Ten minutes into Thursday's game, the Blue Devils found themselves down 15-13 to a Virginia Tech team that sits in last place in the ACC standings. The Hokies' lone victory in conference play came against Clemson, which happens to be second-to-last in the league.
Needless to say, Duke did not expect to be playing catch up.
But then came a stretch when the Blue Devils scored 16 unanswered points, and the game was theirs.
What sparked the run?
"I specifically remember a pass from Abby [Waner] to Carrem right in the paint," McCallie said. "I was yelling at the team to get some paint points, because [before then] we had started to play the game from the outside in. The run started with aggressiveness on defense and... paint points. I remember that was the first one we got-the pass from Abby to Carrem. It kind of rolled from there."
On the next series, after a missed jumper from Jasmine Thomas, Gay flew in, grabbing the rebound and making the put back despite a foul. She finished the game with 11 points and seven rebounds, six on the offensive end.
"I thought it was an interesting stat that she had six steals and six offensive rebounds," McCallie said of Gay. "If that doesn't speak to the energy and activity by [Carrem], then I don't know what does."
Gay has been admittedly inconsistent over the season. She has seen her points per game average drop significantly from her sophomore and junior years, and her field goal percentage is the lowest of her career.
But she has also been hot of late.
Despite a scoreless performance against Tennessee, she has scored in double digits in two of the past five games.
The Blue Devils could thrive if Gay continues to look like she did Thursday. It might make the difference between another NCAA Tournament loss and a banner in the rafters.
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