ATLANTA, Ga. -- The women's basketball team extended its record ACC winning streak last night to 46 games, easily defeating conference foe Georgia Tech 77-45 in Atlanta, Ga.
The Yellow Jackets (10-4, 1-1 in the ACC) entered the night with a three-game winning streak and a perfect record at home, but they had no answer for the top-ranked Blue Devils (12-1, 3-0).
"I have to give Duke credit," said Georgia Tech head coach MaChelle Joseph, who was recruited to play at Purdue when Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors was an assistant there. "They're a tremendous team, from the point guard, to the post, to every player on their bench. I think that you saw tonight why they're the number one team in the country." Georgia Tech hung close at the start of the game, as a layup by April Johnson off a Duke turnover brought the Yellow Jackets within one point at 7-6.
However, Duke then went on a 17-1 run, opening up a 24-7 advantage. The Blue Devils forced six turnovers in the 7:06 span and got five points from All-American Alana Beard, who finished with a game-high 17 points in only 22 minutes of action.
The Blue Devils played nearly flawless on both ends of the floor in the first half, forcing 12 turnovers and collecting more assists (14, including five by Lindsey Harding) than the Yellow Jackets had points (13).
"Overall, I'm very pleased with our intensity and our focus, especially in the first 20 minutes," Goestenkors said. "I though we were ready to play. We set the tone early with our defense and pressure on the ball. I thought offensively we were aggressive as well, attacking the basket and just moving the ball."
The defensive effort was aided in large part by freshman Brittany Hunter, who collected four blocks in the first half alone. Hunter also scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the first double-double of her Duke career.
"I thought they might start shooting more from the perimeter, but they just kept on driving," Hunter said. "They have really good players and a really good team, so I wasn't surprised [that Georgia Tech continued to drive]."
Duke came out with a similar intensity in the second half, building a 69-29 lead with 8:25 remaining in the game. However, the Yellow Jackets continued to fight and were able to reduce the final margin of victory to 32 points, largely behind the effort of senior forward Fallon Stokes.
Stokes, who came into the game averaging 18.6 points per contest, was limited to just six in the first half but finished the night with a team-high 16 on 7-of-18 shooting.
"The points that I did get today, they were hard to earn," Stokes said. "Duke is a great defensive team. They came out really aggressive, and we had problems with the pressure most of the night. I give them credit; they are great defenders."
The Blue Devils also took care of the ball on offense, committing a season-low nine turnovers after amassing 21 in Monday night's 79-66 win over Florida State.
"[Reducing turnovers] has been a goal of ours," Goestenkors said. "We know to be a great team we have to take care of the basketball and give ourselves every opportunity to score. I think that in and of itself shows the focus we had today."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.