![Chloe Wells [pictured] and Chelsea Gray average double-digit points each, but the two were held to 11 combined Thursday night.](https://snworksceo.imgix.net/dtc/f6fad22b-53fa-47df-9517-a49f0c23ec04.sized-1000x1000.jpg?w=1000)
In front of the largest crowd in program history, unbeaten Kentucky took advantage of Blue Devil turnovers and a couple of clutch 3-pointers to upset Duke.
The No. 6 Blue Devils (6-2) benefitted from a team-high 17 points from freshman Elizabeth Williams, but sophomores Chelsea Gray and Chloe Wells, who both came into the game averaging double-digit scoring, combined for only 11 points.
Trailing early, the Wildcats fought to within three points of Duke at halftime, then pulled away late in the second half en route to a 72-65 victory at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.
No. 10 Kentucky (9-0) entered the game with the best turnover margin in the nation and used constant defensive pressure to wear Duke down. By the end of the game, the Blue Devils had turned the ball over a season-high 24 times.
“We were just off,” Gray said. “I think we were rushing everything.”
Junior A’dia Mathies and freshman Bria Goss led the Wildcats with 23 and 19 points, respectively, and freshman Azia Bishop came off the bench to add a double-double in Kentucky’s second straight win over a top-10 team. Mathies and Goss each hit a 3-pointer during an 8-0 run that put Kentucky ahead to stay with less than five minutes left in the game, but it was Bishop that provided the spark in the second half for the Wildcats.
“I don’t think I’ve seen that too much—a player comes off the bench for a double-double,” McCallie said. “In a game like this, a physical game like this, I would call her the player of the game and say, ‘Wow.’”
Bishop had averaged just 7.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game entering the contest.
“This is how she plays,” Goss said. “We see it in practice. We see it all the time. Now that she put it on the court in this type of game, it’s amazing.”
Rupp Arena hosted Thursday night’s game, marking the first time in over three years that the Wildcats have played in the spacious 23,500-seat venue. With almost four times the capacity of Memorial Stadium, the Kentucky women’s program’s regular home court, Rupp Arena held 14,508 fans for the contest, breaking the all-time program attendance record.
“I think that was our first time ever against that type of crowd,” Gray said. “It’s a great atmosphere and you just have to get used to it.”
The loss is the Blue Devils’ second in their last four contests, with their previous defeat coming at the hands of then-No. 3 Notre Dame. The Blue Devils ceded first-half leads in both matchups.
Kentucky stepped up its defensive intensity in the second half to overcome its early deficit, interrupting the flow of Duke’s offense.
“Shooting 57 percent in the first half is a pretty good thing and second half, not shooting as well, you have to credit [their] defense there,” McCallie said. “I also think we didn’t run the floor and see as well because of that pressure.”
Despite a height advantage at most positions, the Blue Devils also allowed the Wildcats to score 21 second-chance points, highlighting a problem that at times has plagued Duke this season despite its size—rebounding.
The Blue Devils will try to bounce back Sunday when they host SC Upstate at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.