WBB: Duke 113, Pfeiffer 36 -- post game thread

[Kedsy]

I'm starting this thread for the sole purpose of giving Mr. Sumner a forum to share his post-game thoughts on the women's demolition of DII Pfeiffer.

[heyman25]

I want to hear about observations of the players. Lambert and Salvadores do they show potential as great players?

[jimsumner]

Okie dokie.

On a couple of points, this will read a lot like reports from last night's men's game.

First, Duke is very young, lots of new faces and this team is a long way from being a cohesive unit.

Second, Pfeiffer isn't very good. Like a lot a D-2 teams they have some decent perimeter players and shoot a lot of 3s; 6-26 on the night. But they simply don't have anything resembling quality size.

They sent a 5-9 player out to jump against 6-6 Azura Stevens. But she didn't bother to actually jump. Pfeiffer coach Tooey Loy--great name, btw--said they just did it that way to set up their defense.

So anything that follows should be taken with that in mind.

Some housekeeping. Angela Salvadores did not play. Joanne P. McCallie said Salvadores has had two full practices and should play Sunday, 1 P.M. against St. Leo.

Redshirt freshman Lynee Belton also sat out. McCallie said she's practicing with no restrictions, up to 2.5 hour practices. But the medical staff still has to clear her and that hasn't happened yet.

The other 11 players played, everyone at least 10 minutes, no one more than 27.

Five standouts. Stevens simply toyed with Pfeiffer. Loy said when his team fronted her, Duke passed over them and if they played behind her "she didn't notice we were there."

Her stat line was off the charts; 12-13 from the field, 5-6 from the line, 29 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks, 2 steals, 0 fouls, 0 turnovers.

A lot of that is simply a result of talent discrepancy. But a lot isn't. She had a great summer and she's significantly more poised, calmed and focused than she was last season. Stevens never forced anything, never seemed out of control. Not once.

Rebecca Greenwell scored 22 points (3-5 on 3s), and added 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals.

But she also had half of Duke's 14 turnovers. McCallie says she just playing too fast.

Kyra Lambert started a point and had an 8-assist, 2-turnover, 7-steal game. She only scored 6 points but only shot 4 times. She's a blur and she's a playmaker.

Fellow freshman Haley Gorecki came off the bench with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and no turnovers.

You are going to love Gorecki. She's one of these players who just seems to see several plays ahead and she has the skills to turn that into good things. She very much reminds me of a young Georgia Schweitzer. She even looks like her.

Oderah Chidom had 18 points off the bench in 12 minutes, many of them attacking off the dribble. Chidom missed much of last season after shoulder surgery and her enthusiasm at getting back on the court is palpable and contagious.

Amber Henson and Crystal Primm joined Stevens, Greenwell and Lambert in the starting lineup. Henson only played 14 minutes, preserving her surgically-repaired knee for sterner tests.

Primm played a game-high 27 minutes. She started slowly and wasn't as dynamic as she was in the B/W game. But she didn't have a turnover either and she's an athlete.

Classmate Faith Suggs turned it on late, 7 of her 8 points after intermission. The four freshman combined for 89 minutes.

Kendall Cooper struggled but she's missed a lot of practice because of a concussion. Erin Mathias showed a flair for entry passes-4 assists in 13 minutes, while Mercedes Riggs played the final 10 minutes with great energy. Which should be her role this season.

Duke started slowly, trailing 5-2 and tied as late as 7-7. But once Duke started forcing turnovers, it became pretty ugly. Pfeiffer had 29 turnovers and 25 of those came on steals, which Duke converted into 29 fast-break points; Pfeiffer had none.

McCallie said her team was actually out of position in the press a lot and called the steals "scrappy." She's looking forward to what Duke can do when the athletic youngsters figure it out. Duke had 28 assists on 42 made field goals, a very encouraging sign for a young team and outrebounded Pfeiffer 51-28. Second-chance points were 21-0, points off turnovers 43-5.

Pfeiffer matched Duke with 6 3-pointers (in twice as many attempts) and Greenwell's turnovers stood out like a sore thumb. But other than that, it's hard to find much fault.

[Kedsy]

Thanks, Jim.

I have no idea if it's warranted, but I'm a little bit giddy about this year's team, as well as the two- and three-year outlook. I guess a big part of that is Azurá, but I think in general things are looking up. Now, I have to keep my fingers crossed that (for once) we don't get hit with a major injury, but I just have a good feeling that this is the year we break out. Go Duke!

[CameronBornAndBred]

Her stat line was off the charts; 12-13 from the field, 5-6 from the line, 29 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks, 2 steals, 0 fouls, 0 turnovers.

I think that's my favorite part. I love knowing that we have someone that can score. I'm not naive enough to know that those numbers won't change when she faces a first class defense, but I've also cringed so many times at watching our team miss wide open, uncontested and close to the rim shots. The worst is the seeming unending barrage of missed layups. Having someone we can count on is so important. (And maybe whatever she's got is contagious!)

[aswewere]

Write up / Box / Interviews http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=210475009&DB_OEM_ID=4200

[aswewere]

Missy returns. http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=210455404&DB_OEM_ID=4200

[burnspbesq]

Missy returns. http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=210455404&DB_OEM_ID=4200

St. Leo lost to Charlotte by 37 in its first exhibition game on Friday night, and has no players over 5'11" on the roster. Other than getting to run up and down against people in different colors, it's a bit hard to see what either team can expect to get out of Sunday's game. The best-case scenario is nobody gets hurt.