Duke's Thomas at her best against the best

DURHAM, N.C. (AP)

Jasmine Thomas seems to save her best for the toughest teams on No. 6 Duke's brutal schedule.

She'll probably need to keep that up if the Blue Devils hope to bounce back from their first Atlantic Coast Conference loss in the latest renewal of one of college basketball's fiercest rivalries, regardless of gender.

When first-place Duke (18-4, 6-1) hosts No. 9 North Carolina (16-5, 4-3) on Monday night, there figures to be more desperation than usual for both teams, and the matchups of playmaking guards - Thomas against the Tar Heels' Cetera DeGraffenreid or Italee Lucas - could provide a fitting sequel to those Lindsey Harding-Ivory Latta duels from a few years ago.

That ought to suit Thomas just fine. Three of the Duke junior's six 20-point games this season have come against teams currently in the top 15.

``When you talk about all of her talents, there are many: her ballhandling, her IQ, her skill set, her shooting,'' Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. ``But to me, the ultimate thing Jas has, and brings to the table, is an unbelievable focus. This is a very, very lightning quick, dynamic guard that is laser-focused when it comes to competition.''

She committed to Duke three years ago as a highly regarded prospect recruited to succeed Harding by Gail Goestenkors, who left for Texas before her arrival.

Now, she has matured into the unquestioned leader for a Duke team that - before Thursday night's upset loss at Boston College - had won 11 of 12 with the only defeat coming against a top-ranked Connecticut team that's blowing out everybody on the schedule.

``Her first year, she might have deferred a little bit because she was younger,'' senior Joy Cheek said. ``But from last year to this year, she understands that she's a vital part of our team, and she's a leader. Whether she's called a captain or not, she's our point guard, and she's the one who gets us together.''

And gets the points flowing, especially when the Blue Devils need them most.

She set her career high with 26 in a loss to current No. 12 Texas A&M, then surpassed that a few weeks later with 29 in an upset of No. 8 Ohio State. She added 23 in 30-point rout of No. 15 Florida State.

Not that scoring is the only way she makes her mark on a game - she kept her teammates involved early against the Seminoles before scoring 18 in the second half.

``People usually associate playing well with scoring, and I mean, you can just feel within a game when it's time for you to score,'' Thomas said. ``My team's passing the ball and everyone's hitting shots, like we were in the beginning of the Florida State game, there's not a reason for me to really put up a lot of points. But as we get stagnant, as things go on, I can feel when it's time for me to really step up and being an offensive presence.''

Next up for Duke: slumping-but-potent North Carolina, which has lost two straight and, like Duke, came home from a long road trip with an upset loss.

While the Blue Devils were losing at Boston College, the Tar Heels were being knocked off at Miami. For the first time since 1997, both teams enter their matchup after defeats.

Individually, Thomas says her game has only benefited from her choice to spend the summer in Durham instead of playing with USA Basketball. She leads the Blue Devils in scoring (16 ppg), assists (94) and steals (58) while flourishing against one of the nation's toughest schedules. Duke is the only team to play each of the top three teams (UConn, Stanford, Ohio State) in the preseason Top 25, going 1-2 through that gauntlet.

``You like to see where you measure out and you also see what you need to do for your team to get your team up to those standards,'' Thomas said. ``That's where I've become like a voice on this team, making sure that we're doing the things we need to do to stay on that elite level, to stay ahead, and I think having a tough schedule brings that out.''