No. 16 Duke posts 66-55 win over No. 12 Virginia Tech

Durham – Second stage Shayenn Day-Wilson Net 18 points and junior Vanessa de Jesus She added 10 points off the bench to lead the 16th-ranked Duke women’s basketball team to a 66-55 victory over 12th-ranked Virginia Tech at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

With a complete team effort, Duke has made strong contributions Elizabeth Balogin. (nine points, six rebounds, three steals) Celeste Taylor (Eight points, five rebounds, two steals) Reagan Richardson (seven points) and Mia Hyde (Five points, five repetitions).

Duke’s (18-2, 8-1 ACC) defense was on full display as it held Virginia Tech to 55 points and 34.7-percent shooting from the field — both coming in as the Hokies’ second-lowest output this season. The Blue Devils also forced 17 turnovers and scored 17 points off those turnovers.

Taylor Soule led Virginia Tech (16-4, 6-4 ACC) with a game-high 19 points.

How it happened:

• After Duke’s first seven points of the game, Virginia Tech scored the next five points. Kennedy Brown He snapped a two-minute drought with the Jays at center to split the home team’s lead at four.
• The Blue Devils soon opened up an 18-10 advantage behind a 7-0 run.
• After a Virginia Tech three, De Jesus answered with a triple of her own and added a perfect drive on a charity layup to give Duke a 23-14 lead. At the end of the first, the Blue Devils held a 23-17 lead.
• The second quarter was a tight contest with Duke leading the way 9 times.
• In a 10-minute span, Virginia Tech closed the quarter with a 6-0 run to pull within a pair (34-32) at halftime, outscoring the home team 15-11.
• Offense was at least in the third as the teams combined for 15 total points.
• The Hokies took a three-point lead — their first of the game — midway through the third quarter with back-to-back threes from Amore and King.
• Duke answered with a strong finish by Richardson and Hyde’s baby hook to regain a 41-40 advantage heading into the fourth.
• After Baloghi and Hyde combined for seven of the first nine points of the frame, the Blue Devils extended their advantage to 48-42.
• Duke commanded the fourth quarter, outscoring the Hokies 25-15 at the time.
• After Virginia Tech trailed by two, 48-46, midway through the quarter, the Blue Devils used a 10-0 run to extend their lead to 12 (58-46) and put the game completely out of reach.

Game notes

• With the win, Duke moved to 18-2 overall, 8-1 in conference play and 10-0 at Cameron’s home stadium.
• Duke improved to 28-6 all-time at Virginia Tech and snapped a three-game skid against the Hokies.
• The Blue Devils have held every opponent below their season average, and Virginia Tech’s 55 points are 19.9 points below their season average.
• Two Duke players finished the game in double figures – Day-Wilson (18) and De Jesus (10).
• The Blue Devils were plus-eight on the glass (37-29) and outscored the Hokies in the paint (22-16), off the bench (20-7) and second-chance buckets (6-2).
• Duke held Virginia Tech to 55 points and 34.7-percent shooting from the field — both the second-lowest output by the Hokies this season.
• Duke held the Hokies to just 1-2 Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amour’s 11 points on 3-of-21 shooting from the field.
• The Blue Devils also forced 17 turnovers and scored 17 points off those errors.

Next:

The Blue Devils will play three of their next four on the road, traveling to Tallahassee for a date with No. 24 Florida State on Sunday, January 29 at 2 pm on the ACC Network.

To stay up-to-date with Duke women’s basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching for “DukeWBB.”

#have a nice week