Duke Victorious Over Team Reebok In Final Preseason Tuneup, 88-56

Thursday, November 8

Durham, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Duke University

Team Reebok

Duke Victorious Over Team Reebok In Final Preseason Tuneup, 88-56

11/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? The ninth-ranked Duke Women's Basketball Team scored early and often on its way to an 88-56 win over Team Reebok on Thursday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Leading the way for the Blue Devils was senior guard Wanisha Smith with 16 points and five assists on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting performance from the field.

The Blue Devils opened up leads of 16-2 and 21-5 to start the first half and never looked back. The team shot an even 50.0 percent from the field in the first stanza, including a 5-for-9 showing from the three-point line. At the half, Duke led 41-22.

Freshman guard Jasmine Thomas had a solid first half, draining 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting. Thomas, who is from Fairfax, Va., also contributed two steals and two blocks overall on the evening.

The second half would be more of the same as Duke kept a feisty Team Reebok at bay for the first 10 minutes and then took over to close out the game. The Blue Devils opened up a 32-point lead with 4:27 remaining, which is the lead they would finish the game out with. A total of 12 Blue Devils scored in the course of the game, including five players in double figures. Junior guard Abby Waner put up 14 points, sophomore forward Joy Cheek tallied 13 and junior forward Carrem Gay and Jasmine Thomas added 10 each.

Of the Blue Devils' 34 field goals, 22 were off of assists. Ten different Duke players recorded assists, led by Smith with five and redshirt sophomore Brittany Mitch with three.

On the boards the Blue Devils were dominant, outrebounding Team Reebok, 52-30. Paving the way off the glass was junior center Chante Black with 10 boards. Cheek added eight rebounds of her own and Abby Waner grabbed seven.

Black, along with Cheek and Gay, were a big factor in Duke's outscoring Team Reebok 40-18 in the paint and 12-2 off of second-chance baskets.

The 56 points that Duke held Team Reebok to was their lowest total of their preseason tour. They had previously been held to a low of 71 against Florida State. Thursday also marked Team Reebok's largest margin of defeat, at 32 points. They lost to North Carolina by 27 in their biggest loss prior to Duke.

Duke will travel to Denver, Colo., on Sunday, Nov. 11 to open the regular season. The trip to Colorado will mark the homecoming for Abby and Emily Waner, who are from Highlands Ranch, Colo. The game will be aired live on Fox Sports Rocky Mountain at 6:00 p.m. (Eastern).

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