Duke women's basketball hits the road to face Virginia Tech

Duke has blown out its first four ACC opponents by an average margin of 26.5 points. The No. 3 Blue Devils hope to continue their strong start in conference play Sunday when they take on Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.

In Duke’s 78-57 win against Boston College at Cameron Indoor Stadium last Sunday, senior guard Chelsea Gray scored 11 points in 16 minutes before going down with a fractured kneecap. The two-time All-America selection underwent successful surgery on Friday, and in the meantime, the Blue Devils have been adjusting to her absence.

Playing without Gray for the first time Thursday night, Duke topped Virginia 90-55 at home. Senior Tricia Liston led the way, recording 21 points and 12 rebounds. Three other Blue Devils—junior Elizabeth Williams, sophomore Alexis Jones and senior Richa Jackson—tallied double-digit points against the Cavaliers

“We’ve got a great team, and we’ve got a lot of excellent players,” Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “And we’ve got players that can play in different spots, and so we’re just evolving. It’s kind of an evolutionary thing. Trying to get better in all of our guard spots and our post spots. We’re fortunate that we have many, many good players.”

While the Blue Devils (17-1, 4-0 in the ACC) cruised to a fast start in the ACC, the Hokies (10-6, 0-3) dropped the first three games in their conference schedule. All three losses were decided by seven points or fewer. The team’s biggest offensive threats are senior forward Uju Ugoka, who is averaging 19.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, and her classmate Monet Tellier, who is tallying 11.1 points and 6.4 boards per contest.

“[Tellier] is very, very good. She’s a veteran guard who can play off the bounce, can shoot the 3-point shot. Very good, very solid," McCallie said. "[Ugoka] is a tremendous rebounding post and has been doing very well in the ACC. They’ve got other players too. They’ve got a nice complement of players, but those two are the go-to players and the concerns certainly for us.”

In preparation, Duke has been working on consistency and ball pressure on the defensive end of the court, McCallie said. The Blue Devils’ aggressive offensive play, which has been a major factor in the team’s early success, continues to be a focus for Duke.

“We’re trying to play an aggressive tempo and really push the pace of the ball and trying to do that for 40 minutes,” McCallie said. “So we’re really working offensively on tempo and pushing tempo.”