With Faith Suggs’ big second half against Western Carolina, the final piece of the freshman puzzle has fallen into place for the Blue Devils.
After bouncing back from a tough road loss against No. 8 Kentucky with an 84-47 rout against the Catamounts, No. 12 Duke will face UNC Wilmington at 2 p.m. Thursday at Cameron Indoor Stadium in its final game before the start of ACC play. After the loss to the Wildcats served as a breakout game for Crystal Primm—who finished with a career-high 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting—Tuesday’s win was Suggs' opportunity to leave a mark. The Flossmoor, Ill., native caught fire after halftime, scoring a career-best eight points in a variety of ways on 3-of-4 shooting.
“Off the bench Faith [Suggs] gave us a nice lift with a lot of confidence,” Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “She’s got great potential because she can play the two, the three and the four for us, so she’s versatile in her positions…. She’s athletic and quick, and when she plays with balance she can be a super shooter.”
There has been plenty of pressure put on the Blue Devils’ five freshmen—who together make up the nation’s top recruiting class—and the group has spent most of nonconference play searching for consistency. After Suggs' performance Tuesday, each member of the talented quintet has now delivered a standout game.
For Haley Gorecki, it was her perfect shooting performance against Texas State during Thanksgiving break in Cancún, Mexico. With Duke's veterans struggling on the road against No. 2 South Carolina, starting point guard Kyra Lambert took control with a 16-point effort . Angela Salvadores created a highlight when she went between a defender's legs to start a fast break, and Primm climbed back into the starting lineup Tuesday after her hot shooting night against the Wildcats.
Suggs—who also set a career-high in minutes Tuesday with 16—stole the spotlight in second half against the Catamounts, knocking down a 3-pointer and finishing a 3-point play. With ACC play beginning Sunday at Syracuse, McCallie's squad will need regular contributions from its newcomers as it absorbs the loss of veteran post players Amber Henson and Kendall Cooper.
“They’re quick, they’re fast, they’re athletic, they hustle, [and] they’re smart. Their IQ is really good and that’s helped a lot. It shows a lot about them just as a class collectively,” sophomore Azurá Stevens said of the freshmen before the start of the regular season. “They’re all ready to go get out there and do what they need to do…. They’ve learned a lot in a short amount of time and they seem to be taking it well.”
Despite a lopsided win, the Blue Devils (10-3) have plenty to improve upon after posting a season-high 27 turnovers. The Seahawks (4-6) force 19.0 giveaways per contest, so the Duke offense—which has averaged 22.0 turnovers in its last two games—will need to improve its ball-handing and passing efficiency to find success come Thursday.
UNC Wilmington lacks a double-digit scorer, relying on a balanced offensive attack that will keep Duke’s defenders active and busy. The Seahawks do most of their damage on the perimeter—just one of UNC Wilmington’s top four scorers is a post player.
After finishing last season with 6.3 points per game, sophomore guard Naqaiyyah Teague has assumed more of a scoring role and now leads the Seahawks with 9.8 points per contest. Teague has been the team’s most effective scorer in their past two victories—highlighted by a 16-point performance in Tuesday's win against North Florida—setting up an intriguing matchup with the Blue Devils' talented young guards.
McCallie employed a younger, quicker lineup against Western Carolina that allowed the offense to run at top speed. The result was a high-scoring effort that left Duke just two points shy of its season-high.
“I like playing four guards very much. We have to rebound better from that position. But we can defend and we can really attack. I like the versatility,” McCallie said. “I want to embrace our versatility and we want to be ready for what we’re doing at that time.”
Delaney King and Hank Tucker contributed reporting.
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