Duke will spend part of its weekend looking back on the careers of seniors Wanisha Smith and Emily Waner.
But the No. 12 Blue Devils (19-7, 8-3 in the ACC) will also be looking forward, using games at Virginia Tech (14-12, 1-10) tonight and at home against Virginia (19-7, 7-3) Sunday as preparation for postseason play.
The contest with the Cavaliers in Cameron Sunday at 12:30 p.m. marks Senior Day for Smith and Waner, who will be honored after the final buzzer. That game comes right on the heels of Friday's trip to Blacksburg to take on the Hokies at 7 p.m.
"You've got to play games in a row for the ACC Tournament, so I think it's a great prep," head coach Joanne P. McCallie said of the quick turnaround. "It's a great opportunity for us to get in a situation that's a little bit different.... It's a good prep for postseason any way you look at it."
Coming off a loss to No. 4 Maryland, the Blue Devils hope to use this weekend and the regular-season finale at North Carolina to gain momentum heading into March. In past years, Duke has tended to peak early, and its trips to the postseason have ended prematurely.
"It's hard to pinpoint exactly what a peak is," junior guard Abby Waner said. "We have a couple games left, and these are each very critical games for getting prepared for the ACC's and the NCAA's."
Waner is one Blue Devil who seems to be hitting her stride. After suffering through a long shooting slump in the middle of the season, the junior has hit 11 of her last 29 3-point attempts and has scored in double figures for five consecutive games.
Waner said she hasn't fiddled with her form and technique while her coach praised how the guard has evolved into a complete player in her junior season.
"Abby's a great player," McCallie said. "She's had the best season of her career at Duke. If you look at every other statistic, she's superb and better than she's ever been. Maybe now the shooting will take off to new heights."
Waner has played a lot more point guard this season after the graduation of Lindsey Harding, averaging almost an assist more per game than last year's 2.7 per game. In the first meeting with Virginia Tech Feb. 1-an 85-50 Blue Devil victory-Waner recorded five assists without a turnover.
Center Chante Black picked up the slack for Waner during her slump, but the redshirt junior struggled mightily in the loss to Maryland last Sunday. Black finished just 3-of-11 from the field and often rushed her shots against Terrapins' center Crystal Langhorne.
"I just want [Black] to be who she is right now," McCallie said. "Her game right now is quickness, athleticism and shooting.... I don't want her to think she has to be the banger of the century in order to be productive. What I see is her getting caught into that game a little bit."
Black did have nine rebounds and got to the foul line six times against Maryland, but she didn't receive much help in either area from her teammates. The Terrapins outrebounded Duke 43-29 in the contest and shot three times as many free throws, 33 to 11.
Deficits on the glass and at the charity stripe, however, aren't new to the Blue Devils. Duke has given up more free throws than it has attempted in all seven of its losses-often by margins as wide as the one versus Maryland. Furthermore, the team is 16-1 when it wins the battle of the boards and just 3-6 when it doesn't.
"There are constants in these losses, and the good thing is they're in our control," Abby Waner said. "[With rebounding], it comes down to heart and wanting the ball. It's not that we don't want it, but it needs to become more of a focus.... It's not where it needs to be, and that's something we need to pick up."
With three regular-season contests left, Waner and the Blue Devils are confident they can do just that before the start of the postseason. And even as Smith and Emily Waner are recognized for their accomplishments Sunday afternoon, Duke has its eyes set on adding to that list.
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