "This is our third game in six days and they were fresher than us, and obviously they didn’t give up.”

Kyle Singler chipped in with 15 points, Smith had 12 points and Scheyer added 9 points.

This was the 275th win this decade for the Blue Devils, which is the highest total of any team out there. This was the 1861st all time win which is the fourth highest total in college basketball.

The Devils will face yet another hostile environment on the road when they travel to Georgia Tech on Wednesday.

Duke Basketball

5 questions with Kyle Singler

December 18, 2008 Mark Watson

[private]You would have played Xavier if the team had advanced past West Virginia this past March ...

Things happen. You're going to have upsets. Xavier is a real good team and we look forward to playing them.

What are your thoughts on the three point shot and the line being moved back?

You don't really notice during the game. If any thing makes a difference, it's you can get a little bit tired and you shoot short on the shot. The shot's not really that much farther back. I like it because it's different and brings a different dynamic to the game.

What do you think of Paulus and Smith at the point guard spot?

They both play hard. If you play hard and win games you earn respect from your teammates.

Did the team take any solace in the fact that they didn't shoot the ball well in the loss to Michigan?

I don't know with a loss like that. We just didn't play very well and Michigan played good enough to win. You get the feel that they wanted it more and this team has to be the one which wants it more.

How do you feel about your play so far this season?

It's really all about the team. I think we've been good, not great up to his point in the season. We want to define ourselves as a team so we still have things to work on and get better doing.[/private]

Duke Basketball

It’s Duke vs Michigan I at MSG – preview and pick

November 21, 2008 Mark Watson

[private]While many fans were expecting UCLA to be in the finals, the Wolverines proved that their program was on the upswing with a 55-52 upset win. Much of this is due to their new coach John Beilein who has his club at 3-0.

Many of you will remember Beilein as the coach of an inspired West Virginia team which knocked Duke out of the NCAA's last season. That is one of the main story lines going in. Another story line is that the Blue Devils travel to Ann Arbor on December 6th, meaning these two clubs twice in 15 days.

Michigan employs a tricky 1-3-1 zone which befuddled the Bruins. The Wolverines got 19 points from DeShaun Sims who controlled the game in the paint. Then there is Manny Harris and a cast of kids who can shoot the three, a Beilein trademark.

Duke shot more free throws than Michigan and UCLA hit and missed combined. It's no secret that the Blue Devils will hope to get to the line again and I expect to see the ball go inside early and often in that Beilein will defend the three with his zone.

Another key will be which team dictates their tempo. Duke wants to run up and down, while Michigan will be a bit more controlled or methodical. Both teams have now adjusted to New York, but it's a mystery as to whether Michigan will play loose. For that matter, Duke was pretty tight in the first half with their offense struggling.

I think Michigan will come out strong and implement their game plan, but as the game goes on, Duke will find a way to counter. Once Duke has Michigan playing in transition, fouls should mount up. Then again, if the 1-3-1 zone works as it's suppose to, passing lanes and relocation of the ball is difficult, which would force Duke to seek cutters to the rim.

While this may sound odd, if you are watching on TV, the rim to the right is extremely tight, while the one on the left seems loose. This was evident to me in last seasons Duke-Pitt game. In short, lets hope the Devils have the left rim last.

The pick here is Duke 84 Michigan 65[/private]

Duke Basketball

Duke wins opener – advances to face Georgia Southern

November 11, 2008 Mark Watson

[private]Anytime there are 48 turnovers and 46 fouls in a game, it's going to be ugly on the eyes. Duke opened -

the new season with a sloppy 80-49 win over Presbyterian in the Coaches vs Cancer 2K Sports Classic. The Blue Devils were out of sync on the offensive end of the floor, missing open players and committing an bevy of turnovers.

"We committed 21 turnovers. That's a lot of turnovers for a team that's not pressing us. A lot of our turnovers were self inflicted wounds. We just gotta get better," said Kyzyzewski shortly after the opener concluded.

While a 32 point victory is good from an average teams standards, it is not from Duke standards. One must consider that this is the second earliest start in history for the Devils and Coach K is still experimenting with various combinations. In short, they are working out the kinks.

Kyle Singler was the clear choice for the player of the game. Singler tallied a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds to go with 2 blocks and two steals. Nolan Smith, who was the starting point guard, added 15 points on 6 of 7 shooting from the field to go with 3 assists.

Duke started slowly, the game being tied at 2-2 with just over fifteen minutes left in the half. They rode a solid defensive effort to close out the half with a bang. The aforementioned defense accounted for 27 Blue Hose turnovers and several steals. Duke held their opponent to 30% shooting as well.

A bright spot was the play off the bench for Lance Thomas, who hustled his way to 12 points and 5 rebounds. Miles Plumlee, getting his first start as a freshman went scoreless. Jon Scheyer added 12 key points, almost all of them in the first half when Duke couldn't find their mark.

