Every week throughout the basketball season, The Blue Zone will name the highest-performing Blue Devil the Duke basketball Player of the Week.
Alexis Jones
Statline: Sunday vs. Oklahoma: 20 points, 7-of-15 shooting, seven rebounds, six assists, three steals in 38 minutes
The good: Jones is really starting to come into her own and define her role as a prominent scoring threat on this undefeated Duke squad. She has now turned in back-to-back 20-point efforts for the first time in her career, and she did it against two ranked opponents. Jones’ all-around game is developing nicely as well, and she seems to really be learning from senior All-American Chelsea Gray. The two point guards have been able to complement each other seamlessly on the court, and it is clear that Jones’ game has reached another level than it ever did last season.
The bad: With Gray in foul trouble for most of the second half, Jones struggled to contain the Sooners’ leading scorer, senior guard Aaryn Ellenburg. Jones and Gray worked together to limit Ellenburg to just 1-for-6 shooting in the first half, but she shot 9-of-18 in the second half en route to a 28-point performance. Jones also committed four of the Blue Devils’ 17 turnovers, something that could prove costly in a marquee matchup versus No. 1 Connecticut on Tuesday.
The bottom line: Jones’ emergence as an all-around threat should be taken as a great sign moving forward for the Blue Devils. She brings an added dimension of speed and quickness to the lineup, but sometimes has a tendency to play a bit out of control. If Jones can refine the rough edges of her game, she has a chance to be a very special player that can put Duke over the top on its quest for a national championship.
Honorable mention: Senior Tricia Liston led the Blue Devils with a season-high 23 point against Oklahoma. She shot 5-of-10 from behind the 3-point line, including two clutch treys in the midst of a 14-2 run in the first half that gave Duke a comfortable lead. She continues to be one of the Blue Devils’ most consistent scoring threats, averaging 17.0 points per game while extending opposing defenses with her shooting range.
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