FINAL - Duke 65, N.C. State 64:
In an absolute thriller, Duke rallied from 18 down to beat N.C. State and stay undefeated. Down one with under 20 seconds left, Chelsea Gray's drive to the lane through the Wolfpack defense and finish at the bucket gave Duke a 1-point lead, and Kastanek's shot with 6 seconds clanged. White had a rebound and tip shot, but that was short as well, and Duke escapes Raleigh with a signature win. Check The Chronicle tomorrow for coverage and analysis.
54.7 seconds, 2nd Half: Duke 63, N.C. State 64:
Krystal Thomas looked like she was about to extend the lead to three, but was called for a walk in the paint. On the ensuing Wolfpack possession, Marissa Kastanek's shot from close range was short, but Krystal Thomas was called for a rather controversial shooting foul. Kastanek buried both.
1:56 2nd Half: Duke 63, N.C. State 62:
Duke is on the verge of completing one of the best comebacks in its history here in Raleigh. Krystal Thomas has finally emerged from the shadows to be a force underneath the bucket, and her two layups have given the Blue Devils a one-point lead.
3:16 2nd Half: Duke 59, N.C. State 61:
Jasmine Thomas just buried a three from the 'K' in the Kay Yow Court logo to cut the lead to two.
4:31 2nd Half: Duke 56, N.C. State 61:
Great play in the last five minutes on both ends for the Blue Devils. A Jasmine Thomas full court pass after Amber White's shot was blocked enabled an easy Shay Selby bucket in transition. Then, Kathleen Scheer stole the inbounds pass, and Karima Christmas drained a shot from the top of the key. On the last possession, Shay Selby had an open look from the corner, but missed. Krystal Thomas snatched the offensive board and got fouled while laying the ball in for the traditional three point play.
9:37 2nd Half: Duke 49, N.C. State 59:
The lead is down to 10, and the trio of Gray, Scheer and Jasmine Thomas have finally found their rhythm. On the last possession, Gray had the ball a few feet behind the arc with her defender sagging off. She looked to pass, but realized she had enough room, and drilled the shot to pull Duke back within shouting distance. Team defense and shot selection is going to be of paramount importance in the next nine minutes, as every possession is critical from here on out.
11:46 2nd Half: Duke 34, N.C. State 51:
N.C. State has answered Duke's mini-run, and now the Blue Devils are in danger time, now down 17. Duke has done well to clog the passing lanes on defense and have forced a few turnovers, but there's no consistent source of offense for the Blue Devils right now. Krystal Thomas has been ineffective down low, and Jasmine Thomas has played the game as a distributor, primarily. It's going to take something special from Duke at this point.
16:31 2nd Half: Duke 30, N.C. State 44:
Shay Selby hit a deep two-pointer and Jasmine Thomas buried a 15-footer after a great shot fake got her defender out of position. Duke finally looks determined offensively, and has the Wolfpack's lead down to 14. Defensively, the perimeter players are beginning to trap N.C. State's guards, who haven't been strong with the ball in the last five minutes.
18:24 2nd Half: Duke 25, N.C. State 42:
Facing such a big deficit in the half, Duke will have to try and gradually slim the lead if it hopes to remain undefeated. If the Blue Devils can cut it to 10 with around 10 minutes remaining, they'll likely have a good shot down the stretch. Shay Selby's three from the corner is a positive first step.
Halftime: Duke 22, N.C. State 40:
If Joanne P. McCallie has any fiery speeches in her arsenal, she's going to need to use one in the locker room today. Her Blue Devils are not playing the kind of basketball they usually do, and N.C. State has pounced on them in the first half. Duke's got an 18-point deficit to overcome, and just 20 minutes to play. The Blue Devils will need to have some of thier outside shots fall in the second half after going 0-for-6 in the opening period, and return to form defensively after being shredded by a mediocre Wolfpack team.
2:50 1st Half: Duke 17, N.C. State 30:
Duke's finally running its halfcourt sets at the tempo they want and have gotten a few easy buckets from Chelsea Gray, but it seems whenever the Blue Devils make a good play, there's a let down defensively. At this point, Duke can't simply trade baskets with the Wolfpack, it's going to have to get stops--something that McCallie will likely be very insistent about at halftime.
6:08 1st Half: Duke 11, N.C. State 25:
Jasmine Thomas is doing her best to single handedly get the Blue Devils back into the game. On the last play, Krystal Thomas pulled her defender to the weak side and opened up a huge lane for Jasmine Thomas to drive to the cup. She couldn't finish the layup, but drew contact and converted both shots from the line.
7:45 1st Half: Duke 8, N.C. State 22:
The shots keep clanging for the Blue Devils, who are collectively shooting 11.8 percent from the field (2-17) and 66.7 percent from the line. Brittany Strachan's three has got head coach Joanne P. McCallie angrily pacing the sidelines.
9:24 1st Half: Duke 5, N.C. State 17:
It might be too early to call it an upset alert, but N.C. State believes it can win this one, and Marissa Kastanek's three has ballooned the Wolfpack advantage to 12. The Blue Devils are trying to be aggressive with the ball and drive into the lane, but when the N.C. State defense collapses around them, the Duke guards haven't been able to kick the ball out to a shooter.
11:16 1st Half: Duke 5, N.C. State 12:
The Duke shooters have remained ice cold through the first 9 minutes of the game, and with N.C. State defending very well in the post, the Blue Devils are having a tough time scoring. On the other end, Myisha Goodwin-Coleman's trey and a silky floater from Bonae Holston has helped build an early advantage for the Wolfpack.
15:54 1st Half: Duke 4, N.C. State 2:
The Blue Devils are having a tough time finishing around the rim in the early going, but they're playing at a high intensity and beating the Wolfpack to rebounds and loose balls. Krystal Thomas's easy finish inside after Jasmine Thomas scooped up a errant pass and fed it down low gives Duke a slim lead.
16:40 1st Half: Duke 2, N.C. State 2:
Haley Peters had the first good chance of the game for the Blue Devils with a great drive to the bucket, but her floater took a bad bounce off the rim. A couple possessions later, Peters missed again from just inside the foul line after a good pass from Chelsea Gray.
Pregame: We're here in Reynolds Coliseum as undefeated and No. 3 in the country Duke (18-0, 4-0 in the ACC) tries to stay unbeaten against triangle rivals N.C. State (9-9, 1-3).
Starting Lineups, first for the Blue Devils:
Krystal Thomas, Jasmine Thomas, Haley Peters, Karima Christmas and Chelsea Grey
For the Wolfpack:
Breezy Williams, Devin Griffin, Marissa Kastanek, Bonae Holston, Amber White
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