Every week throughout the basketball season, The Blue Zone will name the highest-performing Blue Devil the Duke basketball Player of the Week.
Tricia Liston
Statline: Sunday at No. 5 Kentucky- 28 points, 10-for-19 shooting, six rebounds and 2-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc in 39 minutes.
The good: Just days after a 22 point loss to No. 1 Connecticut, Liston showed the crowd of more than 23,000 that her team can get a victory on the road in a hostile environment. With the Blue Devils clinging to a 59-55 lead at the six-minute mark, Liston scored five straight points that gave Duke some much needed breathing room late in the game. The senior knocked down two 3-point shots and went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, including two huge free throws that came with less than a minute left, sealing the game.
The bad: Liston’s assist-to-turnover ratio was 0:4. Although she can rely on fellow guards Chelsea Gray (six assists vs. Kentucky) and Alexis Jones (five assists vs. Kentucky) to spread the ball around, Liston needs to even out the golden ratio and make sure she does not make any costly turnovers, especially late in games.
The bottom line: Liston has emerged as the Blue Devils’ biggest scoring threat and has led Duke in scoring through the season’s first 13 games, averaging 17.4 points-per-game. She can be the Blue Devils most potent threat from beyond the arc, as she is shooting 48 percent from 3-point range this season. If Liston continues to play well, especially against ranked opponents, look for results similar to Sunday’s win.
Honorable Mention: Forward Elizabeth Williams scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds against the Wildcats, exploiting a smaller Kentucky frontcourt and dominating the paint. Williams who is shooting 58 percent from the field this season, knocked down 6-of-10 field goals and went 5-for-7 from the free throw line. On the defensive side, Williams had three blocks and a steal. Williams did have four personal fouls and her foul trouble has frequently played a role this season.
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