To make it past the Sweet 16, Cary's Azura Stevens must beat Duke — her former team
.JPG "Connecticut's Azura Stevens, center, reacts during the Huskies' game against Notre Dame on Dec. 3. Stevens will play her former team, Duke, in the Sweet 16 on Saturday.")
Cary High School alum Azura Stevens scored 14 points as Connecticut defeated Quinnipiac, 71-46, to advance to the Sweet 16.
Awaiting Stevens and the Lady Huskies is her former college team — Duke.
Stevens spent her freshman and sophomore seasons at Duke, playing under coach Joanne P. McCallie from 2014-16, before transferring to Connecticut.
This season, her first for the Huskies after sitting out last year due to NCAA transfer rules, Stevens is second on the team in scoring (15.1) and first in rebounds (7.4) in 34 games. She has started eight games this season.
While at Duke Stevens was an All-ACC First-Team selection as a sophomore, and a second-team selection as a freshman. During her two seasons in Durham, Stevens averaged 16.2 points per game, 8.8 rebounds and shot 52.3 percent from the field. She led the ACC with 14 double-doubles during her stint. McCallie was asked about facing a former player, but admitted she can't afford to lock in on one person when playing a team like the Huskies.
"Azura is a an excellent player and she's done a super job for them, and she's just part of their equation," McCallie said. "We've got to look at the whole equation. There are a lot of parts there."
Stevens was a star at Cary High School, averaging 29.6 points per game her senior season.
The Sweet 16 game between No. 5 seed Duke and No. 1 seed Connecticut is Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Times Union Center in Albany. The winner will move on to the Elite Eight, where it will play the winner of the Buffalo-South Carolina game.
Duke vs. UConn
When: 2 p.m., Saturday
Where: Times Union Center, Albany
TV: ESPN
This story was originally published March 22, 2018 at 3:16 PM with the headline "To make it past the Sweet 16, Cary's Azura Stevens must beat Duke — her former team."