Duke remains shorthanded as it hits the road for another conference test, needing one of its healthy freshmen to continue stepping into a bigger role to fill the void left by injuries.
When the Blue Devils play at Pittsburgh at the Petersen Events Center at 7 p.m. Thursday, dynamic freshman Angela Salvadores will likely miss her fourth straight game with an injured ankle while classmate Haley Gorecki remains out indefinitely with a hip injury. Duke has snapped out of a slump at the start of conference play with three straight convincing wins, though, thanks in large part to the improved play of Kyra Lambert while Salvadores has watched from the bench.
Lambert has played at least 30 minutes in each of the last three games after topping that threshold just four times previously in the season as she has taken the bulk of the point guard duties in a suddenly thinning Blue Devil backcourt. The Cibolo, Texas, native has averaged 5.0 assists per game in those three contests—including a career-high seven dimes against Boston College Jan. 17—and even took a page from Salvadores’ playbook with a flashy behind-the-back assist at Clemson Jan. 21.
“Kyra every game gets a little bit better, a little bit more understanding of the game—playing it inside-out, finding Azurá [Stevens], finding her post players, quicker passes to Becca [Greenwell],” Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “Everything is clicking for her and I think it will continue to do so, so I’m excited about Kyra’s play.”
Lambert’s calm presence running the point has also helped the Blue Devils (15-6, 4-3 in the ACC) commit fewer than 20 turnovers in three straight games for the first time since the middle of December. She has committed just nine giveaways during this span, and her 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio on the season is easily the best of any player in Duke’s regular rotation.
Although she has kept the Blue Devils afloat on the offensive end, Lambert’s impact has been felt the most on defense. She is quicker and more aggressive on the ball than Salvadores, and the results have been clear. Duke’s first four conference opponents all scored at least 65 points, but no opponent has scored more than 55 points against Duke in its last three games as Lambert has come away with seven steals.
“Defensively, she’s really capable of a lot of deflections and steals and also great position defense. One-on-one stops are huge in any defense that we play,” McCallie said. “Kyra’s one of those stoppers. She’s a defensive stopper, so I’m encouraging her to really understand who she’s playing against—how to play that one person [and] get those stops.”
Lambert’s on-ball pressure on the perimeter will be critical against the Panthers (9-11, 1-6) and their array of long-distance shooters. Pittsburgh has four players that all attempt more than two 3-pointers per game, and the Panthers’ scoring is very balanced. Four players average at least nine points per game, and junior guard Fred Potvin emerged as a dangerous weapon off the bench Sunday at Virginia, erupting for a career-high 19 points on five triples to lead Pittsburgh to its first conference win.
The 58-55 victory against the Cavaliers snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Panthers, who made a surprise run to the second round of the NCAA tournament last season. They have been competitive at home this season, dropping a triple-overtime thriller to N.C. State and playing ACC juggernaut Notre Dame to a draw through three quarters before the Fighting Irish pulled away for a 10-point win in the final stanza.
“They’re an interesting team because they don’t have as many wins as they want, but they’ve been playing so well, and we’re very concerned about their 3-point shooting ability,” McCallie said. “We have to be very aggressive to the ball, we have to be very quick to the ball…. It’s going to be a nice challenge for us to improve as a team.”
The Panthers are a stout defensive team—only allowing their opponents to score 61.2 points per game—and could put some pressure on a Blue Devil squad that is just 2-4 on the road this year, but Lambert and company have grown up a lot during the last two weeks and will look to continue their recent wave of momentum into Monday’s showdown with No. 3 Notre Dame.
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