CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – There are no NIT banners hanging in Cameron Indoor Stadium. There are in John Paul Jones Arena. That difference in expectations was evident on the court Thursday as Duke overpowered Virginia in a 71-48 victory.
The No. 9 Blue Devils (25-3, 11-2 in the ACC) came away with the win by dominating in the paint, outscoring the Cavaliers 30-16 down low and out-rebounding them 55-37. And a strong defensive effort that held Virginia to 20 percent shooting didn’t hurt either.
“The team was really attacking, which is so important to be doing this time of year,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “I thought we set the tone defensively early, and the team was really trying to get to the rack and create things.”
In one of their final tune-ups before the ACC Tournament, Duke started slowly and trailed Virginia (15-14, 4-9) for the first five minutes of play. After a Chloe Wells layup put them up 5-4, though, they wouldn’t trail again.
The Blue Devils held Virginia without a field goal for nearly 16 minutes during a first half in which Duke went on a 30-4 run. The Cavaliers ended the first period with a pair of treys, but still trailed by 18.
Virginia started the second half energized and was able to cut the deficit to single digits with 15 minutes to play. But a Duke three on the ensuing possession sparked a 13-0 run that put the game out of hand for good.
“Duke’s tough,” Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan said. “They’re big inside and tough to guard mainly because of their size and ability to score inside and rebound. We couldn’t stay with them on the boards. That was our biggest problem.”
It was a sloppy game for the Blue Devils, who had 23 turnovers and shot 46 percent from the line. But a strong inside presence, good 3-point shooting and quality performances off the bench—led by Wells and Haley Peters, who combined for 19 points—proved more than enough against the overmatched Cavaliers.
With Chelsea Gray still recovering from an ankle injury, Tricia Liston started at guard and nearly tripled her season average with 16 points. Center Krystal Thomas added 16 boards, and forward Allison Vernerey led the team in the first half with 11 points while also finishing with 10 boards.
“Allison was fantastic, she’s very, very difficult to defend because she keeps moving and is very aggressive in demanding the ball,” McCallie said. “I was happy to see us go high-low and give her a chance to do some things inside. Her rebounding was exceptional.”
With six turnovers, Jasmine Thomas wasn’t her best. But she still managed to lead the team with 18 points and shot well from behind the arc, hitting four-of-nine from downtown.
Virginia did not fare as well from the field. Ariana Moorer led the team off the bench with 14 points while Ataira Franklin was close behind with 13, but they needed 29 shots to get there. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, that was still better than the rest of Virginia, which shot 20 percent overall.
Duke next faces North Carolina in the regular season finale at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils will look to avenge a close loss earlier in the season in Chapel Hill.
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