When junior Chante Black went down with an injury during the offseason, Duke needed someone to step into the starting lineup.
Carrem Gay was there to fill that void.
The 6-foot-2 forward is not the flashiest player on the court and does not fill stat sheets with mind-blowing numbers. Nevertheless, Gay's presence is felt all over the floor.
"I like to call her the silent assassin," senior captain Lindsey Harding said. "You watch her score two points-you look up a second later and she's scored 15 points."
Gay averages 8.8 points per game, but it is her defense and athleticism that have made her such an important asset to the Blue Devils.
"I rely on my strengths," Gay said. "I take a lot of pride in my defense and try to limit the touches of the player I'm guarding."
The sophomore's length and defensive abilities have allowed Duke to match her up against opposing teams' best players. The results have been outstanding for the Blue Devils.
North Carolina all-ACC selection Erlana Larkins was held to just four points on 1-for-8 shooting from the field in Duke's victory at Chapel Hill Feb. 8. Maryland's Crystal Langhorne-also an all-ACC honoree-was limited to nine shots in each of the Terrapins' losses to Duke. National Player of the Year candidate Candace Parker was frequently hounded in Tennessee's Jan. 22 loss to the Blue Devils.
All four defensive efforts came courtesy of Gay, as she has matched up one-on-one at times against the opposing team's best players and has also assisted Alison Bales down low.
"She's really helped us stop double-teaming people," Harding said. "She's also done a great job of limiting touches."
Gay's level of play this season is even more surprising when considering the abrupt end to her freshman campaign.
After sublexing her shoulder in the Blue Devils' 90-80 win against Maryland Feb. 13, 2006, the forward was rendered ineffective for the remainder of the schedule and had shoulder surgery immediately after the season ended.
"I was out for six months and could only focus on running and conditioning," Gay said.
This was only the beginning of a long road to recovery.
Immediately following the surgery, Gay went home for the first half of the summer and rehabilitated with a physical therapist. She returned to Duke for the second part of the summer but was forced to continue working with trainers to increase the range of motion in her shoulder. It was not until this point that Gay was allowed to participate in limited workout drills.
The entire process took four months.
"I just relied on my support system," Gay said. "My coaches, family and teammates helped me work on what I could."
The injury was especially frustrating as Gay's teammates began training in the second summer session. While the rest of the Blue Devils started workouts and drills, Gay could only watch.
"It was really hard for Carrem," said Summer McKeehan, the Duke athletic trainer who worked extensively with Gay. "All the girls came back and started pickup games and working out. Carrem was limited and couldn't play pickup. She could only do minimal things with running."
While the injury hampered Gay's development in the summer, it also inspired her to recover as quickly as possible.
"It definitely made her work harder in rehab," McKeehan said. "She's one of the harder workers on the team, and you saw it come out during the rehab process."
Now, Gay is fully recovered from her injury. Although the sophomore does not recieve the same kind of publicity as some of her teammates, her impact has been a noticeable part of Duke's success this season.
"She's one of our best post defenders," Harding said. "To win a championship, we need her."
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