The Blue Devils enter the season hoping to rely on their three-guard lineup to lead them back to the NCAA tournament after missing it for the first time since 1994 last year.
In its only exhibition Sunday, Duke showed just why that formula might prove successful.
The Blue Devils trounced Charleston 129-46 at Cameron Indoor Stadium Sunday evening, led by their pressure defense that forced 40 turnovers and a balanced attack that saw seven players finish in double figures. Redshirt junior All-ACC guard Rebecca Greenwell led the way with 27 points, and Duke used a 34-6 second quarter to establish control.
“Statistically the best [exhibition game] I’ve seen in about 25 years of coaching,” Blue Devil head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “Relative to production and efficiency, it is an exhibition game, but the reality is [we’re] trying to play at our highest level and trying to get everybody to contribute and this one certainly reeks of that, everyone contributing and everyone being active.”
The Golden Eagles were able to hang around in the first quarter thanks to hot shooting from behind the arc, draining 4-of-8 3-pointers to stay within 11 after one quarter. But Charleston's lack of size—the Golden Eagles have just three players taller than 6-feet on their roster—hurt it in the second quarter, when junior Erin Mathias and seniors Oderah Chidom and Kendall Cooper went to work.
The trio finished with 24 points combined in the half and 37 for the game, led by Chidom's 18. Even when the Blue Devils missed, they often collected the rebounds, crashing the glass to the tune of 24 second-chance opportunities.
Although she played sparingly in her first two seasons, Mathias started ahead of Cooper Sunday evening. The Pittsburgh native finished with nine points and four rebounds in 21 minutes on the floor, a solid performance for a player whom the Blue Devils will be counting on to step up into a bigger role this year.
But it did not matter who was on the court for the Blue Devils from the second quarter on, as Duke took advantage of 19 first-half turnovers and went on an 11-0 run to start the period.
“Erin’s play was very consistent and very confident, and so that was really important to us, especially early on,” McCallie said. “Her versatility is very helpful to us in terms of what she can do, and so we’re going to build off of that as much as possible.”
The Blue Devil guards alongside Greenwell—Maryland transfer Lexie Brown and sophomore Kyra Lambert—were also sharp, combining for 24 points and eight assists against two turnovers. Lambert had nine of Duke's 25 steals, as the Blue Devils pressured Charleston's guards to spark their transition game. For Duke, the exhibition also marked its first opportunity to utilize the two-point guard lineup they will look to run this year, with both Lambert and Brown on the floor at the same time.
“It’s been nice to be able to just let [Kyra] bring the ball up the court, and if she’s in trouble, I got her. If I’m in trouble, she’s got me,” Brown said. “I’ve never been in a situation to have a solid point guard next to me, on the court with me at the same time.”
Turnovers will be a stat to watch for Duke all year after they prevented the Blue Devils from running efficient offense in critical moments each of the past two years, and Duke finished with 12 Sunday. Freshman Leaonna Odom had four of those, but impressed in her first game against another opponent with 16 points and eight rebounds.
The Blue Devils also got a boost from their bench, which finished with 51 points, outscoring Charleston's team by five as Odom, sophomores Crystal Primm and Faith Suggs and redshirt sophomore Lyneé Belton kept Duke's momentum going when the starters left the game.
The Blue Devils will kick off their regular season with a trip to Lynchburg, Va., where they will take on Liberty at 6 p.m. Friday.
“We know how to challenge one another, and we know how to make each other better,” Brown said. “I’m not surprised that our bench performed the way they did.”
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