Duke WBB Defends Home With A Rivalry Win Over NC State

Duke guard Celeste Taylor scored 21 points to lead the Duke Blue Devils women’s basketball team to a rivalry win over the North Carolina State Wolfpack 77-62 on Thursday night inside of Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The first half was a back-and-forth. Both teams were nearly evenly matched in field goal percentage, NC State (18-10, 8-9 ACC) shot 41% while Duke shot 39% in the first half. Duke’s off-ball defensive switches forced State into bad shot selections with fractions of a second left on the shot clock on multiple possessions.

It was clear both teams were evenly paced. With 2:05 left in the first half, both teams were tied at 26 when NC State forward, Jada Boyd got a steal that lead to a fast break but Duke (24-4, 14-3 ACC) returned the favor with a block of their own. 

NC State fought hard to take the lead at the half but the Blue Devils had a counter-attack. Duke’s Elizabeth Balogun nearly ended the half with a double-double, she had ten points and seven rebounds.  Jada Boyd had 11 points at the end of the half.

The second half opened up with  Duke leading  33-30. Duke’s Mia  Heide set up  Taya Corosdale and Reigan Richardson with easy shots by setting screens. 

One of the few reasons the Blue Devils won was the fact they dominated the paint tonight; specifically with rebounds. Duke had  43 total rebounds while NC State had 24. Another issue was NC State’s shot selection, NSU was not keeping up with the Blue Devils as they did in the first half; this is partly because both teams were used to each other’s style of play. Although NC State was stalled in getting points in the second half, Jada Boyd managed to score 19 points tonight. 

NC State head coach Wes Moore has a winning history against Duke before Blue Devils coach Kara Lawson arrived. But not tonight, he says that the loss was attributed to a lack of transition offense and losing the rebound battle. This would have been Wes Moore’s third straight road win against Duke.

Duke players Celeste Taylor and Elizabeth Balogun’s stats are reflective of the total team performance. Taylor led the team in points with 21 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Balogun had 16 points and 12 rebounds. This is her season high in rebounds. Both Taylor and Balogun are among the three players on the current roster that have over 1000 points.

Duke now sets their sights on their last feat in the regular season; the ACC championship game against UNC-Chapel Hill. Celeste Taylor says this means a lot for the team because it has been ten years since Duke has won a regular season ACC Championship. 

Duke’s next game is for the ACC regular season champion title against UNC Tar Heels (19-9, ACC 10-7) on Sunday inside the Cameron Indoor Stadium at 12 p.m.