jjohnson@heraldsun.com; 419-6667
DURHAM -- Duke's 117-28 victory over N.C. Central on Monday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium was an exercise by two teams that are in much different places.
Duke, the No. 8 team in the country, excelled in just about every aspect of the game. NCCU, in the middle of transition to Division I, played without its best player and it showed.
"We're nowhere near the same skill level as Duke," NCCU coach Joli Robinson said. "We lost a lot of offense from last year, and we're young and inexperienced this year. Every game is a learning experience.
"There is a lot we can take from this game. We just can't forget it."
Even if Johanna Miller had played for the Lady Eagles, Duke probably still would have won by a similar margin. Robinson said Miller was out for the game for breaking team rules.
"[Miller] makes a big difference," Robinson said. "When you look at a young lady who is the leading scorer on our team, she makes a difference. We knew we were going to have problems in scoring."
Joy Cheek led a school-record nine Duke players in double figures with 16 points. N.C. Central was led by J'Mia Pollock and Danielle DeBerry with six each.
DeBerry, a sophomore who played at Jordan High School, said it was a dream to play at Cameron.
"It was exciting being on the court in a game," DeBerry said. "This is probably the biggest game of my life. Being from Durham and coming to many, many Duke games, wanting to play for Duke, and actually getting a chance to play on the court is a big honor for me."
For the Blue Devils, the list of records and near records was long. Duke's 89-point victory margin surpassed the 86 it beat Ball State by in 2005. The 56-point halftime margin over NCCU was the largest in school history. It tied the school record with 45 forced turnovers, including a record 31 steals. It took 39 minutes, but every player for the Blue Devils scored in the game when Chelsea Hopkins hit a fast-break layup with a minute left.
"The team did a good job with a lot of different combinations," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "I thought everything was pretty good. There was overall good stuff."
One thing Duke and NCCU have in common, though, is that both teams have beaten Houston Baptist this season. The Blue Devils (10-2) opened the season with a win there, and NCCU (1-10) got its only victory so far in its most recent outing at a tournament at South Florida.
Duke held NCCU scoreless for the first 5:30 and jumped out to a 22-0 lead. The Lady Eagles finally got on the scoreboard when Pollock put together a three-point play with a shot in the paint and a free throw.
The Blue Devils shot 65.9 percent (27 of 41) in the first half, including 5 of 10 from behind the arc. They also had 17 steals in the first half with every player but Jasmine Thomas getting one.
Thomas did redeem herself in other ways with 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting and handing out five assists in the first 20 minutes. She finished with 12 points, seven assists, two steals and a block.
Duke led 65-9 at halftime and cooled off a bit at each end in the second half. N.C. Central picked it up offensively with 19 points.
"We came out focused. We had team goals and we got them. We were coming off a break and we were ready to play," Cheek said. "We worked hard. You don't play for the scoreboard."
The Lady Eagles were outrebounded by a 43-31 margin, which in such a blowout might be considered a bright spot. But on the flipside, NCCU's 45 turnovers led to 60 points for the Blue Devils.
"We had too many turnovers," Robinson said. "We faced pressure from a very good team. I hope this will let us handle it better later in the season when we face other teams that press."
