In their first game of the season, the Blue Devils knocked off a top-10 opponent in California. For an encore in their home-opener, they nearly re-wrote the record books.
No. 2 Duke rolled past USC Upstate 123-40 Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, threatening the school records for most points scored in a game and largest margin of victory. They have now won their past 123 home contests against unranked opponents.
"They were who we thought they were," USC Upstate head coach Tammy George said. "They're No. 2 in the country, and obviously the score indicates that."
Scoring 123 points, the Blue Devils (2-0) posted the second-highest single-game scoring total in program history, finishing just five points shy of the 128 points they scored Dec. 6, 2002 against Howard. Duke's 83-point margin of victory was the third-highest in school history, six points behind the record 89-point defeat the Blue Devils handed N.C. Central Dec. 28, 2009.
Despite the team's offensive explosion, it was Duke's defense that stole the show.
Duke scored 41 points off 30 USC Upstate (2-2) turnovers, exceeding the Spartans' point total for the entire game. The Blue Devils applied full-court pressure from the opening tip, never allowing USC Upstate to settle in and get comfortable. The tenacious defensive pressure led to plenty of transition opportunities and easy buckets for the Blue Devils.
“We do a lot of full-court pressure,” Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “When you play multiple defenses, you have to have principles, and one of ours is aggression.”
In the half-court set, the Blue Devil defense prevented the Spartans from penetrating off the dribble with any kind of consistency. Instead, USC Upstate had to settle for many contested long-range jumpers and shot only 20.7 pecent from the field. Junior guard Maddie Herr was the only Spartan to score in double digits, going 2-for-4 from the field to finish with 10 points.
“Getting it done on defense and being able to close out to shooters and spot up with them in transition is one thing that we did better,” senior Tricia Liston said. “We were locating where everyone was before it was too late, and I think that really helped us on the perimeter.”
Liston, who scored a team-high 20 points, set the tone right off the bat, knocking down a 3-pointer on the game’s opening possession as the Blue Devils jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes.
The Spartans fought back to keep the game close, as the Blue Devils couldn’t immediately solve their 2-3 zone. But Duke quickly adjusted and utilized a 15-0 run to put them up by 21 points just eight minutes into the game. USC Upstate responded with two consecutive 3-pointers, but the Blue Devils came right back with a 32-3 run to put the game out of reach before halftime.
With the offense firing on all cylinders, Duke received contributions from players up and down the roster. All five starters scored in double figures, as did senior Chloe Wells. Wells also added four assists and two steals, bringing the kind of production that McCallie loves to see from her bench.
“[Wells] was strong in practice, and then of course in the game she was very good,” McCallie said. “I liked her choices and her poise. She was patient and let the game come to her. I thought she played a very mature game.”
Duke was able to successfully exploit its significant height advantage against the Spartans. The Blue Devils boast three starters taller than 6-feet—USC Upstate has no players taller than 6-feet on its roster.
After Duke's season-opening win against California, the Blue Devils identified rebounding as a point of weakness that needed to be fixed.
“I think there was a lot that we saw on film [after the California game] that we wanted to do better, especially our defense and our rebounding,” Liston said.
Against USC Upstate, Duke enjoyed a tremendous advantage on the glass. They outrebounded the Spartans 63-24 and grabbed 24 offensive boards. Senior Haley Peters pulled down a career-high 20 rebounds—tied for third-most in school history—and added 17 points.
Senior guard Chelsea Gray, in her second game back after recovering from a knee injury suffered last February, showed that she doesn't need to be her team's leading scorer to make an impact. She scored 14 points on just eight shots and filled out the box score with eight assists, five rebounds and six steals.
After not walking away completely satisfied with a season-opening win against the No. 9 Golden Bears, Duke stepped off the court with a renewed sense of confidence after putting in a complete performance.
“I don’t think we were content with beating a good team like Cal,” Liston said. “I think that there is something more to be said about our team and what we want to do this year.”
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