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Waner Makes Appearance On The Duke Radio Network
DURHAM, N.C. ? Duke University Women’s Basketball National Player of the Year candidate Abby Waner made a guest appearance on the Duke Men’s Basketball Radio Network on Monday evening during the contest against New Mexico State. Waner served as the sideline reporter for the contest providing in-game commentary along with Bob Harris and John Roth during the contest.
Waner, a product of Highlands Ranch, Colo., has aspirations of becoming an anchor on SportsCenter or other sports shows as well as being a color analyst or sideline reporter for sporting events.
“I am really grateful to have the opportunity to do things like sideline for radio and helping out with Cable 13,” said Waner. “I understand that I am just now starting and have a lot of room to grow. It is nice to be thrown in there and learn from experience.”
The opportunity for Waner to serve as a sideline reporter on Monday came when Matthew Laurance, who normally serves as the sideline reporter, had to miss the game. Along with making an appearance on the Duke Radio Network on Monday night, Waner also served as the color analyst for Blue Devil men’s basketball games earlier this season on Duke’s television station - Cable 13 - for the Blue/White scrimmage along with exhibition contests against Shaw University and Barton College.
“We enjoyed having Abby on our team for the Duke-New Mexico State game,” commented Roth. “She brought the fresh perspectives of being both a current student and current basketball player, so she added an interesting element. She sees and thinks the game like she plays it - at a very high level - and that made it fun for us to interact with her throughout the broadcast.”
In August, Waner traveled to New York City and Bristol, Conn., to do a so-called mini internship as she called it. She attended two New York Liberty games that were aired on the Madison Square Garden Network, observing from the production truck and also on the floor with the announcers. Waner then made the trip to Bristol where she toured the SportsCenter set, met some of the on-air talent and observed the taping of SportsCenter. During her travels, she was able to sit down with Cindy Brunson of ESPN and she spent almost 20 minutes with Waner talking about her rise to the top.
Waner and he Duke women’s basketball team opened the 2007-08 season at Denver on Sunday, Nov. 11 with the Blue Devils posting a 57-37 victory over the Pioneers. She led all scorers with 16 points as the contest also marked the homecoming for her and her sister, Emily, as they grew up 15 minutes from Denver University. The Blue Devils will next travel to Tampa, Fla., for the ESPNU Women’s Basketball Invitational on Nov. 15 at 7:00 p.m., against South Florida.
A State Farm Wade Trophy and John R. Wooden Award preseason candidate for National Player of the Year, Waner and the Blue Devils will next travel to Tampa, Fla., for the ESPNU Women’s Basketball Invitational on Nov. 15 at 7:00 p.m. against South Florida. The contest will be played at the St. Pete Times Forum, which is the site of the 2008 NCAA Final Four.
Waner sprang on the national scene last year leading the top-ranked Blue Devils to a 29-0 mark in the regular season, marking the first Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and 14th team in NCAA history to go undefeated in the regular season. On the season, Waner averaged 14.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.5 steals. The 5-11 guard tied a school record with 68 three-pointers made and hit 36.2 percent from downtown.
After catching fire and scoring a game-high 24 points at then fourth-ranked Tennessee, Waner was added to both the State Farm Wade Watch list as well as the John R. Wooden Award midseason list vying for National Player of the Year. In the game at Knoxville, Tenn., Waner hit 6-of-6 from downtown in the first half, while dishing out three assists, pulling down five rebounds and grabbing one steal for the game. In 34 contests last season, Waner hit three or more three-pointers in a single game on 10 occasions to lead Duke.
While leading the Blue Devil squad in scoring, Waner did her job on the defensive end also picking a team-best 85 steals on the season. Her 85 steals was the fourth-best in school history and her 2.4 steals per game average ranked tied for fourth in the ACC. Waner led Duke with six games scoring 20 or more points, including a career-high 27 points against Georgia Tech on 10 of 13 field goals.
Waner, a 2007 second team All-ACC selection and first team All-ACC Tournament honoree, is also a stellar student as she earned ESPN The Magazine All-Academic District III honors by CoSIDA. She is coming off leading the USA U21 World Championship team to an 8-0 record and the gold medal in Moscow, Russia over the summer, which was coached by new Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie. Waner averaged 5.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals a contest.
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