Tag Archives: Abby Waner

Jasmine Thomas named third-team All-America

Posted on by
Leave a reply

Duke’s season may have ended prematurely, but Jasmine Thomas’ breakout junior campaign didn’t go unnoticed. The junior guard earned AP All-American honors today, being named to the third team.

Thomas was consistently the focal point for opposing defenses this season and responded with her best year as a Blue Devil, emerging from the shadow of graduated seniors Chante Black and Abby Waner. The junior led the team with 16.0 points and 4.3 assists per game and recorded the third triple-double in program history in November in the Caribbean Challenge.

She was named to the All-ACC first team and earned the Kay Yow Award as the top student-athlete in the conference. In the ACC Tournament, Thomas led the Blue Devils to their first tournament championship since 2004 and was named Most Valuable Player. The junior followed up that effort with a solid NCAA Tournament, earning all-Regional honors.

Thomas was selected to the All-America third team along with Oklahoma’s Danielle Robinson, Kentucky’s Victoria Dunlap, Xavier’s Amber Harris and former Connecticut recruit but current Delaware star Elena Delle Donne.

The first team was littered with Huskies as forward Maya Moore and center Tina Charles were both unanimous selections for Connecticut. They were joined by ACC Player of the Year Monica Wright of Virginia, Jantel Lavender of Ohio State and Kelsey Griffin of Nebraska. The Blue Devils defeated both the Cavaliers and the Buckeyes this season at Cameron Indoor Stadium, but fell to the Huskies at home, 81-48, tying a season-low for points that was matched in the team’s Elite Eight loss to Baylor Monday.

Duke Women’s Basketball All-Decade Teams

Posted on by
1 Reply

While we’ve been busy compiling our own All-Decade teams, the Duke Athletics department has unveiled its own set of All-Decade teams, starting with women’s basketball.

The Duke Women’s Basketball program had a decade to remember in the 2000s, winning five consecutive ACC championships from 2000-2004 and six ACC regular season titles, and advancing to three Final Fours. Five Blue Devils won All-America honors, three were named ACC Player of the Year, and two (Alana Beard and Lindsey Harding) were National Players of the Year. Duke played in perhaps the most memorable game of the decade as well, ending up on the losing end of the 2006 National Championship to Maryland.

Here are Duke’s picks for its All-Decade team:

FIRST TEAM:

  • Alana Beard, 2001-2004 (2003 and 2004 National Player of the Year, Duke’s all-time leading scorer)
  • Monique Currie, 2002-2006 (2005 and 2006 All-America)
  • Lindsey Harding, 2003-2007 (2007 National and Defensive POY, Duke’s all-time assist leader)
  • Iciss Tillis, 2001-2004 (2003 All-America, 2003 and 2004 ACC Tournament MVP)
  • Georgia Schweitzer, 1998-2001 (2001 All-America)

SECOND TEAM:

  • Chante Black, 2005-2009 (2009 ACC Defensive POY)
  • Alison Bales, 2004-2007 (all-time ACC blocked shots leader)
  • Mistie Bass, 2003-2006 (three-time all-ACC)
  • Wanisha Smith, 2005-2008 (2005 all-ACC freshman)
  • Abby Waner, 2006-2009 (two-time Honorable Mention All-America)

THIRD TEAM:

  • Sheana Mosch, 2000-2003 (2001 all-ACC freshman)
  • Jessica Foley, 2003-2006 (2005 third team all-ACC)
  • Vicki Krapohl, 2001-2004 (2003 third team all-ACC)
  • Michele Matyasovsky, 2000-2003 (2000 all-ACC freshman)
  • Rochelle Parent, 1998-2001 (Duke’s all-time leader in charges taken)

What do you think about the program’s picks for this decade?

Black, Waner Selected in WNBA Draft

Posted on by
Leave a reply

Photo Courtesy of the WNBA

It was a disappointing finish to the season for Duke, as the Blue Devils were upset in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, prematurely ending the careers of Chante Black, Abby Waner and Carrem Gay.

But Black took the next step in her basketball career as she was selected 10th overall in the WNBA Draft Thursday by the Connecticut Sun. At least one Blue Devil has now been taken in the first round in three of the last four years, including Lindsey Harding and Alison Bales in 2007 and Monique Currie in 2006. Harding was the No. 1 overall pick in 2007 after earning National Player of the Year honors.

With the Duke center at the draft in Secaucus, N.J. were head coach Joanne P. McCallie, assistant coach Al Brown, friends and Black’s number one fan–her mother. Mazie Black is a teacher in Saudi Arabia and had not seen her daughter since last summer.

But she was on hand to witness the opening act of what hopes to a be long and successful professional career for Chante.

Black joins a Connecticut team that finished 21-13 and made the WNBA playoffs, only to be upset by the New York Liberty in the first round. She was the third ACC player to be selected, behind Marissa Coleman and Kristi Toliver of Maryland, who went No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Angel McCoughtry, who led Louisville to its first Final Four and national championship game, was the first overall pick.

UPDATE 4:53 p.m.: Waner was picked with the 21st overall pick in the second round by the New York Liberty. The Liberty also drafted Duke guard Wanisha Smith in 2008, but Smith only appeared in one game for the Detroit Shock last season.

Waner has previously expressed interest in pursuing a career in sports media after completing an internship with ESPN over the summer and was not present in New Jersey for the draft. The WNBA cut its roster size from 13 to 11 during the offseason because of the economy, so it will be even more difficult than usual for second and third round picks to make a team.

UPDATE 5:19 p.m.: The third round of the draft just concluded and Carrem Gay was not picked. In all, nine players from the ACC were drafted, including three from Florida State.

