Consider this the coming-out party for the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class.
In a performance highlighted by its freshmen, Duke easily defeated Albany 83-48 in Cameron Indoor Stadium Thursday night.
The No. 5 Blue Devils came out a little slowly and for the beginning of the first half allowed the Great Danes (6-3) to remain within striking distance. Senior Jasmine Thomas, however, wreaked havoc on both ends of the court and led a Duke charge that resulted in a 9-0 run to finish the half. Thomas finished the half with nine points, six steals and three assists and gave Duke enough breathing room to earn a rest for the majority of the second half.
“Obviously her minutes were down, but her minutes are very up [this season], so it was sort of nice to not have her minutes so up as they have been,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “She played great.”
The Blue Devils (10-0) finished the half with a 19-point lead, a margin that would only get bigger as McCallie gave more time to her heralded freshman class in the second period of play.
Tricia Liston, who did not play in the most recent game against Texas A&M, broke out with a career-high 15 points, 10 of which came in the second half.
“I thought Tricia Liston really answered the bell relative to getting her time and making some points,” McCallie said.
Liston was far from the only freshman to impress. Chloe Wells matched her career high with nine points while dishing out a career-high seven assists.
Wells went 4-for-5 from the field including a 3-pointer—breaking a drought of six consecutive games without a trey—and dazzled for a stretch in the second half when, in a span of three possessions, she had two consecutive layups, two steals and then an assist to Chelsea Gray.
“I think it was a big confidence booster,” Wells said. “I just know that I didn’t want to be dead weight on the team…. I also feel like my teammates...now they know I can do something.”
Gray, the only freshman starter, shot 6-for-7 from the field, including 3-for-4 from downtown, to tie her career high of 15 points. Liston, Wells and Gray, in addition to fellow freshmen Haley Peters and Richa Jackson, were all on the court at once for a five-and-a-half-minute stretch in the second half, the first time all five freshmen were on the court at the same time this season.
“When we first got in there, we all huddled up and said we got to make it happen because there’s a lot of hype on us,” Wells said. “Our teammates, they encouraged us in a way to get it done, so we went out there and made it happen.”
Though Duke won the game with ease, the contest wasn’t without drama. With two minutes left in the first half, Kathleen Scheer fought for a ball with Great Danes’ forward Julie Forster. Albany guard Felicia Johnson—who led all scorers in the game with 18 points—then got involved in the tussle and threw a shove. She received a technical foul.
But while this matchup was arguably the easiest game on the Blue Devils’ schedule this season, the level of competition quickly increases this weekend against Oklahoma State. In the meantime, they learned that their depth is why they are such a scary team to play.
“I believe combinations and versatility is what makes us dangerous,” McCallie said. “We have to be patient continuing to play with each other and learning that.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.