Thursday, December 7, 2006
#11 Ladies Look for a Cameron In-Dore Shine
Coming off a monster 82-63 win over Clemson in Memorial, the undefeated Lady Commies take on the #4 Duke Blue Devils tonight in Durham. This will be a huge test for the team, who are 8-0 for the first time in three years. Should they win, they would easily crack the Top 10, and would be poised to start the season 10-0 in the run-up to the Holiday Classic Tournament (which they are heavily favored to win).
In stark contrast to her counterpart on the men's team, Lady Commodore Head Coach Melanie Balcomb has made all the right moves thus far. The team moves the ball very well, and their potent offense has been held under 80 points only twice so far this year. Coach Balcomb's experienced players have been spreading the points exceptionally well. Senior forward Carla Thomas is currently second in the SEC in scoring with 19.3 PPG, while Senior Caroline Williams and Junior Liz Sherwood both picked up double-doubles against Clemson.
This will easily be the ladies' toughest matchup yet this season. Duke is 7-0 and coming off a big win against #17 Rutgers. They will be tough to defend, as no fewer than four Blue Devils are averaging double-figure scoring numbers so far. Look for the Commies to key on Duke's Sophomore Guard Abby Waner, who leads the team with 16 PPG.
But the biggest question mark here is whether or not the Commodores can continue to put up big offensive numbers against one of the most stifling defenses in the country. The Lady Devils have held every team except one (Marist, who scored exactly 50) under 50 points this season. Their 7 wins have been by 53, 21, 46, 28, 45, 49, and 40 points (against a ranked Rutgers team) respectively. These girls are nothing short of dominant, and possibly the best team in the country.
A road win tonight would mean big things for the Commie women. Let's hope Coach Balcomb has put together a game plan that can make it happen.
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2 comments:
The Lady Commodores are under-appreciated bunch. Carla Thomas is an absolute force in the post, and Caroline Williams hits threes from just about anywhere on the court. They are well-conditioned and well-trained, so very few teams can run the floor on them.
Another excellent player for the Lady 'Dores is senior guard Dee Davis. "Dee" is fearless, as evidenced by her performance in the 2004 NCAA Tournament as a freshman where she stood toe-to-toe with Stanford's Nicole Powell and talked her down with a few choice words.
This group is extremely talented and more attention should probably be paid to their efforts.
That headline sucked Seamus,
Dr. MZ
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