WINSTON-SALEM - No. 10 Duke forced Wake Forest to pick its poison Wednesday in Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and every outcome was lethal for the Demon Deacons.
Every player on the Duke roster scored en route to the Blue Devils' 83-50 win, their 10th in league play. For Duke (23-4, 10-3 in the ACC) four players-Chante Black, Abby Waner, Jasmine Thomas and Joy Cheek-posted double figures as the team rolled to an easy win over Wake Forest (18-9, 5-8).
"[We had] great balance and a great attack," head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "I thought [we took] all good shots. I didn't think people were forcing and looking for theirs. I think that they were looking for what was available, and that makes a team very dangerous. Balance is important to us."
That balance led to fluid offensive play, overwhelming defensive pressure and a feeling that Duke had control of the game from the tip to the final buzzer.
"We read double-teams well," McCallie said. "Everyone moved the ball and made the extra pass when necessary. I think that contributed to the 16 assists, and I think that contributed to scoring 83 points."
Duke's deadly press helped the Blue Devils force 16 steals, and the 83 points on the road represented Duke's highest total since Dec. 20, when the Blue Devils defeated Siena 86-41 in Los Angeles.
But even the most balanced teams have leadership, and for Duke, Thomas and Black filled that role. Thomas led Duke with 16 points, six rebounds and three steals.
And for Black-who tallied 15 points and 11 rebounds-the night was even more historic.
In her last game as a college player in her hometown, Black moved into 10th place on Duke's all-time scoring list with 1,379 points and second on the all-time rebounding list with 947 boards in front of a gathering of family and friends.
"That just means you're getting old," McCallie joked about her center's climb up the record books.
And although the Blue Devils' satisfaction was visible, Duke doesn't want to be a team that needs a difficult loss, like its 77-59 defeat at Maryland Sunday, to inspire the team to play its best.
Still, there isn't really a wrong time to have this type of performance, no matter when it comes in the season. With one regular season game left before the ACC and NCAA Tournaments begin, McCallie was asked after the game if this hallmark performance came at the right time for her squad.
"Well, I think that any time a team plays this well together, it's the right time," McCallie said. "What's important is that we repeat it over and over again. We haven't always done this. We understand that, we take responsibility for it, but what's more important is being in the moment right now and recognizing that this was probably our best overall team game."
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