Duke faces its toughest conference matchup of the early ACC slate Friday, facing off against Florida State at 7 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The No. 7 Blue Devils (12-2, 3-0 in the ACC) will then hit the road to Blacksburg, Va. to take on Virginia Tech (6-10, 2-1) Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Seminoles are coming off a 35-point win against the Hokies last weekend and come to Durham to take on a strong Duke team that is more than ready to protect its 32-game home win streak.
Freshman Elizabeth Williams, who had a triple-double—including a conference-record 12 blocks—against Wake Forest last week, will lead Duke on both ends of the floor. She paces the team so far this season in points and rebounds per game with 13.0 and 9.1, respectively. Williams will be challenged on the inside by the Seminoles’ Natasha Howard, who ranks third in the ACC with 8.7 rebounds per game. A third-team freshman All-American last season, the 6-foot-3 sophomore also averages 11.0 points per game.
Outside of Williams, though, the Blue Devils have been inconsistent on the boards, a weakness Florida State (10-7, 2-1) has the interior size to exploit. Seminole senior forward Cierra Bravard, who averages 7.3 boards per game, also leads the team in scoring with 15.3 points per game.
“We are trying to get more consistent with our rebounding effort,” McCallie said. “We need to be more attacking in our presses, more aggressive. There are a variety of things we have been trying to work on.”
The Seminoles, like the Blue Devils, have very diversified scoring. Both teams score over 70 points per game, and each has at least four players averaging over 10 points per contest.
Duke must make its quickest turnaround of the season as it plays Virginia Tech on the road Sunday afternoon. Despite the short break, McCallie looks forward to the opportunity to preview postseason play.
“It’s all part of it,” McCallie said. “In the ACC tournament you’ve got to play three days in a row so it’s important to know that not everything is going to be perfect but to still be able to play your game.”
Monet Tellier leads the Hokies, averaging 13.5 points per game, followed by Aerial Wilson, who averages 10.4. Despite the fact that the Hokies are expected to finish near the bottom of the conference standings, McCallie recognizes her team must stay focused on the road to avoid an upset.
“I think every team in the ACC is very good,” McCallie said. “All these teams want to play their best game against Duke so we always have to be ready.”
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