Duke women's basketball Player of the Week: Week 9

Azura Stevens

Statline: Thursday, Jan. 15 vs. Virginia Tech: 7 points on 3-of-7 shooting, 13 rebounds, four assists and one steal in 30 minutes; Sunday, January 18 vs. Miami: 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists and one block in 35 minutes

The good: Whether Stevens was scoring points or not, she was always a presence on the court. She only scored seven points against Virginia Tech Thursday, but the Raleigh, N.C. native pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds and facilitated with four assists. Sunday, she showed her ability to score in volume. Stevens demonstrated her ability to be efficient, scoring 20 points and shooting almost 70 percent from the field. She was also able to pull down seven boards and dish out three assists, showing her versatility in almost every aspect of the game.

The bad: Turnovers have plagued the Duke squad this entire season, and Stevens is no exception. She led the team Thursday with five turnovers and coughed the ball up four more times Sunday. Although the versatile forward shows good decision-making with her shot selection, she needs to show the same thought process when trying to hold onto the ball. Stevens also was poor from the charity stripe, shooting just 40 percent from the line this week, though all five of her attempts came against the Hurricanes..

The bottom line: Stevens makes an impact almost every time out on the floor. Whether she is pulling down more than a quarter of the team's rebounds or scoring 20 points, the 6-foot-5 forward plays with a great motor and looks like a blossoming star for head coach Joanne P. McCallie. The true freshman could be even more deadly if she manages to cut back on her turnovers moving forward and use her smooth shooting stroke just as efficiently at the free throw line.

Honorable mention: Senior center Elizabeth Williams had an amazing game Sunday against the Hurricanes. Scoring 24 points and corralling 11 boards for a double-double while playing almost the entire game—Williams logged 36 minutes Sunday—was certainly impressive. The Blue Devils would like to see that kind of output every game, but it was missing Thursday—when Williams posted a milder stat line of nine points and five rebounds.

If she posts an average of those two games—16.5 points and eight rebounds—every time out, Williams will be in the discussion for the John R. Wooden Award as one of the nation's top players and her team will see more consistency on both ends of the court.