NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Duke put on a dominating performance in its Sunday night NCAA opening round matchup in Nashville against Samford, beating the Bulldogs 82-47. The Blue Devils led the entire game and maintained at least a 30-point lead for the majority of the second half.
Samford head coach Mike Morris feared Duke’s size heading into the game and was not shy Saturday when addressing the physical differences between the two teams.
“We probably need to grow a little bit in the next couple of days in terms of height,” Morris said. “I think our maturity level is pretty good, but I think if we could grow physically, that would be great.”
The most important statistic from the game, true to Morris’ fears, was 6-foot-1 to 5-foot-9—the average height of the Blue Devils’ starting five compared to that of the Bulldogs. Samford was physically outmatched, especially in the backcourt.
6-foot-1 Tricia Liston scored the majority of her game-high 22 points against a defender nearly nine inches shorter. Although Duke head coach Joanne McCallie was pleased with her sophomore guard’s scoring output, she said Liston’s four-rebound performance could be improved in order to help lengthen the team’s tournament run.
“I am still trying to get her to rebound more because she is a nice-sized guard,” McCallie said. “She is one of the best guards in the ACC.... She has a lot of growing ahead.”
Thanks to productive minutes from role players Ka’lia Johnson and Kathleen Scheer, Duke could bear the near 80 degree temperatures in Memorial Coliseum while at times implementing a fast-paced full court press. Scheer and junior Allison Vernerey proved especially important in spelling Elizabeth Williams, who played just 24 minutes nursing a stress fracture in her lower right leg. Those 24 minutes represent the fewest Williams has registered in over three months.
“It felt good,” Williams said of her injury. “It started to get a little sore towards the end. It’s going to be like that for the rest of the way, but I felt good playing on it and jumping.”
With Williams potentially seeing fewer minutes than usual, the Blue Devils will increasingly have to go to their bench to make a run late into March. Despite a crew of only eight remaining players who have received regular action throughout the season, McCallie seemed confident in her substitutes after their performance Sunday night.
“Ka’lia Johnson was just fantastic off the bench for us,” McCallie said. “I can’t say enough about how well she played and how important she is to us. With Kathleen Scheer it’s the same thing. She is a rebounding machine, and as a senior she is really highly motivated. I thought everybody played their roles out there, and we can build on those roles.”
The Bulldog faithful maintained a significant presence throughout the game, especially compared to a noticeably quiet Duke cheering section. Sunday night marked the start of what Duke head coach Joanne McCallie described as the challenge of playing in a “hostile environment.”
After hosting opening round games at Cameron Indoor Stadium the past two seasons, the Blue Devils have finally ventured away from home and will play a true road game in Tuesday night’s second round matchup against Vanderbilt.
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