The Blue Devils earned an emotional overtime win against their rival last time out. Now they look to do something they've struggled with all season—put together back-to-back 40-minute performances.
No. 16 Duke will host Pittsburgh Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium after its dramatic 74-67 overtime win at then-No. 12 North Carolina Sunday led by senior Elizabeth Williams' heroic 33-point effort. The Blue Devils enjoyed the crucial ACC victory Sunday night, but realizing they still have more work to do to reach their goals later this season, got right back to work preparing for the Panthers.
"It's very important that you go after each game aggressively," head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "Monday we were right back in the film room, right back in the weight room and correcting the things we needed to correct."
Williams and freshman forward Azura Stevens have set the tone lately for Duke (14-6, 5-2 in the ACC) on both ends of the court, combining for more than 40 points in each their last three contests. The duo is capable of dominating almost any opponent on the interior, but will face two obstacles Thursday night—one familiar and the other much more unique.
The familiar foe is one that has defined the Blue Devils' season to this point—turnovers. Duke gives the ball away 18.4 times per game, the 267th-ranked clip in the nation, and often is unable to get the ball to Stevens, Williams, or the team's third double-digit scorer, Rebecca Greenwell due to its trouble handling the ball.
The Blue Devils understand their limitations with ball handling due to their lack of true guards, but will once again try to work Thursday on minimizing the negative impacts of costly giveaways.
"The reality is we have more post players than guards," McCallie said. "We're going to have turnovers because there are great teams that we play. What we need to do is reduce them by growing our IQ, making better decisions and maybe making up for them by doing other things on the floor. We've got to work within that structure."
What has a chance to make Thursday's game unique is the matchup between Duke's frontcourt and Panther 6-foot-3 forward Monica Wignot. A graduate student and four-year standout as a volleyball player, Wignot can give opponents headaches with her versatility on the hardwood and gives Pittsburgh (13-6, 3-3) a dimension most teams don't have when she gets it going.
Wignot has been in a groove in league play, averaging 15.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.2 blocks—though nine came in one game—per contest while shooting 46.3 percent from distance. The ability of Wignot and freshman forward Stasha Carey to hold their own against the No. 2 team in the nation in rebounding margin could determine whether or not Pittsburgh gets in position to pull off the upset.
"[Wignot is] absolutely outstanding and the x factor to their entire team," McCallie said. "She can hit the high post j, the short corner j, she steps out and hits the three—she's very aggressive. She's incredible. [She's] changed their whole team dynamic completely."
Wignot might be the spark-plug, but guard Brianna Kiesel is the steady engine that makes the Panthers go. The senior guard averages 18.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game and joins Carey and Wignot as the team's primary long-range shooters. All three shoot better than 39 percent from beyond the arc and will look to be in attack mode against Duke's long zone defense.
The Blue Devils will try to use their length to shut down a streaky team that routed the Tar Heels by 25 Jan. 8 before scoring just 43 points in a loss at Florida State, but might have to do so without much help from their bench. Senior Amber Henson—who has had much of her career derailed by injuries—averages 18.4 minutes per game, but left Sunday's contest with a knee injury and did not return.
The versatile 6-foot-4 forward's potential absence means that Duke might not be able to afford any more injuries or heavy foul trouble against a team that rotates nine players who average 14.5 or more minutes per game.
"She's doing well, but we can't tell you yet whether she would play tomorrow," McCallie said. "She's not in practice today, so there's a probability she won't play tomorrow. It's nothing long term, but it's banged up enough and swollen enough that it could prevent her from playing."
But looking to keep climbing in the ACC standings ahead of a home date with No. 8 Louisville—one of three teams atop the conference at 6-1—Monday, the Blue Devils aren't looking for another excuse; they're looking for consistent results.
Sameer Pandhare contributed reporting.
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