Duke's emotional leader, suddenly hot-shooting Abby Waner, missed Sunday's game with a sprained knee.
Although some teams of lesser caliber would have panicked, the loss of Waner provided the Blue Devils with an opportunity to showcase another one of their strengths: their depth.
In No. 1 Duke's 83-42 victory over No. 16 Austin Peay, 11 Blue Devils scored, and every player logged at least 12 minutes. McCallie's willingness to go to her bench paid off, even if the Blue Devils probably could have won with its reserves. Seldom-used freshmen Chelsea Hopkins, Kathleen Scheer and Shay Selby combined for 19 points, and reserve Krystal Thomas was among the game's leading scorers with 10.
"We did get a lot of minutes for our first-year players, and they need to understand what this Tournament is all about," McCallie said. "Without Abby playing, that created some minutes as well, because obviously she's going to play an awful lot.... We had some good moments, and we had some learning moments [with the freshmen]."
Duke looked at times like a hockey team changing lines, frequently rotating two or three players in and out. The fresh legs off the bench allowed the Blue Devils to attack the Lady Govs relentlessly, outscoring them 40-19 in the first half, yet never letting up, besting them 43-23 in the second.
"In every game in the Tournament, you cannot be outhustled... because all the teams are very, very good," McCallie said. "You can't control everything, but you can sure control hustle plays. I think we did that in the second half beautifully."
And McCallie's liberal use of the bench could pay dividends in the next round, too. Duke returns to the court Tuesday to play No. 9 Michigan State, and the fact that Chante Black, Jasmine Thomas and Carrem Gay all played fewer than 22 minutes should keep them fresh for another win-or-go-home game.
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