With battles against highly-ranked competition looming, the Blue Devils will conclude their three-game home-stand Friday evening.
No. 8 Duke will welcome Stony Brook to Cameron Indoor Stadium at 6:30 p.m. looking to build on Tuesday's 34-point win against Buffalo. Against the Bulls, five Blue Devils scored in double-figures, including three freshmen and redshirt freshman Rebecca Greenwell.
"Our young players are really working hard, and I think they're starting to see things a little more clearly," Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said after Tuesday's win. "They'll see things a lot more clearly in the next couple of weeks, but I think they're doing a great job.
Greenwell has excelled in the first four games of her collegiate career after sitting out last season recovering from a knee injury. The Owensboro, Ky., native has notched three double-doubles, including a 10-point, 13-rebound performance Tuesday night against Buffalo. The guard shot 4-of-14 from the floor, but has been aggressive on the boards and surprisingly leads the team in rebounding.
Freshmen Sierra Calhoun joins Greenwell in the starting backcourt, and is coming off the best night of her young college career. The floor general scored 21 points, making four triples and committing just one turnover. After Tuesday's game, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native said the chemistry with her teammates is still developing—the Blue Devils (4-0) are integrating five new faces into the lineup with only one returning starter—but improving every day in practice.
Turnovers have been a common theme so far for Duke this season, an area McCallie would like to see the team improve before heading to College Station, Texas, Sunday to face No. 7 Texas A&M. The Blue Devils are averaging 17.3 turnovers per contest and gave it away 20 times against a smaller Bulls squad Thursday.
So far, the turnovers haven't caught up to Duke, which has won its games by an average of 33.0 points per game. But Tuesday's sluggish first half offered a lesson for the Blue Devils in maintaining a high level of energy for the entire game.
"You've got to be a 40-minute team, without question," McCallie said. "You just can't come and go—there's just too many competitive teams out there. You've got to be ready to play."
Stony Brook (3-1) has four players who average more than 11.0 points per game, led by 17.3 from Sabre Proctor, a senior forward who also collects 6.0 rebounds per contest. The Sea Wolves also get nearly a double-double in consistent production from Jessica Ogunnorin at 11.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
The tandem of Proctor and Ogunnorin will have to deal with the forest that is the Duke frontcourt, which boasts seven players at 6-foot-3 or taller. Led by senior All-American Elizabeth Williams, the Blue Devils' top four posts are averaging 44.1 points per game. Williams has also accounted for half of her team's 26 blocks so far this season.
On most nights, particularly against mid-major opponents, Duke will have a tremendous size advantage in the post. The opportunity to practice against such length every day in practice will help prepare the Blue Devil forwards for the larger battles to come once ACC play kicks into gear in January.
"Obviously I have the job that I have to do [inside], but a big part of that is being able to push my teammates to what they're capable of doing," Williams said. "There are some big bodies in practice. Coach P always talks about how Lynee [Belton] is really good at pump fakes and using her body inside. Just having that battle every day not only is good for me, but it's good for them as well."
After Friday's game, the Blue Devils will begin a three-game gauntlet against ranked opponents. Duke plays at the No. 7 Aggies Sunday before traveling to No. 15 Nebraska for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and then returning home to face top-ranked South Carolina Dec. 7.
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