Amber Henson
Statline: Thursday at Georgia Tech: Six points on 2-of-8 shooting, six rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block in 23 minutes. Sunday vs. No. 15 North Carolina: 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, five rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals in 34 minutes.
The good: The No. 16 Blue Devils notched a dramatic home victory against No. 15 North Carolina 81-80 Sunday on Senior Day in yet another episode of the most important college basketball rivalry in the nation. With this triumph, head coach Joanne P. McCallie reached her 100th win in the ACC in just eight years as Duke's coach.
Senior Amber Henson combined with two other veterans, Elizabeth Williams and Ka’lia Johnson, to overcome an 11-point deficit after halftime. The 6-foot-4 center, who averages 4.2 points per contest, scored in double digits for the first time since Dec. 21 and eight of her 10 points came in the second half. The Tampa, Fla., native also affected the defensive side of the game as she added three blocks and five rebounds against the Tar Heels.
Despite only scoring six points in the Blue Devils’ upset losses to N.C. State and Georgia Tech, Henson had a big impact on her team’s defense, totaling 11 rebounds, two steals and three blocks.
The bad: The Blue Devils have had a recurrent problem throughout the season–their high number of turnovers per game, which currently stands at 18.4. Against its crosstown rival, Duke totaled 23—14 of them in the first half—and the 6-foot-4 senior committed four of them. Taking care of the ball has been an aspect of the game the Blue Devils have continuously struggled with, even against unranked opponents. Duke totaled 20 turnovers in the losses to the Wolfpack and the Yellow Jackets, and Henson was responsible for three of them.
The bottom line: Henson doesn’t steal the spotlight from the other Duke starters. However, defense is the aspect of the game where the Tampa, Fla., native dominates the most, and a player like her is key to reduce the damages that a high turnover rate could provoke. Her solid performance against rival North Carolina on a special occasion such as Senior Day should encourage the 6-foot-4 center to step up next Friday morning as No. 15 Duke opens play in the ACC tournament quarterfinals.
Honorable mention: Against the Tar Heels, freshman Azura Stevens—one of the main reasons why Duke averages a solid 13.2 rebounding margin—delivered a double-double coming from the bench. The 6-foot-5 forward scored 21 points and had 12 rebounds. Stevens also chipped in three assists, two blocks and one steal, orchestrating one the greatest comebacks in the recent history of the Duke-North Carolina women’s basketball rivalry.
The Raleigh, N.C., native registered another double-double against the other squad from the Triangle area Monday, scoring 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting and adding 10 rebounds against the Wolfpack. Stevens then delivered 16 points, and totaled five rebounds, three assists and two blocks against Georgia Tech a few days later.
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