With 14:28 left in the second half, Jasmine Thomas stole the ball at halfcourt, ran down the court and nonchalantly put it away for an easy fast-break layup. The moment embodied the Blue Devils’ success Sunday afternoon, as they repeatedly turned Western Kentucky turnovers into easy baskets on their way to an 82-55 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Hilltoppers finished the day with 33 turnovers which Duke converted into 28 points, almost equivalent to the team’s margin of victory.
“Duke’s defensive pressure is something that everybody knows about,” Hilltopper head coach Mary Taylor Cowles said. “I think that it’s something they feed really well off of—it’s a very prime part of their game.”
For the Blue Devils (4-0), their defense is just one aspect of the team’s game that is improving at the start of the season. As a team, Duke had 23 assists and 17 steals, both of which are season highs. In addition, the Blue Devils went 30-of-59 from the field, shooting above 50 percent for the second consecutive game.
“I am very happy with 23 assists and trying to grow that number,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “I think we’ve got an excellent passing team, and I just think for us to be at the elite level, we should be in that range.”
The Blue Devils initially struggled to break the game open for much of the first half as the Hilltoppers (2-3) were able to keep the game within 10 points for most of the opening period. But towards the end of the first half, Duke kicked up the defensive pressure and Western Kentucky had no answer, finishing the half with an astonishing 19 turnovers.
Thomas set the aggressive tone for the Blue Devils, leading all players with 11 points and three steals in the first half. Freshman guard Chelsea Gray, who has seen limited action early in the season due to a nagging foot injury, added five first-half points, knocking down a layup and then a three on back-to-back possessions.
The second half picked up right where the first one ended for Duke. The team came out with three quick steals as Western Kentucky continued its poor ball control.
The real story of the second half, however, was the breakout performance from freshmen Haley Peters, who led all scorers with 17 points. She was efficient from the field, going 8-of-11, and she displayed her offensive versatility by scoring both under the basket and behind the arc.
“She had an excellent game—I thought she was very aggressive,” McCallie said. “I think she gets better every time she hits the floor.”
The freshmen were on the court for much of the second half because the comfortable lead allowed McCallie to rest the seniors. Richa Jackson scored seven points and grabbed seven boards in her 18 minutes of action while Chloé Wells had three steals.
There were also many crowd-pleasing moments throughout the game. Junior guard Shay Selby was at the center of many of them, diving into the crowd twice for loose balls. She also left fans agape after she dished a beautiful no-look pass to Peters under the basket.
Ultimately, the win leaves the Blue Devils with a strong beginning of the season as they head into their first extended road trip, beginning Wednesday at Pittsburgh. For now, though, Duke is pleased with the versatility it displayed through the first four games.
“We have so many people who can create different passes,” senior center Krystal Thomas said. “We’re all trying to work on the different elements of our game [and] trying to find each other.”
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