Cheek Nets Career High In Victory Over James Madison

DURHAM, N.C. - Tonight, Joy Cheek didn't look like she was suffering through any nagging injuries that she spoke about after Duke's last home game against USC.

"I've never been this hurt in my four years," the senior said following Duke's 78-72 come from behind win over USC. "I've had two shoulder surgeries, but that was it. That wasn't an ongoing thing. I've never had an ankle, nose [injury] all in the first eight games. I'm alright though."

She looked more than alright this evening during Duke's 79-65 win over No. 24 ranked James Madison. The loss was the first of the year for James Madison, while the Blue Devils regrouped nicely following their loss at the hands of Stanford.

James Madison was the third ranked opponent Duke has faced in its last four games, but Cheek didn't look as if she was suffering from any ailments.

"I thought Joy [Cheek] was outstanding in terms of being so aggressive and attacking the basket and taking her time with things that she can do," head coach Joanne P. McCallie said.

Cheek, a Charlotte, N.C., native, scored a career high 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting. She also grabbed seven rebounds and picked up an assist and a steal.

"I think just being aggressive," Cheek said. "I had not been shooting well the past couple of games, so I wanted to come out tonight and capitalize. I think I owe that to my team for passing me the ball. I just wanted to be aggressive. Defensively I just didn't want whomever I was guarding to score. I always think about that."

Cheek showed her range both inside and outside. Duke finished with a 34-16 edge in the paint and made six three-point field goals to James Madison's nine.

She even got her chance to defend Dawn Evans, who finished with a game-high 31 points, and came away with a personal victory in the matchup.

"Joy's aggressiveness showed up everywhere, not just offensively when she was calling for the ball," McCallie said. "I don't know if you saw when she defended [Dawn Evans]. That was a great play. To me that was very inspirational. That was a message to her teammates, a 'This is how you do it' kind of thing because obviously that would be a natural mismatch by position. So it was interesting to see everyone have their go at that kind of offensive player."

Evans' 31 points came on 27 shots committing a game-high seven turnovers.

Cheek logged just 10 first half minutes after picking up her second foul. She was visibly frustrated, but shrugged off the fouls committing just one in the second half scoring 10 points.

The Blue Devils opened the game well, opening up a 20-10 lead, shaking off any of the rust that remained from their road loss at Stanford earlier this week.

Duke went into the half with a 44-34 lead, shooting 17-of-36 (.472) from the floor. Cheek's 10 points were the difference with the senior shooting 4-of-6 (.667) including two three-point field goals.

The Blue Devils dominated in the paint holding a 22-4 advantage over the Dukes in the first half. Eight Blue Devils scored in the opening stanza, with Jasmine Thomas, Keturah Jackson, and Allison Vernerey all scoring 6.

Thomas also had nine rebounds and seven assists, all in the first half. She finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Jackson finished with 10 and Vernerey nine.