Freshman phenom Elizabeth Williams may get most of the attention, but Duke has quietly developed quite the arsenal of post players. The No. 5 Blue Devils over-powered No. 7 Maryland largely due to their overwhelming frontcourt presence, en route to a 80-72 win Sunday afternoon in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke’s frontcourt, comprised of Williams, Haley Peters, Richa Jackson, and Allison Vernerey, scored 58 of the Blue Devils’ 80 points to take control of the ACC.
“It was definitely a battle inside today,” Williams said.
As consistent as ever, Williams finished the game with 16 points and eight rebounds. She has now scored at least 15 points in five of her last six games and grabbed at least seven rebounds in eight straight.
Her biggest impact, however, may have been all the attention Maryland gave her, which opened up space for the rest of the Blue Devils. The Terrapins dared Williams to beat them in the first half by electing to cover her one-on-one, a strategy Williams took advantage of by scoring 12 points in the opening 20 minutes. When Maryland sent two, or even three, defenders at her after halftime, space opened up for Duke’s other players.
“She handled so much pressure and double-teams,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said, “but she found a way to execute, find her teammates and make the game better.”
As Williams continues to prove to be a match-up nightmare for teams, she will draw double-teams more often, making her ability to recognize such situations and find an open teammate paramount.
”I either had to make a quick move so I don’t get doubled or be patient and pass the ball to Haley to get an open look,” Williams said. “I just try to be smart in those situations.”
Peters took full advantage of the extra space, scoring a career-high 21 points to lead the Blue Devils. She was 10-for-12 from the field, often finding herself wide-open at the elbow.
“Elizabeth gets a ton of respect because of what she’s done already,” Peters said. “Especially in their zone they were sagging off the high post, so I just stepped in and knocked them down today.”
Vernerey also contributed valuably off the bench. She scored 10 points in just 15 minutes of action.
“Allison certainly made the most of her minutes,” McCallie said. “She was really damaging. If we all take that mindset we can be a really dangerous team.”
Often the Blue Devils had Vernerey, Williams and Peters on the court at the same time, giving them an immense height advantage that paid dividends on the glass. Maryland came into the game ranked third in the nation in rebounding margin, but simply had no answer for Duke’s frontcourt. The Blue Devils dominated the boards, outrebounding the Terrapins 41-30. In addition, Duke grabbed 16 on the offensive side, which led to the same number of second-chance points.
“In terms of rebounding, that’s a pretty good lineup to get to the boards,” Peters said. “We pose a lot of match-up problems for people.... I’d put our frontcourt up against anybody in the country.
With the play of Williams drawing all the attention from defenses, the Blue Devils need their other post players to contribute and against Maryland they stepped up. If this continues, Duke’s array of post players can lead this team deep into March.
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