The Duke women’s basketball team may have opened their 2012-2013 schedule later than most schools, but they opened it with a bang. The Blue Devils shot 52.3% from the field en route to their 84-45 victory at home over Presbyterian.

Presbyterian shot 45.7% from the field, but took just 35 shots, compared to Duke’s 65. They also committed 30 turnovers.

Both Haley Peters and Tricia Liston led all scorers with 21 points. Peters was 9-of-14 from the field, while Liston was 6-of-9. Liston made four of her six three pointers. She also hauled in nine rebounds, dished out four assists, and had five steals.

Chelsea Gray went 5-for-11 from the field with 12 points. She had six assists and six steals, but committed just one turnover. Allison Vernerey had a great start to her final season at Duke. She went 4-for-4 from the field (though she missed both of her free throws) for eight points. She had just two rebounds, but dished out five assists and stole the ball five times. Oh and she blocked two shots.

Elizabeth Williams played just 11 minutes, but managed to score eight points on 4-of-7 shooting. She hauled in five rebounds, four on the offensive end. It was a sigh of relief to see her back on the court.

The freshman duo of Alexis Jones and Sierra Moore enjoyed a solid opening to their collegiate careers. Jones started her first game and played a game-high 32 minutes. She was just 3-of-8 from the field (eight points), but she did haul in three rebounds and dish out six assists. The downside was her seven turnovers. Moore came off the bench to score six points (3-of-4 shooting). She hauled in three rebounds to go along with two steals.

They don’t have much time to enjoy the victory. They are back out on the court on Sunday against Iona.

Mike Rosenfeld via Marc Kirsch

With one out in the 6th inning, Presbyterian pulled off a squeeze play that broke the 2-2 tie and scored the eventual game winner. The Duke offense couldn’t muster anything against Presbyterian reliever Michael Ricchi over the final 2.2 innings, as they lost their final home game of the season, 3-2.

The Blue Devils received another solid pitching performance from both Andrew Istler and reliever David Putman. Istler allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out four, but picked up his fourth loss of the season. Putman pitched three shutout innings and allowed just two hits while striking out four.

However the offense was once again shut down. Buck Mosteller started for the Blue Hose and allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits and three walks over 6.1 innings. Ricchi allowed just one hit the rest of the way to pick up his second save of the season.

On offense for the Blue Devils, Mike Rosenfeld and Mark Lumpa each collected two hits. Rosenfeld drove in the tying run in the 5th inning with a double. Will Piwnica-Worms drove in Duke’s first run (which gave them a 1-0 lead in the first inning). Jeff Kremer led off and walked three times, while scoring both of Duke’s runs.

The Blue Devils finish off the season with a three-game series at Boston College beginning Thursday night.

Via Duke Blue Planet

902 was a lot easier to accomplish than 901, as Coach K is now tied with mentor and long-time friend Bob Knight for most wins. The Duke men’s basketball team defeated visiting Presbyterian, 96-55 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Even former walk-on Todd Zafirovski, who earned a scholarship this year, got in on the action. He entered for the first time this season with about three minutes left and hauled in a rebound to the delight of the Cameron Crazies.

The Blue Devils starting lineup was the same as last night against Belmont: guards Austin Rivers, Seth Curry, and Andre Dawkins, with big men Mason and Miles Plumlee.

Presbyterian won the tip, but Curry was hot at the start. He led 5-0 quickly into the first half. Unlike last night against Belmont, Duke never let up against the Blue Hose. They led 53-30 at the half.

Presbyterian shot the ball well from behind the arc in the first half (4-of-7) and from the free throw line (10-of-11). However they had 11 turnovers and just couldn’t stop Duke’s drives to the basket. Rivers, Mason, and Ryan Kelly consistently took the ball to the hoop. Kelly finished the first half with 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting.

It was more of the same in the second half, but this time the Blue Devils bench got involved. Josh Hairston, who did not play against Belmont, was 4-for-6 with nine points and six rebounds. Quinn Cook was 2-for-4 with ten points. Towards the end, Coach K had the combination of Hairston, Cook, Tyler Thornton, Zafivorski, and Michael Gbinije on the floor.

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