During halftime of the men's basketball game against Virginia Union Saturday, Abby Waner and the rest of the Blue Devils were introduced. Waner, the senior captain, guaranteed a Duke victory in her team's Blue-White game Sunday-and she delivered.
Waner's White team, consisting of Duke's projected starters, won both halves and the five-minute overtime 84-54 as the Blue Devis showcased their 2008-09 squad for the first time in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"I liked [the White team's] chemistry a lot," head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "I have since the beginning of the year, since I saw what kind of summers everyone had. Everyone did what they needed to do individually [during the summer], so when those five came back, it was very evident that they fit very well together."
Junior forward Joy Cheek led Duke in scoring with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field.
She was followed closely by the Blue team's Karima Christmas with 17, as well as White's Chante Black and Jasmine Thomas, who added 16 each.
Waner saw the most time on the floor, accumulating 14 points, six assists and five steals in her 35 minutes of play. The game amounted to 37 minutes.
Cheek can expect to see an expanded role in the offense this year, as she showed off increased versatility throughout the game.
"I think last year helped me out a lot, because Coach started letting me step out some more," Cheek said. "Today was really putting it all together. I just used all those things to my advantage: shooting, taking people off the dribble, posting up. I just want to get a mixture of all of those."
With the teams separated by experience, the Blue squad found itself relying on its three freshmen to make plays against its more experienced teammates. Chelsea Hopkins and Shay Selby both showed their speed and ball-handling abilities, bringing the ball up the court, moving around the perimeter and driving to the basket despite a tight 3-2 zone defense. Fellow freshman Kathleen Scheer was a consistent inside presence, grabbing seven boards and sneaking outside for a 3-pointer early in the second half.
The freshmen's showing was another sign of the Blue Devils' increased depth this season.
"I think Shay runs the wing and plays with a lot of confidence," McCallie said. "I thought Chelsea played pretty quick today-she must be sandbagging in practice or something. She has that quickness to her game. And Scheer did some good things, as well. They were solid."
Defense was also a key component of play throughout the scrimmage. Hopkins, Selby and Waner all played high-pressure defense on the perimeter. Meanwhile, Black established her territory under the basket with four blocks, and Thomas pulled down seven rebounds from the point guard slot.
Duke still has plenty of time to polish its game for the upcoming season. The Blue Devils have two weeks before starting exhibition play against Anderson College Nov. 6. Regular-season play begins a week later with Duke's home opener against Oklahoma State Nov. 14.
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