The Blue Devils were up by as many as 24 points in the second half but that did not stop N.C. State from making it a game.
After holding off a furious comeback by the Wolfpack, No. 7 Duke was able to hold on against No. 14 N.C. State and secure an 83-70 win in Cameron Indoor Stadium Thursday night. Led by senior forward Tricia Liston and Haley Peters, the Blue Devils shot 44.4 percent from the floor on the night and 39.1 percent from 3-point range.
“That was a great game,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “We need a lot more of those games…. N.C. State is a terrific team and—like I said—we need more of those games. It’s this time of year for those kind of games.”
Duke (24-3, 11-2 in the ACC) started off the second half strong by taking the momentum created by a buzzer-beater at the end of the first half by sophomore point guard Alexis Jones and opening the second half with a 19-8 run. The run gave the Blue Devils a 24-point lead just 5:28 into the period and seemed to give N.C. State an insurmountable deficit. The Wolfpack had other ideas.
Led by a 30-point outing from senior forward Kody Burke, N.C. State maintained their composure despite Duke’s lead and slowly worked its way back into the game. With just 4:12 remaining, Burke drained her fifth 3-pointer of the game to bring the Wolfpack within four points—the closest they had been since 7:43 remaining in the first half.
Duke was able to answer the next possession with a three-point play from senior guard Richa Jackson but the hot hand of Kody Burke responded with her sixth triple of the game to bring the Wolfpack back within four.
The two teams traded misses on their next possessions but after a steal by junior Elizabeth Williams the Blue Devils seemed to regain the poise they had shown earlier.
“I think we just refocused when it got to the point where they caught back up,” Liston said. “We started getting shots on the defensive end and then we started locating their shooters. Then we were executing on offense and kind of slowing down the pace and working the ball around and looking for a good shot.”
Following the steal, Jones was able to the thread the needle on a swift pass to Peters in the corner. Peters drilled the three and the crowd erupted. With the momentum swung back in their direction, the Blue Devils were finally able to put the Wolfpack down.
“I thought that was the big shot,” N.C. State head coach Wes Moore said. “That bumped it from four to seven. We had gotten away with playing the pick on ball for a good little while and she really made us pay for it on that shot.”
Duke was able to continue playing well on the defensive side of the ball as well after the strong effort against Maryland on Monday. Over the first twelve minutes of the game Duke held N.C. State to just 5-for-24 from the floor and 1-for-9 from beyond the arc while slowly building a lead on the Wolfpack.
The defense continued to play well as the Blue Devils opened up the lead early in the second half but both the offense and the defense started to slack after the lead was comfortably set at 24.
“Unfortunately I think we had [a scoreboard mentality],” McCallie said. “The shot selection was very poor at that time because there were a lot of jump shots going up… and then defensively we weren’t communicating as well. So, I think that’s a good lesson for us.”
The Blue Devils do not have much time to rest after the victory, as they get ready to travel to South Bend, Ind., for a rematch against No. 2 Notre Dame. Duke dropped its first game against Notre Dame earlier this season and is looking for its second win versus a top-five opponent in four tries.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.