BERKELEY, Calif.—The Blue Devils were able to use an impressive display of rebounding and senior guard play to earn a quality road win in their first game of the season.
No. 2 Duke took advantage of crisp second-half offensive execution and consistency on the glass to defeat No. 9 California 70-58 on Sunday in a rowdy environment at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif. The Blue Devils finished with a 46-39 rebounding advantage against the physical Golden Bears and were led by a trio of senior guards, two-time All-American Chelsea Gray, Tricia Liston and sixth player Richa Jackson.
Gray finished with 22 points, five assists and four rebounds despite second-half foul trouble in her return to her home state and first regular season game since dislocating her knee at the end of last season. Liston scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half and added 7 rebounds, and Jackson totaled 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting, coming up with several key baskets throughout the game.
“I’m really proud of the team for a gritty effort,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “I was really happy for Chelsea, to be in her area and play so well and lead like she did on the floor.”
In a first half marked by tight foul calls, offensive rebounds and poor field goal shooting, both teams got off to slow starts before the Blue Devils (1-0) were able to use a 10-0 run to build a 24-12 lead with 6:30 left in the half following a putback by redshirt freshman forward Amber Henson. It was Henson’s first regular season game since Dec. 20, 2011—she was sidelined by a severe knee injury and saw key minutes Sunday because of Duke's foul trouble.
The Blue Devils were unable to sustain the lead, however, as California responded with three consecutive 3-pointers by three different players after a timeout. An 11-0 run cut the deficit to one and allowed California (1-1) to get right back in the game before the Blue Devils took a 30-25 lead into the locker room. Though the Blue Devils had slowed down the Golden Bears with their matchup zone, they were frustrated by the way the half ended.
The pace of the game increased at the start of the second half and Duke capitalized on a number of transition opportunities to build a 13-point advantage with 16:40 left in the game. A 3-pointer by Liston initiated the offensive attack. The senior guard allowed Duke to have much better spacing with her aggressiveness.
“I was just trying to play off the defense and see how they were playing me,” Liston said. “A lot of times, they were overrunning me. It left lanes to the basket and I was just trying to stay attacking and get to the basket a little more.”
But the Golden Bears clawed their way back into the game, using a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to eight with 12:10 left. They were led by senior guard Afure Jemerigbe, who finished with 16 points and seven rebounds and is Gray’s former high school teammate. The Blue Devils used a big run of their own to build a 64-47 advantage with 5:43 left in the game after a 3-pointer by Jackson, sending some California fans to the exits.
The Golden Bears had one final push left in them behind junior point guard Brittany Boyd. Boyd, an All-Pac-12 selection a season ago, struggled throughout the game but scored six straight points to bring California within 11 with 3:04 left. Duke responded with an efficient offensive possession resulting in a Jackson layup to effectively put the game away.
“Richa is active, aggressive and she’s hungry,” McCallie said. “She’s ready to go. She’s really bought into her role as a senior, being a sixth player off the bench. That can be sometimes dicey, not for her. I think she’ll be the best sixth player in the country.”
Despite the offensive struggles of sophomore guard Alexis Jones and two-time All-American forward Elizabeth Williams, Duke was able to manufacture enough scoring because of the aggressiveness of Gray, who earned her the seventh 20-point game of her career.
“I was very excited to come home and have my family in the stands,” Gray said. “I was able to take the team to my house, we had an amazing dinner and they ate all our food. It was just really exciting and it was an excellent crowd. It really prepares us for down the road.”
With a difficult road win already under their belt, the Blue Devils will return to the court Thursday for their home opener against South Carolina Upstate.
“We like to be in a lot of sticky environments,” McCallie said. “That was good for us to have that experience. I think it goes a long way. It really goes [a long way] as long as we use it and are willing to learn from it.”
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