Mistie Williams provided the offensive firepower in No. 2 Duke's 95-61 rout of Miami Thursday night.
While Monique Currie has been garnering most of the attention from opposing teams this season, it was Mistie Williams who provided the offensive firepower in No. 2 Duke’s 95-61 rout over Miami (12-14, 4-9 in the ACC) Thursday night.
With foul trouble relegating Currie to the bench midway through the first half, Williams stepped up and inspired of the team. When the Blue Devils (26-2, 12-1) were up 36-14 with 7:55 to go in the half, Williams began a three-minute stretch in which she scored Duke’s next 10 points. During the same period, Williams also recorded one steal and assisted on a Chante Black layup that extended Duke’s lead to 25, forcing Miami to call a timeout.
“I think after our last game at Georgia Tech, we just felt like we didn’t have as much intensity as we did at the beginning of the season,” Williams said. “Basically we made a promise to each other that if we’re going to do good in the tournament and in upcoming games, we need to start now.”
Williams finished the game shooting 9-for-11 from the field, tying her career high of 23 points. In addition, she led the Blue Devils with eight rebounds and tallied three steals.
“I thought we did a really good job getting the ball inside to Mistie,” head coach Gail Goestenkors said. “I thought she did an excellent job posting up, calling for the ball and finishing her shots.”
Williams, however, was not alone in her efforts. In what Goestenkors called her team’s best effort since the start of ACC play, the Blue Devils shot a combined 56.9 percent from the floor and recorded a total of 26 team assists. Currie and Jessica Foley each contributed 18 points for the Blue Devils, and freshman Wanisha Smith dished out a career-high 10 assists. Foley also continued her tear from the three-point line, going 4-for-5 from behind the arc.
“I think this was one of our best overall efforts,” Goestenkors said. “When you see 26 assisted baskets, that just shows, I think, the type of team basketball that we played. We were all looking for one another.”
In its first visit to Cameron Indoor Stadium, Miami struggled to find its offensive rhythm throughout the entire game. The Hurricanes were led by NCAA scoring leader Tamara James, who poured in a game-high 26 points despite suffering from foul trouble throughout most of the first-half. In addition to James, senior guard Yolanda McCormick scored 20 points and led Miami with four assists. The two players combined for 46 out of the Hurricane’s 61 points.
Duke, however, was able to exploit their size in the paint, outscoring the Hurricanes 32 to 14. In addition, the Blue Devils used 6-foot-7 sophomore Alison Bales to distract Miami in the post, freeing Foley and Smith to get several wide-open looks from three-point land.
“We allowed them to play the game they wanted to play instead of us coming in here and setting the tone,” James said. “They have a height advantage. They out rebounded us. They got a couple of offensive rebounds. They were more physical than we were. We allowed them to shoot uncontested threes.”
NOTES:
Wanisha Smith raised her season assist total to 131, breaking Lindsey Harding’s single-season record of 124.... Smith’s 10 assists also set a new freshman single game record.... Duke extended its current home winning streak to 20 games.... Duke’s 34-point margin of victory was its largest in the ACC this season.... The Blue Devils will look to avenge last month’s loss to the Tar Heels as they take on UNC in Sunday night’s season finale at Cameron.... A Duke victory in that game would clinch the top seed in next week’s ACC Tournament.
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