With guard Tricia Liston, Duke enters the ACC tournament with the conference’s most accurate 3-point shooter. In her second year as a Blue Devil, however, Liston has developed into far more than just an outside shooter, becoming Duke’s third highest scorer and a threat on both ends of the court.
As a freshman, Liston shot 38.9 percent from beyond the arc. Moreover, she recorded the fourth-highest season 3-point total for a Blue Devil freshman, making 38.
After averaging just 5.5 points per game, Liston knew she would have to elevate her offensive game to fill the gap left by the departure of three of the Blue Devils’ four top scorers going into the 2011-12 campaign.
“She made a commitment—a huge commitment to her conditioning and strength over the summer,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “I think that really has fortified her in a way that she [has become] so diverse as a player now.”
As a result of her offseason work, Liston has not only improved her long range shooting percentage but also has become one of Duke’s top all-around scoring threats this season. In addition to shooting 42.3 percent from beyond the arc, the best percentage in the ACC and eighth best in the nation—though she does not have the requisite number of made 3-pointers to qualify—Liston ranks in the top 15 in the ACC in overall field-goal percentage and averages 11.0 points per game.
“I worked on my conditioning, but more to my skill set,” Liston said. “I worked on doing more off the bounce, like creating for my teammates, but also creating my shot instead of just catching and shooting from the outside. Now, I can one-dribble pull-up and get all the way to the basket and draw the foul.”
Although Liston’s high 3-point field goal percentage has earned her even tighter defensive coverage along the perimeter, the sophomore has succeeded in beating her defenders in other ways.
“She’s pretty crafty,” McCallie said. “If you run at [her], that’s a mistake. She’ll ball-fake and go by with the best of them, and she has more to her game than just shooting three-balls. So you have to fully guard her, and I think she’s taken full advantage of that.”
Although listed as a guard, the 6-foot-1 Liston has seen action at nearly every position on the floor and can use her size and skill set to match up at a variety of positions. With only eight scholarship players still active for the ACC tournament, Duke will rely heavily on her to fill a number of roles.
“She’s playing the point, the two, the three,” McCallie said. “She can even play the four, so I call her ‘the point-four’…. She’s a Larry Bird type of player. She can shoot it, she can pass it, she can handle it and she has great court savvy.”
While Liston has made a huge impact on this year’s squad through her individual improvements, the development of sophomore Chelsea Gray as a playmaker has enhanced Liston’s threatening presence.
With both guards on the court, the Blue Devils thrive on drive-and-kick opportunities.
“[Chelsea’s] always looking to get you a pass,” Liston said. “Sometimes you don’t even expect it and she’ll hit you right in the hands. So it’s always fun playing with Chelsea, especially in the open court. When we have fast breaks, she’ll always find me coming up the side.”
With Duke’s lack of depth, Liston has become an increasingly large part of the Blue Devil offense as the season has gone on, highlighted by her 16 first-half points at home in a victory over then-No. 22 North Carolina Feb. 6.
Although she has struggled a little against other ranked opponents, only averaging 5.4 points per game, Liston proved she can still step up for the big games by leading Duke with 15 points in the rematch against the Tar Heels at Carmichael Arena Feb. 26, which the Blue Devils won 69-63.
Scoring a combined 38 points in the two games against North Carolina bodes well for Liston as Duke enters the postseason.
“She’s just an important part of what we do, in all areas though—to get the offense going, to get the defense going, to get the team ready to play, to have a focus, all areas,” McCallie said.
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