The Duke women’s basketball team scored 53 second half points to blow out visiting Miami, 82-43. The score was tied at 29-29 at the half and Miami held a 33-31 lead with 18:17 to go. The Blue Devils then went on a 20-0 run to take the lead for good.
Duke improved to 19-1 overall and 9-0 in the conference (the only undefeated team in the ACC). Miami dropped to 14-7 overall and 5-5 in the ACC.
Chelsea Gray in 2011 at Temple
Duke didn’t take a lead in the first half until there was 1:33 to go until halftime and Chelsea Gray hit a three pointer to give them the short-lived 29-27 lead. That means the Blue Devils out-scored Miami in the second half 53-14.
I looked away from the game early in the second half and next thing you know, Duke was up by twenty.
In the second half, Duke was cleaner with the basketball (just three turnovers) and shot better from the field (57% to 39%). They also had 11 second half assists. Meanwhile, Miami made just five 2nd half field goals and committed 12 turnovers (for a total of 21). Duke had six 2nd half steals and ended up out-rebounding Miami 43-31 (26-14 in the second half).
In the first half, Allison Vernerey had more assists (two) than Gray (no assists, but two turnovers). However, Gray had five assists in the second half and zero turnovers. She also scored 16 points and had six steals.
Freshman Alexis Jones recorded her first career double-double: ten points and ten rebounds. She also dished out three assists. Tricia Liston came off the bench to score 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
Haley Peters added ten points and eight rebounds and Elizabeth Williams scored 12 points, hauled in four rebounds, and blocked three shots.
Next up, Duke stays home to face ACC rival North Carolina on Sunday afternoon. The game will be televised on ESPNU at 1pm ET. UNC beat Florida State tonight by ten points.
*Williams and Gray were named to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 list last week. They join two from Maryland, Tianna Hawkins and Alyssa Thomas.
