After falling out of the top 15 for the first time this season, the Blue Devils return home ready to regain their footing in the ACC.
No. 16 Duke welcomes Virginia Tech to Cameron Indoor Stadium Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The contest marks the programs’ 25th meeting, with the Blue Devils having won 20 in a row after the teams split the first four.
The Hokies are at the bottom of the league standings, having lost all four of their ACC contests this season. But after narrow wins against Wake Forest and then-No. 21 Syracuse, Duke suffered its first conference loss Sunday at the hands of Florida State and knows it needs to show improvement for 40 minutes to bounce back.
“It’s important to learn to do things consistently. It’s not about one or two plays… it’s about the whole game,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “[The loss] was a great lesson for us; it definitely is a motivator. I don’t feel good until you hit the court again and go after a new opponent.”
Turnovers are the mistakes that have plagued the Blue Devils (11-5, 2-1 in the ACC) all season long, consistently damaging their offensive momentum. In each of Duke’s last two games, the mistakes have reached unprecedented heights, with a season-high 25 turnovers committed in both contests. McCallie's squad averages 18.6 giveaways per game.
“We want a high-IQ kind of game,” McCallie said. “The turnovers [Sunday] were low-IQ, and then that led to some other things that weren’t so great.”
More recently, the Blue Devils have developed a problem rebounding, an aspect of the game they dominated earlier in the season. Duke had its worst day of rebounding to date Sunday, notching just 28 total boards and allowing the Seminoles to grab 38 rebounds of their own, tied for the second-most of any Blue Devil opponent. Sunday also marked the second consecutive game in which Duke has been outrebounded.
“Our rebounding was very, very poor against Florida State,” McCallie said. “Rebounding is heart and hustle, and these players have to have it every time they hit the floor…. You’ve got to play with passion, and you’ve got to play with fire.”
Many of the Blue Devils’ chronic mistakes might be attributed to the fact that they are still a young team—only center Elizabeth Williams has played heavy minutes through the ups and downs of ACC play for a full season—a problem Virginia Tech (9-8, 0-4) certainly understands. The Hokie offense began the season with strong contributions from two freshmen—Rachel Camp and Regan Magarity—who combined for an average of 28.4 points and 17.0 rebounds in Virginia Tech's first five games.
After entering the record books on two separate occasions for most points scored in a debut game and most rebounds in a single game, Magarity’s season ended after a calf injury demanded surgery. Camp has since increased her production and now averages 16.7 points per game along with 7.1 rebounds, but has sorely missed Magarity's activity down low. The Hokies have yet to put up more than 60 points in ACC play.
Two familiar faces on the Virginia Tech side for the Blue Devils to contend with are sophomore point guard Vanessa Panousis and junior forward Taijah Campbell, the team's second and third leading scorers since Magarity's injury. Panousis scored 21 points against Duke last year and knocked down five 3-pointers.
“They always play hard. They’re a good team—everybody in the ACC’s good,” McCallie said. “We’ve had a terrible time with their point guard [Panousis]. [Camp] is doing a great job for them, so they’ve got players.”
Despite its turnover issues, Duke maintains its share of impressive offensive performers, namely redshirt freshman guard—and ACC Rookie of the Week—Rebecca Greenwell, who ranks fourth in the Blue Devil record books for a rookie with five games with 20-plus points.
Down low, Duke has relied on Williams and recent addition to the starting lineup Azura Stevens, but the two combined for just seven total rebounds in Sunday’s loss. The Blue Devils know they cannot afford to come up short again on the glass and with their effort if they want to avoid falling further in the rankings and ACC standings.
“In the ACC, you’ve got to be ready to play any night against anybody,” McCallie said. “Based on the way we played against Florida State, we certainly better be ready.”
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