Haley Gorecki WNBA Duke Lawrence Davis III Spectacular Magazine 1000 points

Gorecki Amasses 1000 Career Points, Duke Defeats BC

DURHAM, NC – Led by a game-high 27 points from guard Haley Gorecki and a double-double from senior Leaonna Odom, the Duke women’s basketball team opened ACC action in Cameron Indoor Stadium Sunday with an 85-73 victory over Boston College.

Gorecki stuffed the stat sheet with 27 points, seven assists, four rebounds, five steals, and a blocked shot. It marked her fourth game this season with 20 or more points. Odom, who is from Lompoc, Calif., notched her second double-double of the year with 13 points and 14 rebounds.

After Boston College took a 10-9 lead late in the first quarter, Duke closed the first on a 14-4 run to take a commanding 23-14 lead. The Blue Devils featured a 9-0 run during that stretch as Duke hit 58.8 percent from the field in the first quarter.

Making her first start in 995 days, graduate Kyra Lambert was solid in the first with five points, one steal, and one rebound.

Duke led by as many as 10 in the second quarter, but the Eagles responded with an 8-0 run to cut the Blue Devil lead to, 28-26. The Blue Devils never surrendered the lead and got back up by seven a couple of times, before leading, 40-34, at the half.

Late in the second quarter, Gorecki reached 1,000 career points in just her 77th collegiate contest. She became the 10th quickest Blue Devil to reach 1,000 points and 35th overall Duke women’s basketball standout to move past the mark.

Gorecki, a native of Palatine, Ill., led the Blue Devils with 12 first half points as Duke hit 50.0 percent from the field. Duke’s defense was solid limiting the Eagles to 29.4 percent shooting.

As Boston College was making a run late in the third, Odom and sophomore Miela Goodchild drained back-to-back three-pointers to extend the Blue Devil lead to 59-47. The three-pointer for Odom was her third of her collegiate career and first since the season opener against High Point.

Goodchild drained 4-of-7 three-pointers in the contest to finish with 14 points, while freshman Azana Baines came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points. Lambert, a product of Cibolo, Texas, finished the contest with eight points, five rebounds and three steals in a season-high 30 minutes.

Boston College (5-5) was led by Taylor Soule with 22 points.

Duke (7-3, 1-0 ACC) will be off for the next 10 days due to exam break, before traveling to Columbia, S.C., to take on sixth-ranked South Carolina Thursday, December 19 at 7 p.m.