Coming off a close home victory against Maryland last Sunday, No. 5 Duke is looking to add another conference win when it travels to Clemson tonight for an 8:30 p.m. tipoff.
The Blue Devils (16-2, 7-0 in the ACC) garnered the 300th conference victory in school history over the No. 8 Terrapins to remain undefeated in league play and maintain their top standing in the ACC, but head coach Joanne P. McCallie said she expects a better performance against the Lady Tigers (5-12, 1-5).
“We’re caught by the amount of paint scores, layups and opportunities we gave up defensively,” McCallie told GoDuke.com. “As we prepare for Clemson, we want to apply those principles as much as possible.”
Duke enters the contest on a 10-game winning streak, with several sharpshooters contributing to the Blue Devils’ conference-leading 35-percent shooting performance from beyond the arc. The all-time series is one of Duke’s closest, with Duke leading 33-32. The Blue Devils, though, have won 18 of the last 21 games against the Lady Tigers.
Despite its recent lack of success against Duke, Clemson will hold a home-court advantage Friday as it hopes to rebound from two consecutive losses, the most recent to Wake Forest 94-65 on the road.
“They played lower scoring games, and [freshman] point guard [Nikki Dixon] plays about 36 minutes per game,” McCallie said. “The freshman does a nice job controlling the tempo of the team.”
Because of this, the coach stressed that her team needs to play at its own speed with a Duke style of play. Dixon will be matched by Blue Devil sophomore Chelsea Gray, who runs the point for Duke and leads the conference with 6.2 assists per game.
“Our game involves… making sure we make good decisions, and of course lots of pressure on the defense, and I would like to see a lot of elements of our defense improve in this game,” McCallie said.
A crucial element of the Blue Devil defense includes freshman Elizabeth Williams, who ranks third in the ACC with 8.9 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per game.
McCallie highlighted the need for other players to step up and shine alongside Gray and Williams, and several different players have filled those roles throughout the season.
“We have a number of players that are capable of big nights, and it’s important for our players to know that and feed off each other,” she said. “It makes us dangerous, hard to defend and better in the long run.”
—from staff reports
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