With a trip to Cancun for the Caribbean Challenge looming, the No. 11 Blue Devils (2-1) will first look to take care of business at home against Charlotte (1-2) tonight at 7 p.m.
Off the heels of a poor shooting performance against Georgia Southern, in which Duke went 4-for-21 from behind the arc, the Blue Devils will need a more balanced offensive attack against the 49ers, something head coach Joanne P. McCallie has emphasized as critical to Duke’s success.
“We’re quite capable offensively. We just need to take better shots,” McCallie said.
Duke now starts two point guards in the backcourt with fifth-year senior Keturah Jackson’s return from a rotator cuff injury, giving the Blue Devils more chances to spread the floor. Jackson’s speedy recovery, after suffering an injury playing a pick-up game over the summer, provides a much-needed energy boost and an anchor on the defensive end for the Blue Devils. After giving up 95 points to Texas A&M last week, McCallie has stressed defense in practice.
The 49ers, led offensively by senior guards Aysha Jones and Shannon McCallum, who average 18.3 and 17 points a game, respectively, will prove a legitimate test to Duke’s perimeter defense. Jones has shown she can be a dangerous scoring threat on the road this season, and is coming off a 27-point effort against Appalachian State last Friday.
Experience and balance will be the calling cards for Duke this season, and each Blue Devil can expect to get her fair share of chances against the 49ers. According to junior guard Jasmine Thomas, winning is simply a matter of execution.
“Everybody on this team is capable of putting numbers on the board,” Thomas said. “It’s not something we emphasize, it’s something we expect.”
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