Gerald Henderson struggled to get into the flow as well, scoring just 6 points. Brian Zoubek foulded out with just two points. Paulus added 4 points and 3 assists, Czyz also had 4 points to lead the freshman in scoring. Williams and McClure had 2 points apiece.

While many fans might fret and dissect the team after a lack luster performance, you can bet that they will be ready to play tomorrow evening when they take on Georgia Southern, a winner over Houston.

It seemed as if the team didn't allow the game to come to them on offense and more passes could have been made. Several shots went halfway down and popped out and it's been awhile since Duke hit just 3 three point shots.

All of the mistakes are correctable and most of them will take care of themselves as the team moves along this season. By tomorrow evening, I expect fans will remember this game as simply a win. The reason is that it will be quickly forgotten if Duke takes care of the ball and works as a team to advance to New York.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Official Box Score link from GoDuke.com

K-ments -

- “You hope [the defense] is always ahead of the offense, because it can produce offense. You have a chance to win if you play good defense. It was almost as if we were trying a little too hard on the offensive end at times. It comes. It’s our first game.”

- “I thought we played really hard, but it’s like when you watch any game that has good defense and the offense isn’t that good, you don’t think it’s that good of a game. But if the defense stinks and the offense is good, you think you went to a hell of a game. It’s like 9-8 in baseball, 33-30 in football – and that 10-7 game just stunk. And so I think that’s part of it. I thought we did have spark. We played really hard, or else we wouldn’t force 28 turnovers, but that didn’t translate to being fluid on the offensive end. We had 35 points off turnovers, and that’s when we had a numerical advantage. When their defense was set, I still thought we were trying to force things.”

- “I’d like to see some made lay-ups and the extra pass and to take better care of the ball. I don’t fault any kid. They’re playing hard. But in order to get better, you have to take responsibility and be accountable – we can play better offensively and that’s the only way you get to be really good. We want to be really good.”

- “I’m a big basketball-gods guy. I think sometimes you get punished – you miss layups and when you don’t see that open guy. We had that run in the first half, we were up 32-11, and four of the next five plays we had a guy wide open. We didn’t make a bad play, but it wasn’t the right play, and that just comes from playing. Hopefully we’ll make those plays.”

Kyle Singler -

- “This team is very competitive. I think that’s one of our strengths – we just love to play and compete. But tonight it just wasn’t there. That’s on us. Our standards weren’t met tonight and we’ve just got to come back tomorrow with a different mindset and attitude.”

- “I did miss a lot of opportunities, but I’m not going to dwell on it. It’s a team game, and we just have to move on.”[/private]

BDN Premium Articles, Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Hot off the press – Josh Hairston tells BDN he’s anxious to visit Duke and talks his recruitment

September 12, 2008 Mark Watson

[private] What are your plans for the weekend?

I will not do anything on campus when I arrive Friday night, but will get up with Coach Wojciechowski in the morning. I am going to meet up with the rest of the guys and go around campus, then go to the football game. After that we will play in open gym where I will run a couple of games, and of course talk to Coach K.

Are you looking forward to the visit?

I am ... I can't ... I've been looking forward to the visit for a long time!

Have you discussed the visit with your friends?

Yes sir. I actually talked to Andre a couple of days ago and we've been trying to talk to Coach Wojo and get a date we can both get down there. When I went down before for the first time, Andre had been there the previous day. This will be the first time all three of us (Tyler) being down on the campus together, so it should be fun.

Have you talked to any of them of late?

We've talked about it over the phone. I played with Andre my freshman year before Boo Williams. We had talked about playing together before Duke was looking at any of us. I actually talked to Tyler about it yesterday. It's a great thing to think about that you can possibly be playing with two guys you have played AAU with. You know their every move and they know your moves - you are comfortable with them.

What Duke coaches have played a big role in your recruitment, the lead if you will?

Wojo came to one of my open gyms my sophomore year. Since then he's been to the majority of my tournaments. Him and Coach K come together a lot.

If you are blown away during the visit, is there a chance you could go home a Blue Devil?

There actually is a chance. If I go down there and feel comfortable and they've answered all my questions, yeah it could happen. As of right now when I head down there my mind will still be open. I'm still keeping offers on the table, but if I feel comfortable and I feel that's the place I want to be and they want me there then that can definitely happen.

Are your parents excited about the visit?

They are. They're probably more excited than even I am. They have met Coach K before and when I was at the practice facility, I met Coach Nate James and I was talking to him and they got a good chance to talk to him. They're really tight. My sister is probably the most excited out of all of us. She hasn't been there and she grew up a Duke fan. She's always been in love with Duke girls basketball and everything about Duke, so she is looking forward to it the most - she can't wait to get down there.

So, you like Nate?

The first time I got to talk to him was on my visit to Duke. I really like him and have had a chance to talk to him and learned he was from the DC area. He checked me out on his first recruiting trip. You know, you could see him over there watching in the corner. He'd wink at me. We noticed him and he noticed us. I really do like Coach Nate.

Have a safe journey and a good time on your visit.

Oh, yes sir! I will.[/private]