DURHAM, N.C. — Duke’s Joy Cheek isn’t afraid to talk about her weight — how much she’s lifting, that is.
Coach Joanne P. McCallie said this is the strongest team of her 18-year career. Her second-seeded Blue Devils will play 11th-seeded San Diego State in this weekend’s Memphis Regional semifinals.
Time in the weight room this summer helped McCallie’s players increase their maximum bench presses by at least 20 percent, the coach said.
Three players for the Blue Devils (29-5), including starting center Krystal Thomas, lift at least 180 pounds. Cheek is pressing 165.
Even wiry point guard Jasmine Thomas, at 5-feet-9, lifts 155, McCallie said.
McCallie “really preaches the weight room, and we really took that to heart, because she challenged us,” Cheek said. “She called us weak. She called us finesse players, not power players like she wants us to be. There’s nothing wrong with being a finesse player, but we rose to that challenge and all of us improved greatly in the weight room.”
