As Toby Fournier rocked out to “Everytime We Touch” by Cascada in the national anthem line, the Blue Devils had been forced to adapt. The freshman forward, Duke’s leading scorer through 14 games, was out after taking a hard collision in the Blue Devils’ win against Boston College.
In order to compensate for Fournier’s presence on offense and defense, head coach Kara Lawson needed others to step up. Luckily for her, Duke’s sophomore class, which has steadily grown together for a year and a half now, were instrumental in the Blue Devils’ dominant 69-31 victory over Pittsburgh.
“Our sophomore class continues to be such a core part of what we do and who we are,” Lawson said after the game. “We’ve seen them all grow and improve and take on larger roles within the team.”
When discussing the Blue Devils’ sophomores, the most obvious starting point are the two starters — Jadyn Donovan and Delaney Thomas. Donovan’s aggressiveness on offense was apparent early on in the second quarter, with a tough layup and-one in transition over Pittsburgh’s Marley Washenitz to cap off a 17-0 scoring run by the Blue Devils. The Upper Marlboro, Md., native ultimately filled the stat sheet with eight points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.
Donovan’s defense, a strong suit of her game, was critical in holding Pittsburgh to 31 points, the lowest total Duke has allowed in nearly two years. Her defense was especially key on Panther guard Brooklynn Miles, who was shut out from scoring and attempted just two shots. Donovan and the rest of Duke’s backcourt put together a defensive clinic against the Panthers; excluding center Khadija Faye, Pittsburgh shot a meager 12.1% from the field.
In the frontcourt, Thomas and the 6-foot-4 Faye shadowed each other for much of the game in the low post. It was certainly a challenge — the Pittsburgh center scored 17 points, all off layups or free throws — but Thomas was up for it. Her contesting on the defensive side helped force Faye into multiple turnovers and foul trouble, and Faye fouled out with just over six minutes remaining in the game.
In contrast with Donovan, where Thomas shined the most was on offense. She shot a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor, which included a very tough layup in traffic to open Duke’s scoring in the second half. In her last six games, the Charles Town, W.Va., native has played unbelievably efficient basketball, averaging 10.5 points on 84.8% shooting from the floor.
“It has been very, very good, and something that, as a coaching staff, we challenged her to improve on,” Lawson said of Thomas’s efficiency. “She has just been on a steady rise … and has become a reliable weapon for us [in the paint]. It just gives us stability to have her and Fournier at that position being able to finish and being very efficient.”
In addition to Donovan and Thomas, the other two sophomores in the rotation, guard Oluchi Okananwa and forward Jordan Wood, also took on important minutes. Okananwa, who seems to have an unstoppable motor every time she is on the court, finished with seven points, six rebounds and two steals. Her three offensive rebounds were the most by a player on either team, which included Faye, a center who is six inches taller than her.
The Boston native seemed always looking to stress Pittsburgh’s defense in transition, racing across the floor with blazing speed to snag quick layups. While her aggressiveness produced some negative plays, such as giving Pittsburgh a possession at the end of the first quarter after a 3-point miss, she did what she needed to do — provide a spark off the bench.
Last but certainly not least is Jordan Wood. The Chicago native finished with a season-high four blocks — one in each quarter — marking six in the last two games alone. Block No. 1: a firm rejection of a Faye jumper. Block No. 2: a leap to reject an end-of-half 3-pointer from MaKayla Elmore and force a shot-clock violation. Block No. 3: a swift, left-hand swipe over Miles. Block No. 4: an impressive rejection in transition over Mikayla Johnson.
“[Wood]’s biggest jump from freshman to sophomore year has been on the defensive end,” Lawson said. “She can figure stuff out as it’s happening, which is a rare quality. Some players, [they] figure it out when they come over to the bench and you talk to them about it.”
All in all, the four sophomores were critical in notching Duke’s third victory over an ACC rival and second in the last three days — in those three games, the Blue Devils have outscored their opponents by an average of 29 points. Whether Fournier is available or not, the defensive resolve Duke’s sophomores showed in their victory against Pitt must be on full display against North Carolina Thursday, and indeed for the full season.
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