Duke Struggles Late, Miami Advances to Quarterfinals

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Three Duke players registered double-digit scoring efforts, but it wasn’t enough as the Blue Devils faltered late and dropped a 61-55 decision to Miami Thursday evening in the second round of the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament.

 

Junior Celeste Taylor paced the Blue Devil offense with a game-high 19 points, while freshman Shayeann Day-Wilson and senior Elizabeth Balogun added 13 and 12 points apiece, respectively. Balogun also pulled down eight boards with classmate Onome Akinbode-James led Duke with nine rebounds. Day-Wilson also added seven boards and a team-best seven assists.

 

Duke (17-13, 7-11 ACC) got off to a much faster start and held a 22-13 lead at the end of 10 minutes. Taylor exploded in the opening frame with 10 of the team’s points. After a back-and-forth start to the game, the Blue Devils were able to gain some breathing room as they built an early five-point lead behind a stretch where they hit 5-of-6 from the floor.

 

Lexi Gordon opened the scoring with a trey from the left-wing, then Day-Wilson found Taylor on back-to-back possessions for five quick points for the junior. Balogun tracked down an offensive rebound and drained a mid-range jumper before Taylor’s second triple extended the Duke lead to 15-10. A couple of minutes later, Day-Wilson cashed in a pair of pull-ups from the free-throw line and Miela Goodchild knocked down a transition three to turn a five-point swing in favor of the Blue Devils and give them a nine-point lead at the end of one.

 

Miami battled back at the start of the second period and was able to pull as close as three points, but Day-Wilson answered with four quick points to push the Duke lead back to seven. Balogun connected on another short jumper and Taylor drained a pullup from the elbow with 54 seconds remaining to help the Blue Devils take a 31-27 lead into the break.

 

Taylor led Duke with a dozen first-half points while Day-Wilson added eight. The rookie also dished out four dimes and Balogun pulled down five rebounds to lead the efforts in those respective categories.

 

Limited offense was featured in the third quarter as both sides endured multiple scoring droughts over the 10-minute session. Duke scored nine points in the frame – Day-Wilson split a trip at the line, Taylor drilled another pull-up jumper, then Goodchild and Balogun nailed back-to-back trifectas to close the quarter. The latter put the Blue Devils back in front, 40-39, heading into the fourth.

 

The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair with five lead changes. After the Hurricanes took a one-point lead, Day-Wilson produced a perfect trip at the charity stripe. Then Taylor jumped the passing lane and finished on the other end to push the Duke advantage to three. Miami responded with a 13-2 run to surge ahead 54-46 with 3:20 to go.

 

Duke wouldn’t go quietly though, pulling within three via Taylor’s third trey and Balogun’s second-chance basket. That would be as close as the Blue Devils would get, however, as the Hurricanes made seven free throws down the stretch to lock down the result.

 

Destiny Harden and Lola Pendande led Miami (18-11, 10-8 ACC) with 11 points each.

 

Game Notes:

• Three players finished the game in double figures – Taylor (19), Day-Wilson (13), Balogun (12)
  Duke cashed in four threes in the first quarter, matching yesterday’s output for the whole game
  The Blue Devils had more assists in the first half (8) than they did for the first-round matchup against Pitt (6).
  Duke dominated the glass, outrebounding the Hurricanes 44-29 including 20-3 on the offensive end.
  The game featured six ties and eight lead changes.