Balogun Leads Duke To Win Over Notre Dame

DURHAM, NC — Elizabeth Balogun scored a season-high 27 points to lead the 15th-ranked Duke women’s basketball team to a 72-70 victory over the 17th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sunday afternoon in Cameron Indoor Stadium. 

Balogun exploded for a season-high 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting – including the go-ahead basket in the final minute of regulation – to lead four double-figure scorers. Miela Goodchild reached double digits for the second time in three games as the senior tallied 13 points on a scorching 100 percent (5-of-5) from the field, including 3-for-3 from distance.

Graduate student Lexi Gordon and junior Celeste Taylor each added 12 points apiece, with 10 of Taylor’s dozen coming in the second half. Gordon also dished out a team-best four assists and graduate student Jade Williams led the way on the glass with five boards.

The ACC matchup was a tightly contested affair that featured six ties and 13 lead changes.

Duke (10-2, 1-1 ACC) got off to a fast start and built a six-point lead early in the first. Goodchild and Gordon knocked down trifectas and Balogun drained a short jumper to give the home team a 10-6 advantage before Notre Dame cut into the deficit. The Blue Devils were able to maintain their lead as the squads traded baskets over the next three minutes, however, the Fighting Irish closed the period on a 7-0 run to end the first with a 19-16 lead.

The second stanza was even more tightly contested than the first as both teams scored 21 points in the period. Balogun tallied 10 of her 12 first-half points in the quarter, including back-to-back treys to open the stanza and put Duke ahead by three. The Fighting Irish responded with eight straight points to build a 27-22 lead, before Balogun halted the run with a short jumper.

Notre Dame pushed its lead back to five, then Goodchild knocked down a jumper off a curl, Gordon added a short jumper of her own, then drilled a trifecta from the top of the key off a Fighting Irish turnover to put Duke ahead 33-31, forcing the visitors to call a timeout. Notre Dame was able to issue a response once again though, scoring nine of the final 13 points of the period to take a 40-37 lead into the break.

In addition to Balogun’s 12 first-half points, Gordon also produced a dozen points to lead the Blue Devil scoring efforts. Freshmen Shayeann Day-Wilson and Lee Volker, along with Gordon, dished out a pair of assists while Volker and Williams led the rebounding efforts with two apiece.

The third quarter was a quarter of runs. After Notre Dame scored the first six points of the frame, Balogun (7) and Taylor (4) combined to ignite an 11-0 spurt and regain a 48-46 lead for the Blue Devils. Taylor opened the run with a mid-range jumper then Balogun capped it off with a trey from the left corner – on Taylor’s dime. The Fighting Irish answered with a 9-0 run of their own and headed into the fourth quarter up 55-48.

Notre Dame attempted to pull away as the team held a nine-point margin early in the fourth, but the Blue Devils refused to go down and turned the momentum back into their favor. Taylor knocked down a pair of triples and Goodchild scored off Volker’s steal to pull the home team within three. Duke battled all the way back shortly thereafter, as Onome Akinbode-James made a layup inside, Balogun scored in transition and Goodchild knocked down two more from distance – the second trifecta giving Duke a 66-64 lead.

The two teams went tick-for-tack over the remainder of the period as the game came down the stretch. Balogun answered the call each time. The senior took control of the game and scored the next six points for Duke, including a fastbreak layup off Taylor’s steal to give the Blue Devils a 72-70 lead with 30 seconds remaining.

Notre Dame (11-2, 2-1 ACC) was led by Maya Dodson with 24 points and nine rebounds.

Duke closes out the two-game home stand by hosting 16th-ranked Georgia Tech on Thursday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m., live on ACC Network Extra.