Duke Downs Notre Dame Late, Ends Losing Streak

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke women’s basketball team registered a thrilling come-from-behind victory Thursday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium as the Blue Devils downed Notre Dame, 50-47, to win their second straight.

Duke improved to 9-8 overall and 3-3 in the ACC, while Notre Dame fell to 6-12, 1-5. The Blue Devils snapped a 15-game losing streak against the Irish and notched their first win against Notre Dame since Nov. 22, 1997. Duke outscored the Irish, 17-7, in the fourth quarter to collect the win.

Graduate Haley Gorecki and senior Leaonna Odom led the Blue Devils with 13 points each, while redshirt freshman Mikayla Boykin came off the bench to notch 10 points for her third straight double-figure scoring game.

After Odom connected on the first points of the game for the Blue Devils, Notre Dame reeled off nine straight to go ahead, 9-2. The Irish added five more points following a jumper from Duke sophomore Onome Akinbode-James, forcing Blue Devil head coach Joanne P. McCallie to call a timeout as Duke trailed, 14-4.

The Irish defense would end up holding the Blue Devils scoreless for the final 6:37 of the first quarter and Duke trailed, 14-4. The four points were the fewest scored in the first quarter in Blue Devil history as Duke hit 2-of-13 field goals for 15.4 percent.

Odom, a product of Lompoc, Calif., broke the scoreless drought with a jumper 22 seconds into the second quarter. The Blue Devils went on to outscore Notre Dame, 16-15, in the second period and trailed, 29-20, at the break.

With nine points, Odom paced the Blue Devils in the first as Duke turned the ball over 13 times and was limited to 32.1 percent shooting.

After Notre Dame went ahead, 34-22, in the third, the Blue Devils went on a 9-0 run as Odom scored four points, Boykin added a jumper and sophomore Miela Goodchild drained a corner three-pointer forcing the Irish to call a timeout with Duke cutting the lead to 34-31 at the 4:14 mark. The Irish ended the quarter with a 40-33 lead.

A three-pointer and layup by Gorecki cut the Notre Dame lead to 42-41 at the 6:57 mark, but the Irish went nearly five minutes with a field goal and Duke cut the lead to 45-43. A Boykin put-back at the 1:06 mark brought the Blue Devils once again back within one, 46-45.

Boykin, who hails from Clinton, N.C., grabbed a steal and finished a layup with 32.6 seconds remaining to give Duke its first lead, 47-46, since the opening minute of the game. Junior Jade Williams added a free throw with 23.9 seconds to increase the Blue Devil lead to 48-46. Goodchild closed out the game by hitting two free throws.

Duke’s defense limited Notre Dame to 2-of-13 field goals and 15.4 percent shooting in the fourth quarter. Gorecki scored 10 of her 13 points in the second half.

The Blue Devils will next travel to Clemson, S.C., to take on Clemson Sunday, Jan. 19 at 12 p.m., live on ESPNU.