Vanessa De Jesus continued to impress for Duke, helping the Blue Devils rack up win no. 2 after a dominant 83-56 win over Western Carolina, Monday morning (Manila time) at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Coming off a 13-point, four-assist, and three-rebound debut last Thursday against Longwood last Sunday, De Jesus carried the momentum and more in this one.
The Filipino-American freshman scored a career-high 17 points, only missing one attempt from the field. The 5-foot-8 guard started the game 6-of-6 from the field, 3-of-3 from downtown.
She also tallied seven rebounds and five assists in 38 minutes of action.
“V is like a veteran even though she’s just a freshman. You can see it when you watch her,” gushed Duke head coach Kara Lawson about De Jesus. “She’s very composed, doesn’t get rattled, understands the game at a high level, knows how to make reads, and understands how to get people involved.
“She’s a great player to coach and it makes you excited.”
The Blue Devils improved to 2-0 on the season.
For the second straight contest, the Blue Devils got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 14-4 advantage boosted by eight points from de Jesus. The rookie knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to open the game.
The Blue Devils went on a 10-0 run late in the first quarter, leading 24-9 after 10 minutes.
In the fourth, Duke outscored WCU, 23-16, to close the contest.
Graduate transfer Sara Anastasieska paced the Blue Devils with a game-high 23 points, while junior Miela Goodchild added 14.
Duke senior Jade Williams neared a triple-double with a career-high 15 rebounds, nine points, and a career-high eight assists. Junior Onome Akinbode-James also pulled down 11 boards.
This marks the fifth time in school history that Duke has drained 13 three-pointers in a contest while attempting a school-record 33 treys.
“A lot of good performances all the way around again, which is what I like to see on the offensive end for our group. I thought we got a little bit better today. Still, a lot to work on, so it’s good we got a week in between the games to get working on that,” said Lawson.
Tembre Moates paced the 0-2 WCU with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Duke will remain at home as the Blue Devils will next host East Carolina Saturday, Dec. 5 still in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
