Duke 76, Notre Dame 87 (Final)
The Fighting Irish toned down their offensive aggressiveness and chewed up time with the shot clock. Duke, however much it attacked on offense, could not overcome the 16-point deficit the Fighting Irish set. Peters did all she could to bring the Blue Devils back, scoring eight points in the final two minutes but Diggins answered with an and-one layup to squash any chances of a comeback that Duke had. The final two minutes saw a flurry of scoring from both teams, but Duke could not hold the Fighting Irish from scoring, ultimately making the lead insurmountable. The game closed with Duke still playing hard, with three players fighting for offensive rebounds and shots before the final buzzer sounded.
Duke 59, Notre Dame 75 (3:58 Second Half)
Diggins now has 20 points to lead all scorers, following an and-one layup against Wells. The Fighting Irish have gone on a 15-5 run in the past two minutes behind their 3-point shooting. Duke has continually forced shots at the rim or missed inside jumpers. The Blue Devils' lone senior, Vernerey, has remained on the floor and will seemingly play out the rest of the game.
Duke 54, Notre Dame 62 (7:49 Second Half)
After a missed free throw, Notre Dame went down the floor and knocked down a 3-pointer and layup off a lob to extend the lead to 10 for the Fighting Irish. A sense of urgency seemed to set in for the Blue Devils, who forced several shots in reaction to an aggressive Notre Dame defense. Duke caught a break when Liston was fouled on a 3-point shot attempt, allowing Liston to pull the Blue Devils within eight following the three made free throws. Following a Wells steal, Peters dropped in a hook shot to take the lead down to six before Diggins scored on a fast break layup to put the lead back at eight.
Duke 47, Notre Dame 52 (11:46 Second Half)
Diggins came up big for the Irish, producing two steals, one which led to a huge 3-pointer from the corner by McBride. The Blue Devils continually tried to answer but was stifled by a pair of offensive fouls called on Williams. Jones, who reentered the game with four fouls, brought the Blue Devils back into the game with a spinning and-one layup to put Duke within five. Vernery did the same following a bucket from Anchonwa, hitting a left-handed layup going into the timeout.
Duke 42, Notre Dame 43 (15:37 Second Half)
Jones, who has been quiet for the majority of the game, came out of the timeout and dropped in a floater to start off the Blue Devils. But Notre Dame continued to attack the basket, with Ariel Baker and Loyd both driving hard and scoring. On defense, the Fighting Irish frustrated the Blue Devils, gathering a steal and drawing a charge on Jones on back-to-back possessions. This was the fourth foul on Jones, who will likely be sitting for an extended period of time with Wells replacing her on the floor.
Duke 40, Notre Dame 40 (17:07 Second Half)
The Fighting Irish came out of the break looking to attack the basket, going inside on its first two possessions. Liston made sure to keep the Blue Devils from being complacent, driving hard the first time she had the ball in her hands. Liston then missed her first shot first missed shot came from the free throw line. Diggins was not to be denied, knocking down another 3-pointer then dishing out a beautiful pass to Anchowa on the next trip down following a Liston air-ball to knot the score at 40 apiece.
Halftime Stats and Notes
- After a poor shooting shooting night on Sunday in which they went 10-for-32 in the first half, the Blue Devils have stepped up their shots and shot selection, going 14-for-28 in the opening half against Notre Dame.
- Tricia Liston is leading all scorers, already pouring in 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting.
- The Blue Devils are winning the rebounding battle against the Fighting Irish, currently out-rebounding Notre Dame 23-16.
- Duke is also owning the paint, outscoring Notre Dame 22-10 so far.
Duke 37, Notre Dame 31 (Halftime)
Skylar Diggins made her presence felt, knocking down a three 3-pointers in the final three minutes to bring the Fighting Irish. Duke was not deterred, with Jackson, Liston, Peters and Williams all made shots within five feet of the basket. The biggest basket of the final two minutes, however, was junior Chloe Wells' last-second, step-back 3-pointer to extend the Blue Devil lead to six going into the half, bringing the bench and the crowd to its feet.
Duke 26, Notre Dame 20 (3:43 First Half)
Liston continued her hot streak, stealing an errant pass from Notre Dame's Anchowa, driving to the lane and drawing a foul. Liston knocked down both free throws. While the Blue Devils thrived on offense, their defensive pressure picked up. The Irish could not find the bottom of the net, going nearly eight minutes without scoring. Aside from am easy lay-in off an inbounds pass, Duke shut down the paint.
Duke 22, Notre Dame 17 (7:23 First Half)
Duke is currently winning the battle on the boards 20-13, which has been a key factor to keeping them in this contest so far. Tricia Liston did her best LeBron James impression, clearing out the right side, backing down her defender and hitting a fading bank shot from eight feet out. Liston then extended Duke's lead to three, going on a 6-0 run of her own against the Fighting Irish. Williams extended the lead to five on a put-back layup off a Jones miss. The sophomore standout then went down the floor, blocked a shot and saved it from going out-of-bounds, bringing the Blue Devils bench to its feet.
Duke 13, Notre Dame 15 (11:48 First Half)
Notre Dame's Kayla McBride made the first jump shots of the game, knocking down a pair on back-to-back trips for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame picked up its defensive intensity, forcing a shot clock violation for the Blue Devils. The offense got rolling for both teams after this. Jones made sure not to go consecutive trips without scoring on the next trip down, whipping a pass to Liston for a wide open 3-pointer. Even senior Allison Vernerey got in on the action, knocking down a turnaround hook-shot on the Blue Devils' next possession.
Duke 4, Notre Dame 8 (15:50 First Half)
Both teams opened the game looking to attack the paint early and often, with every bucket coming from the paint or the foul line. Natalie Achonwa paced the Fighting Irish early on, scoring the team's first four points and creating a presence in the paint against Duke sophomore Elizabeth Williams. Williams maintained her position in the paint, drawing an early charge on Notre Dame star point guard Skylar Diggins. Notre Dame capitalized on several key misses by the Blue Devils and beat Duke back in transition several times.
Projected Starters
Duke Blue Devils: G Alexis Jones, G Tricia Liston, F Haley Peters, F Richa Jackson, C Elizabeth Williams
Notre Dame Fighting Irish: G Skylar Diggins, G Kayla McBride, G Jewell Loyd, F Natalie Achonwa, F Ariel Braker
Pregame Notes
Elizabeth Williams is one point away from joining the 1,000 point club. If she can do so tonight, she will be the 31st Blue Devil in school history to hit the mark, and the 4th fastest. Teammate Haley Peters just reached the mark in the previous game against Nebraska.
Following her last basket against Kansas on Sunday afternoon, Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins became the all-time leading scorer in school history (2,323 career points).
Both Williams and Diggins were recently named All-Americans by the Associated Press. Diggins was named to the first-team while Williams made the third-team. Injured Blue Devil Chelsea Gray was also selected as a second-team All-American.
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