Perimeter shooting, full-court press spark Blue Devils

Sophomore Chelsea Gray had 14 points, 11 rebounds,13 assists and six steals in Duke’s win over the Panthers.
Sophomore Chelsea Gray had 14 points, 11 rebounds,13 assists and six steals in Duke’s win over the Panthers.

The Blue Devils dominated Pittsburgh from start to finish Sunday, coasting to a 92-43 victory that highlighted two of the team’s biggest strengths—shooting from the perimeter and forcing turnovers.

Duke connected on 10 of its 16 3-point attempts and shot 50-percent from the field overall. Sophomore Tricia Liston led the red-hot shooting effort, converting 5-of-6 3-pointers en route to 19 points and four rebounds. Sophomore Chloe Wells scored 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting. But the finest performance of the day belonged to Chelsea Gray, who notched her first career triple-double—the fourth in school history—with 14 points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds and six steals.

“I came out with 10 minutes to go and [head coach Joanne P. McCallie put me back in a couple of minutes later,” Gray said. “I looked up and saw I had eight rebounds so I just went after it.”

Right from the game’s outset, the sophomore guard was aggressive on the offensive end, attacking the basket in transition and consistently finding open teammates. Gray’s willingness to distribute allowed seven Blue Devils to finish with double-figures in points.

Gray’s triple-double yesterday was a microcosm of her all-around ability—she is now averaging 11.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 3.6 steals for the season. In dominating the Panthers, she was involved in almost every significant Blue Devil offensive sequence. Just over two minutes into the game, she rebounded a Panther miss and pushed the ball in transition to Liston, who knocked down a 3-pointer to give Duke a 13-3 lead. And on the ensuing possession, she stole the ball and pushed it down the floor again, finding Liston for a transition lay-up.

“She has a variety of skill sets and today obviously she put a lot of things together,” McCallie said. “The way I look at it, Chelsea’s ability allows her do a lot of things and will continue to do so. It’s very exciting.”

What should not be lost in Gray’s tremendous offensive performance was her pivotal role in orchestrating another superb Blue Devil defensive effort. Gray, Liston and Haley Peters suffocated Pittsburgh’s offense with an aggressive full-court press for the entire first half. When the Panthers managed to break the press—which happened infrequently—Duke countered with half-court traps, forcing Pittsburgh into taking rushed shots and forcing ill-advised passes. The Panthers shot just 23.7-percent from the field and committed 24 turnovers, which the Blue Devils converted into 36 points of their own.

Yesterday’s game could serve as a blueprint for the Blue Devils’ success going forward. If Duke can convert from the outside and convert turnovers into transition baskets, it will also take pressure off 6-foot-3 center Elizabeth Williams, who made encouraging strides against Pittsburgh. Williams—who shot just 2-for-17 from the field against Purdue—was a more respectable 5-for-14 yesterday, even showing off a combination of post moves in the second half.

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