Women's Basketball's Duo Of Harding & Waner Earns Top Honor By ESPN.com

DURHAM, N.C. ? As part of ESPN.com's 2006-07 preview package, the site released a 20-part preview on Tuesday which features the question of “Who has the nation's best backcourt,” with the Duke duo of senior Lindsey Harding and sophomore Abby Waner being named the most well-rounded backcourt in the country this season by ESPN.com's Graham Hays.

Listed below is what Hays had to say about the Duke duo of Harding and Waner:

"It's difficult to pick a backcourt that combined to average fewer points per game last season than Candice Wiggins did all on her own, but Duke's duo of point guard Lindsey Harding and shooting guard Abby Waner will be the most well-rounded backcourt in the country this season.

Overshadowed to some degree by Monique Currie last season, Harding quietly played as well as any point guard in the country. Returning after a season-long suspension in 2004-05, she not only led the team with 4.5 assists per game (and nearly a 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio) but averaged 10.7 points per game on 48 percent shooting. Even better, after hitting a total of eight 3-pointers during her first two seasons, Harding hit 23 last season while shooting 41 percent from behind the arc. One of the quickest players in the country, Harding's outside range now punishes slower defenders who try and give themselves some space to compensate for her first step.

As good as Harding is, plenty of top teams have backcourts with one elite player. That's why Waner is the key to making Duke's backcourt something special. The Gatorade and McDonald's player of the year coming out of high school, Waner wasn't the nation's most productive freshman by anyone's estimation last season. Part of that was because the Blue Devils didn't need her to play the kind of role Oklahoma asked of Courtney Paris, but part of it was also due to an midseason slump that temporarily delayed her development. Still, by the time the NCAA Tournament rolled around, Waner provided ample evidence of why she earned all those prep accolades. In Duke's last four games, against Michigan State, Connecticut, LSU and Maryland, she averaged 12.5 points in 29 minutes per game, shooting 8-of-12 from behind the arc and showing a fearlessness at big moments that escapes most freshmen.

Alison Bales remains an anchor in the paint, and Chante Black has breakout potential, but Duke's point of attack is likely to shift this season from the wing and frontcourt to the backcourt. With Harding and Waner, what isn't likely to change is the team's level of success." ? Graham Hays, of ESPN.com.

In the preseason rankings, Duke has been tabbed sixth by Athlon Magazine, ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and GBallmag.com, while Lindy's and Street & Smith's Magazines listed the Blue Devils No. 7. Both Slam Magazine and CBS Sportsline had Duke No. 8 in their polls.

Duke will next host Premier Players on Thursday, Nov. 9 at 7:00 p.m. in its final exhibition tuneup before opening the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 2:00 p.m. against Northeastern.

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