Tag Archives: Elizabeth Williams

Duke Basketball

#5 Duke dominates #24 North Carolina to remain unbeaten in the ACC play

Tricia Liston ties her career high with 23 points - Rick Crank Photo

DURHAM, N.C. - The Duke Blue Devil women dominated their arch rival North Carolina in Cameron Indoor Stadium last evening and in the process pushed their ACC leading record to 10-0, 19-3 overall.  The Blue Devils zone defense stymied the Tar Heels (7-3 in the ACC, 17-5 overall) as they took a dominant 50-24 lead at the half and eventually won the game by a lopsided 96-56 score.

Tricia Liston led the way for Duke as they rolled in the first half going 5 of 6 from the field and 3 of 3 from the three point stripe.    Liston ended the game with tying a career high with 23 points and 7 rebounds from the guard spot. "She had ice in here veins tonight and was calm and cool on the court," said Duke Coach Joanne P. McCallie.

The Blue Devil put 5 players in double figures led by the aforementioned Liston.  Richa Jackson added 17, Chelsea Gray 15, Elizabeth Williams 13 and Shea Selby 10 points respectively.  Williams ended the game with her fifth double-double adding 10 rebounds to her point total and she  dished out 5 assists.

The Blue Devils dominated the paint against North Carolina outscoring them 44-26 and out-rebounded them by a 45-34 margin.  Once Duke took a big lead in the half, they never looked back and the Tar Heels were never a threat to stage a comeback.  The Blue Devils also benefited from a stellar fastbreak  scoring 25 points.

And the three point ball was good for Duke who went 10 of 20 for 30 points opposed to 2 of 14 for UNC.  "I thought they would eventually start missing but they didn't," said UNC Coach Sylvia Hatchell.

Duke also dished 23 dimes and collected 9 blocks to the Tar Heels 1.  The assist total tied their highest mark in the ACC this season.  Elizabeth Williams had 6 of those blocks as the freshman sensation continued to impress.  Her block total made her the all time freshman leader in the ACC and the total of 85 ranks 10th on the all time list for Duke.

Everything worked right for the Blue Devils tonight and there was a great crowd atmosphere which Coach McCallie praised in the post game press conference.  She was very pleased with the win and said that when her team clicked and moved the ball they would be tough to beat.  Interestingly, McCallie joked that she would cook for the students if they continued to turn out, saying she didn't even know how to.  I must disagree with her though, for tonight she served up some serious home cooking as her troops send the Heels packing with a dominating victory.

Notes of interest - The point differential was the the second largest against North Carolina and the 96 points was second to 97 in 2003.   Duke shot 54.4% from the field, the ninth time this season over 50%.  The 96 points were the most against an ACC team this season.  The 10-0 start in the ACC this season is a best for Coach McCallie.  Duke won their 28th straight ACC game in Cameron.

 

 

Duke Women's Basketball

Duke defeats Maryland 80-72 to remain atop the ACC – Post Game Videos

DURHAM, N.C. - The Duke Blue Devils defeated the Maryland Terrapins 80-72 and in the process remain atop the ACC with a 7-0 record while pushing their season record to 16-2.  This was quite simply a very competitive and well played game where neither team missed a free throw and there were by 19 turnovers combined.

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 -


Duke Basketball

Pondering a few questions surrounding Duke Hoops

Lance King for BDN

Duke will of course hold their annual basketball awards banquet on April 15th, a mere nine days off.  Wonder if we'll know the intended fate of Kyrie Irving by then?  The Duke Chronicle published this tongue in cheek  plea today, but before you bring up Elton Brand, step back and relax for it was meant in humor.  But fancy me this Batman!  Isn't it a fact that there is no way he'd have a back court sidekick like Austin Rivers in his first "professional" season? 

There is absolutely no rest when it comes to basketball coverage here at BDN.  This coming weekend we kick off our coverage for the 2011 season by covering Nike EYBL Session I, formerly known as the Boo Williams Invitational.  The question here is are the kids today overexposed?  Also, how crazy is it that grown men hang on the comments of 16 year old kids?  Mike Krzyzewski is the first to tell you that when the freshman come in today, they are far more adept at fitting in and producing right away.  Of course, one look around the nation this season proved that major freshman impact is here to stay.

Can Duke take their freshman on their trip to China this summer?  The answer is yes for they will be enrolled in school in July.  Imagine your first Duke experience is balling in China and Dubai.  Think that will help the freshman develop and aloow the coaches to see what they have?

If Kyrie Irving doesn't return, who will Duke go with at the starting point guard spot?  Quinn Cook made a case for himself with his recent play which quieted his doubters, but do you think Tyler Thornton will roll over without a fight?  The answer is no for the two went head to head in the same high school league.  But wait!  What about Seth Curry?  Could he develop at this position as well?  The bottom line is Duke will have some interesting options, but if Kyrie comes back, it is more than just a little settled.

Should Virginia Commonwealth been ranked higher than Duke in the final poll?  Sure, they had a great season ... down the stretch.  They beat Duke out for sixth by a single digit and I for one think most feel Duke at 32-5 had a better overall season.  Is it fair to award teams with high ranking from their final run alone?

Will Duke be a top ten team next season?  You bet they will.  Even if UNC finds a way to keep everybody home, the Blue Devils will still be at the top of the ACC.  They will be picked pre season number two in the league at the very lowest and will have the kind of team that gets better as the season goes along.

This years Butler-Connecticutt television ratings were down 18% compared to last seasons  Duke-Butler game.  What would the ratings have been in a rematch?

The Duke Women will lose three key seniors in Jasmine Thomas, Karima Christmas and Krystal Thomas.  Will Duke still be top ten?  Yes, they will.  Coach P is welcoming Elizabeth Williams and Amber Henson to the fold of a group of young budding players with a pinch of upperclassmen.  I think the Blue Devils will be just as good.

How tough is Duke's football schedule this season?  Tougher than North Carolina's and N.C. State, that's for sure.  Several ACC teams are playing cupcake schedules this season.  Duke will take on a pre season top five team in Stanford at home and travel to Florida International.  Hey, don't laugh at FIU who played in and won their bowl game last season.  If the game was the opener, Duke would likely be a field goal underdog on the road.  Duke also opens with the always dangerous Richmond Spiders.  Meanwhile, our neighbors get the likes of Liberty and James Madison.  The Heels toughest game outside the league is either Louisville at home or East Carolina on the road.  NCSU gets Cincinnati on the road and a truck load of cup cakes beyond that.

Duke Women's Basketball

Future Blue Devils show off their skills

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.