After an impressive upset, Duke will try to keep its winning streak alive as the Blue Devils hit the unforgiving road against Wake Forest.
No. 17 Duke will face off against a struggling Demon Deacons team Thursday at 7 p.m. at Lawrence Joel Coliseum. The Blue Devils have struggled on the road this season, only winning three of eight away games.
“We are just trying to get better every game,” Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “Every game it’s the process of doing the little things better, and we have got to continue that.”
Duke (16-6, 7-2 in the ACC) is coming off a win against No. 8 Louisville. The Blue Devils thrived on offense, as all starters scored in double-digits, showing great teamwork and balance. As a team, Duke chose smart shots, shooting 47 percent from the field.
The Blue Devils also moved the ball very efficiently, with each starter recording at least one assist. Senior Ka’lia Johnson is fourth in the ACC in assists, averaging 4.0 a game.
“We are sharing the basketball,” McCallie said. “[We are] finding each other more.”
The Blue Devils did a nice job of boxing out against the Cardinals, grabbing a total of 43 rebounds to Louisville’s 35. Duke’s rebounding this entire season has been explosive—the team is averaging an NCAA-high 31 defensive boards a game and its rebound margin of 14.3 is the highest in the nation.
A notable performance came from Oderah Chidom. The sophomore forward scored 14 points on five-of-six shooting and recorded six rebounds. The California native’s performance was considered one of the reasons Duke pulled off the upset. Throughout the past two games Chidom has contributed much more to the team, averaging 12.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.
“[Chidom] was very aggressive—she took the ball hard to the rack,” McCallie said. “Oderah has a lot of confidence and a lot of ability.”
Duke, however, needs to improve in certain areas if it wants to keep its winning ways and capture its second win against the Demon Deacons. Turnovers are a nagging issue that has haunted this Blue Devil team the entire season. Against Louisville, Duke turned the ball over 22 times. This season the Blue Devils are averaging 18.9 turnovers a game, the highest average in 25 years.
Free throws are another deficit that needs to be addressed by the Blue Devils. Last game, Duke shot 54 percent from the charity stripe. But in away games this season, the team is averaging 71 percent from the line, which should bode well for the squad Thursday.
Another problem for the Blue Devils is the increasing minutes Duke’s starting guards are playing. Redshirt freshman Rebecca Greenwell and Johnson played 36 and 35 minutes respectively, not even logging 10 minutes of rest between the two.
“We have gotten in great shape physically from playing those minutes,” McCallie said. “They are taking full advantage of it.... It’s a lot more fun to play than to sit on the bench.”
Although Wake Forest (10-13, 1-8) has not looked overly impressive, its players will still put up a strong fight, as evidenced by the two teams’ first meeting Jan. 4, in which the Blue Devils barely squeaked out a 70-63 victory.
One player Duke knows it will have to watch out for is senior Dearica Hamby. The Demon Deacon front court star is averaging a double-double with 20.2 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. In the first meeting, Hamby was held in check, though, scoring only 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting. But McCallie knows duplicating the effort will not be an easy task.
“[Hamby] is a great player,” McCallie said.”She is always around the basket, has a nose for the ball. [We have to] contest the high post...or take it to the basket...and know where she is on the court at all times.”
The Blue Devils will look for Elizabeth Williams to lead the way for them. Her last time facing Wake Forest, the senior center scored 18 points, with eight rebounds, five steals and six blocks.
The freshman duo of Azura Stevens and Greenwell will also need to have a strong performance. This season both freshman combined rank as the third-highest-scoring freshman duo— 27.2 points per game.
Although the game is fewer than 30 miles away, it will seem like a world apart in an opposing arena. The Blue Devils will hope to use this chance against Wake Forest to shake of their road game problems and pick up their fourth-straight conference victory.
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