On the road

The Cardinal have headed east for three challenging games before Christmas.

Duke Blue Devils

Seniors Chante Black and Abby Waner are Duke's leading scorers. Charlie Creme (ESPN) thinks that Waner's jump shot is the key to Duke's success. She seemed to lose it last season; her 3-point accuracy dipped to 26%. She is beginning to regain her stroke this season. She hit three of seven in their most recent game, and her current average is 28.9%.

But Graham Hays (ESPN) thinks that junior forward Joy Cheek, pictured on the left, is the critical piece of the puzzle for Duke. "When [she] is rolling as option #3 (or option #1 or #2 on a given night), it's possible to picture Duke in St. Louis at the Final Four." Read more...

The Blue Devils' defense has been stifling. It's mostly man-to-man with a variety of presses. They've forced their opponents to commit 25 or more turnovers in five of their seven games.

Coach Joanne P. McCallie, in her second season at Duke, says of Stanford, "They are huge, they are a big team, and even their guards are 6’0 so I would tell you they are very big, very strong, and they try to pound it inside. I think I would love us to play up tempo without turning the ball over. Go, go, go, run, run, run but make it productive.” Chante Black concurs, "This [game] is a challenge because they have two great post players if not three or four. but you just have to keep going in there and hopefully you will get the calls." Read more...

So far this season, the Blue Devils are 6-1, with one win against a ranked team (Oklahoma State). Their RPI is 19, and they're ranked #8. Here are their 2008-09 Team Statistics and their roster.

South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina is low on the SEC totem pole and doesn't get much attention from the media. The Gamecocks haven't made the NCAA tournament or had a winning record in the SEC since 2003. They made it to the second round of the WNIT last season, after which 11-year coach Susan Walvius resigned. She was replaced by Dawn Staley, and no team coached by Staley is to be dismissed lightly. If you don't remember Staley's accomplishments, read here...

The Gamecocks recently won the Cancun Thanksgiving Tournament. Their leading scorer, senior guard Brionna Dickerson, scored 30 points in the two tournament games and was named the MVP. 6-4 senior forward Demetress Adams, pictured on the right, is the Gamecocks' leading rebounder and #2 scorer.

So far this season, the Gamecocks are 4-3, all against unranked teams. Their RPI is 115; they are unranked. Here are their 2008-09 Team Statistics and their roster.

Tennessee Lady Volunteers

In Knoxville, they're calling this season's team -- which includes six rookies and one redshirt freshman -- the "Baby Vols." And like infants, they can be adorable and cute and make Summitt smile … but they also can make her want to scream a lot.

In their fifth straight win, Summitt was dissatisfied with the freshmen's poor shooting and sloppy ball handling. She cut their playing time in the second half and gave them a stern lecture after the game. "What really bothers me is when I see what they do in practice, and then they go out on the court and they don't bring it," Summitt said. "You never do that to your team, to the fans, to the program, to your coaches — it's stressful on me. I let them know after the game how I felt about it, and I'm not going to change. ... And I know that's youth. And I need to have more patience. Tonight I didn't have a lot of patience."

The most productive rookies are 6-3 forward Glory Johnson, pictured on the left, and 6-2 guard/forward Shekinna Stricklen, who are the leading scorers. They also have the most steals (and the most turnovers), and Johnson is the leading rebounder. Both have been in the starting lineup all season.

Another rookie to watch for is 5-2 energizer bunny point guard Briana Bass, who may be a clone of Shannon Bobbitt. She has the most assists and a respectable assist/turnover ratio of 1.59. She was promoted to the starting lineup in the Vols' eighth game. On being part of the youngest starting lineup in Tennessee history, she said, "I think that we, as a team, are about to shock the world. Even though we are young, we are about to bring some heat, so they had better get ready for us."

They're not quite that hot yet. In their most recent game, a loss to Texas, Johnson was the top scorer (13) and rebounder (nine), but she had three fouls and sat out most of the first half; she also had two turnovers and missed seven free throws. Stricklen had eight points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals; but she also had four turnovers and fouled out. Bass had six points and six rebounds, but also five turnovers and only three assists.

Hope they pull out a win in their next game against ODU before returning to Knoxville for their game against the Cardinal. A Summit-coached team has not lost three games in a row since 1986.

So far this season, the Lady Volunteers are 7-2, with the losses to the only ranked teams they've played (Virginia and Texas). Their RPI is 15, and they're ranked #11. It's the first time in 211 weeks that they've been out of the top 10. Here are their 2008-09 Team Statistics and their roster.