Lady Blue Devils Dominate Second Half, Win 84-59

Durham, NC – The Lady Blue Devils use a 27-4 run in the third quarter, as Duke defeated Virginia Tech 84-59 Thursday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke would open the scoring on a Leanna Odom jumper. Virginia Tech’s Sidney Cook would get to the basket, absorb the foul, and get the layup and free throw to fall to complete the three point play to make it 3-2.

A Lexie Brown three-pointer then jumper to make it 7-2. VT would score two straight baskets to bring the score to 10-7 heading in to the first media timeout with 4:44 remaining in the quarter.

Rebecca Greenwell gets offensive rebound then hit a three pointer to tie the game at 12. VT would get two points from Cook grabbing an offensive rebound and getting a layup to give the Hokies a 14-12 lead.

VT’s Samantha Hill and Duke’s Brown would trade a pair of free throws to make it 16-14. Vanessa Panousis would hit a shot with her foot on the three point line for a long to give the team from Blacksburg a four point lead.

Brown would hit a short jumper before Regan Magarity would hit her only three pointer of the night to end the quarter with Virginia Tech leading 21-16.

Brown would find her rhythm early in the second quarter, starting out of the gate with a three pointer to cut the Hokie lead down to 2 with the score 21-19.

Kendyl Brooks would come back with a three of her own to give the Hokies a 24-19 lead.

Kendall Cooper would hit a layup on a high-low post exchange from fellow forward Erin Mathias to beat the Hokie 2-3 zone to cut the deficit down to 3.

Brown would run out in transition and get a layup to have the Lady Blue Devils only trailing by one at 24-23.

Cooper would once again use her much improved shooting stroke to knock down a long jumper and give Duke the lead once again at 25-24.

Both teams would go back and forth before the Australian Panousis knocked down a deep three-pointer for Virginia Tech to tie the game at 29.

Brown and Lambert would both take turns getting steals and a fast break layup to give Duke a 33-29 lead.

Magarity would hit one of two free throws before Duke’s Lambert hit a three-pointer and Brown added two free throws to create the 7-1 run to end the half.

Cook would get a hook shot to go before both teams went in to the locker rooms with the score 38-32.

The Lady Blue Devils finished the first half with a season-low 3 turnovers, which could have been two if not for a turnover on the last play of the half.

To open the half, Duke got on a 16-0 run that started with a Lambert three quickly out of the break. Odom and Cooper would both chip in a pair of free throws, plus a Brown jumper would give the Lady Blue Devils the 47-32 lead.

Coach P mentioned that it started with “great intensity on defense and complete disruption of their offense.” Coach P continued by saying that her girls “fed off of that [offensively]. We made good choices, pushed the ball, controlled the tempo, pushed the tempo…I think it was a team attack.”

Tough D by Duke, forcing a shot clock violation, right into Brown 3pt 50-32

Odom jumper before Greenwell would complete the wide open fast break layup following a Lambert steal to extend the lead to 22.

Brown pull up to beat the shot clock

Cook ends drought 4:59 remaining in third

Greenwell would use a three-pointer to continue to extend the lead. Another Virginia Tech basket, this one by Magarity, would be suppressed by a Brown layup.

Greenwell would hit two free throws 63-36

Brown would go back to the line for two more free throws after a Chanette Hicks intentional foul. The 27-4 run opened the game up and the Hokies could not catch up.

Cook had 12 points (4-9 3pt FG) in second half, but the Lady Blue Devils too much as they would prevail 84-59.

Duke finished the game 17-17 from the free throw line, the highest amount of made free throws in a perfect performance (the previous best was 16-16). Despite the Lady Blue Devils being perfect at home, Duke is 4-3 on the road this season with a few tough road games against Boston College and Notre Dame respectively. It is uncertain which team may show up in Boston on Sunday, but according to guard Kyra Lambert “we plan to bring this on the road and we will bring that defensive intensity.”

 

 

(Photo Credit: Donald Watkins Jr)