After turning things around on the court against Virginia Tech, the Blue Devils look to make the most of their home stand.
Miami will be welcomed to Cameron Indoor Stadium at 1:00 p.m. Sunday against No. 16 Duke. With both teams coming off dominant wins against ACC opponents, the Blue Devils will look to hand the Hurricanes their first conference loss of the season.
“I’d like to do a good job of breaking and attacking pressure and do a really good job shutting gaps… in transition,” Duke head coach Joane P. McCallie said. “I want to control the boards and the tempo.”
The Blue Devils finished off the Hokies Thursday 65-40. Duke (12-5, 3-1 in the ACC) got its biggest contribution from redshirt freshman Rebecca Greenwell, as the Owensboro, Ky. native stole the show with a team-high 21 points. The Duke guard was also very efficient on the court, going 8-for-12 from the field and shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc.
“Rebecca has been working hard every day,” McCallie said. “She has a terrific work ethic, definitely enjoys competing…and taking advantage of whatever she can.”
Another big lift came from true freshman Azura Stevens. The Blue Devil forward notched seven points, but also pulled down an career-high 13 rebounds.
Duke was also able to minimize turnovers in its latest outing. After having 25 turnovers against both Syracuse and Florida State, the Blue Devils were able to limit their mistakes to only 14. If Duke wants to take down the Hurricanes, it is crucial to make the most out of every possession.
The Blue Devils will also look to utilize the post more effectively—in Duke’s last game, none of frontcourt starters had more than 10 points. Furthermore, aside from Stevens, the starting frontcourt only could muster six rebounds. The Blue Devils have relied heavily on their guards this season, and if they want to start winning consistently, a balance will need to be struck on offense
“[We need] to make sure to play from the inside-out,” McCallie said. “[We have to] really attack the paint, have better rebounding, and better ball movement.”
The Hurricane squad is very impressive. Miami is still undefeated in ACC play and has had its fair share of impressive victories, taking down then No. 4 Notre Dame by a margin of 15 points in a Jan. 8 .
In ACC play this season, the Hurricanes have been very impressive. They have been outrebounding opponents by an average of nine boards per game and have a turnover margin of 5.5. All of this culminates to make up their most impressive statistic—Miami's average victory margin of 22.5 points.
“[Miami] has had a great season, no doubt about it,” McCallie said. “They’ve had success in the league… and it’s very important that we can maintain the tempo.”
The Hurricanes are also coming off a commanding victory against Clemson 79-42. Miami was efficient on the offensive side, shooting 46 percent from the field. Even more daunting is that the Hurricanes shot almost 50 percent from beyond the arc against the Tigers and also outrebounded their opponents 44-22.
The Blue Devils will watch out for sophomore Adrienne Motley in Sunday's clash. The Newport News, Va., native has been lighting up the court. The 5-foot-9 guard is averaging 21.3 points per game against ACC opponents and has shot an impressive 60 percent from the field.
“[Motley] has been fantastic,” McCallie said. “[She] leads them in scoring, always looking for the ball…and can also shoot the three.”
Another guard to watch out for is Suriya McGuire. She has been averaging 8.2 points per game this season along with 4.6 rebounds. McCallie knows McGuire is another key threat, as she said her ability shoot the three and experience make the Hurricanes a tough matchup.
As Miami is a very guard-heavy team, an additional threat comes from point guard Jessica Thomas. Along with 8.6 points per game, she leads the teams in assists.
“[Thomas] done a nice job at the point,” McCallie said. “[She] directs traffic and can hit the three.”
With Greenwell's recent strong play and the Hurricanes' track record of 3-point shooting guards, Sunday's contest could be a high-scoring affair, and one that may give the Blue Devils another solid ACC victory.
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