Q&A With Joanne P. McCallie

Posted on by
Leave a reply

You were a No. 1 seed forced to play a No. 9 seed on their home court. Do you think that the NCAA Tournament is flawed in how its treat its Tournament locations?

Well, to me, if you could have put us as a No. 2 seed in Chattanooga, that’s where we should have gone. You want to protect your top seed, and you shouldn’t provide additional motivation. The committee should create objective reality, in other words. We rekindled the whole spirits of Michigan State…. I think everyone wonders what would have happened to us in the Tournament on a neutral floor.

Around the beginning of the year, you won a home game against non-conference powerhouse Stanford. What mindset did that put the team in, and do you feel that it was kind of Karima Christmas’s coming-out party?

That was a terrific win against Stanford. It was a brutally physical game…. I think that Karima has made enormous strides this year. She had an incredible game against Stanford. She shot 46 percent from the 3-point line this year, so we obviously need her to shoot more. She played only 19 minutes a game, so I can see her playing at least 10 more a game next year. She’s in the process of getting better, developing her game more, and there’s no limit as to what she can do.

Can you talk a little about Abby Waner this year? She seemed to go through shooting slumps-do you think that it was a result of her trying to carry the burden of the team on her shoulders? Also, how bad was her injury in the loss to Michigan State?

I think she developed further this year. She led us in assists with 110; she led us in steals. I just think that every year is different in terms of what it calls for. Abby did many good things for us and became a better well-rounded basketball player. She created shots off the dribble and was a defensive threat. I think she outgrew what the media boxed her into-only looking at her shooting percentage. Sometimes there can be a trade-off in what she can do. I’m really impressed in what she grew into over her four years as a basketball player.

I thought it was courageous [that she played in the Michigan State game]. A lot of kids wouldn’t have played-she was less than 50 percent, but she desperately wanted to play. She hit that first three, but then you see her falter, especially defensively, but it was a very difficult thing, because she wasn’t where she wanted to be.

Continue reading →

LIVE BLOG: Michigan State 63, Duke 49 (FINAL)

Posted on by
Leave a reply

POSTGAME: Suzy Merchant on her team’s home-court advantage: “I certainly think it made a huge difference for us.”

Michigan State 63, Duke 49, FINAL: The last shot of Chante Black’s illustrious career at Duke was a 3 that didn’t hit the rim.  What a sad way to go out.  Michigan State fans are storming the court right now– a home victory on a “neutral” site.  Back with stats and quotes later.

Michigan State 61, Duke 49, :28.9: It’s over.  Thomas airballed a 3, then Waner fouled Kalisha Keane, who hit both free throws.  Jefferson just fired up the crowd in front of press row, a look of pure joy on her face.  Meanwhile the scene on the Duke bench is heartbreaking.

Michigan State 59, Duke 49, :42.6: Duke’s fouling.  After an errant Waner 3, Thomas fouled Johnson, who hit 1-of-2.

Michigan State 58, Duke 49, :59.8: Jasmine Thomas put up two straight NBA-range 3′s that looked very much like desperation shots to me.  Timeout Duke.

Michigan State 55, Duke 47, 1:43: Unbelievable.  Aitch, underneath the basket, managed to hit a shot for the Spartans, despite being fouled by Cheek.  That put Michigan State up by four.  Then, Johnson hit back-to-back shots, both runners that easily got through the Duke press defense, to put the Spartans up by eight.  Breslin Arena is the loudest its been all night.  It looks very bad for the Blue Devils right now.

Michigan State 49, Duke 47, 3:43: Its getting very intense here.  Three offensive rebounds in a row had Suzy Merchant screaming for an offensive foul, while McCallie screamed equally loud that it wasn’t.  Big shot by Aitch to put the Spartans up two at the end of the series.

Its good to see that the NCAA hasn’t let crass commercialism seep into their original goal of helping the student athlete– I was just told to throw away my water bottle, or put it in a Vitaminwater cup.

Michigan State 47, Duke 46, 5:36: It hasn’t really been DeHaan that’s stopped Black– it’s been Johnson and Jefferson.  They’re shorter than Black, but have been much more physical.  They’ve also been very good at clogging up passing lanes, making it difficult to get the ball to Chante.

Duke 46, Michigan State 46, 7:05: Cheek has the last two baskets for Duke, the last one coming off a great pass by, you guessed it, Karima Christmas.  The Blue Devils are now pressing on defense for one of the first times in the game.  Its strange they haven’t really utilized their most vaunted part of their defense until now.  We’ll see how they defend the Spartan attack for the rest of the game.

Duke 42, Michigan State 42, 9:30: Christmas has seven of Duke’s last eight– she’s playing excellent.  Also, they just showed the highlights from the Blue Devils’ loss to Maryland in the ACC Championship game, and, of course, the fans went wild.  In the words of my counterpart Kevin Fishner who is sitting beside me, “Why..in the world…would they show that?”

Michigan State 40, Duke 38, 11:30: Christmas is the ultimate “glue” player on this team– she gets rebounds, she plays great defense, and she hits very timely shots.  Exhibit A: a 3-pointer at 13:38 to put the game at 38-36.  Michigan State still has the lead, but if more Blue Devils play like Christmas, Duke can get back in the lead.

Michigan State 36, Duke 33, 15:02: Wow, what a 5 minute stretch.  After the break, Black hit a layup to cut the Spartan lead to three.  Then, Gay stole the ball, and Waner hit a huge 3-pointer to tie the game.  The two teams have been trading baskets since then (one notable bucket being a sweet reverse layup from Jasmine Thomas at 15:39- she has 12 points).  Aitch just retook the lead for Michigan State with a layup.

Probably should mention this: Black has three fouls.  She’s sitting on the bench, and probably won’t come back in for a while.

Continue reading →