Jahlil Okafor is not the only Blue Devil that can put up a 20-20 performance—Elizabeth Williams reminded everyone of that Wednesday night.
The No. 13 Blue Devils ended their three-game losing streak with a 92-72 victory against Oklahoma Wednesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Williams had a dominant showing, scoring 26 points and a collecting a career-high 20 rebounds.
“Now that exams are over, all we have to focus on is basketball," Williams said in the postgame press conference. "[Head coach Joanne P. McCallie] kept harping on Jahlil’s game the other day and saying I was capable and just reminded me to stay aggressive. It’s something that I’m capable of doing.”
Oklahoma began the game doing what it does best—hitting 3-pointers and forcing turnovers. The Sooners knocked down three long balls within the first three minutes. Duke initially struggled to contain freshman Gabbi Ortiz who easily penetrated and scored eight early points.
After struggling to make a field goal for the first three minutes, Duke shook off any rust from its 10-day break.
The Blue Devils (6-3) quickly hit three consecutive baskets and jumped out to a 22-15 lead with 10:57 to go in the first half. Duke began to showcase its interior offensive attack, as the tallest team in the country took control of the glass. The Blue Devils owned the boards, out-rebounding Oklahoma 57-23 by the time the final buzzer sounded.
Williams led the charge on the glass, pulling down 14 rebounds in the first half, single-handedly besting the Sooners, who managed just 11 rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. Nine of the Virginia Beach, Va., native's 20 boards came on the offensive end, earning second-chance opportunities for the Blue Devils.
Williams missed the first two games of Duke's three-game skid with a foot injury, but asserted herself early Wednesday. The senior's aggressiveness on the boards became contagious.
“It was an expression of power. And when you have power, everyone kind of gets excited about that," McCallie said. "Across the board, 57-23 [in] rebounds, that’s unheard of. Those are some dominant numbers. We’re proud of that."
The Sooners (5-4) quickly cooled off from behind the arc, missing their next four 3-point attempts and going scoreless for four minutes. The cold spell did not deter Oklahoma from attempting 34 long-range shots during the course of the game.
As Oklahoma struggled to find the bottom of the net, Duke hit four consecutive shots after freshman Sierra Calhoun rattled in a 3-pointer with 9:23 before halftime. By the 4:30 mark, Duke had opened up a 10-point lead. Before entering the locker room, the Sooners regained some momentum when guard Sharane Campbell drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to knock Duke’s lead down to 42-34.
Williams got plenty of help from her teammates, as four other Blue Devils joined her in double-figures to help Duke score a season-high 92 points. Freshman Azura Stevens led the Blue Devils on the offensive end in the first half, scoring 14 of her 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Redshirt freshman Rebecca Greenwell added 11 points and 10 rebounds, collecting her fourth double-double of the young season.
“I think just coming out aggressive from the start was really the key," Stevens said. "Sometimes I can just be laid back, but I just came out this time really aggressive and tried to help my team. And what Elizabeth did was something that I could feed off. I love playing with her. It’s awesome having her back.”
Once the second half began, the Blue Devils quickly increased the margin to double digits, though Oklahoma’s success behind the arc continued to keep Duke’s lead within reach.
But by the 14-minute mark, the gap widened to 18 points. Duke maintained a double-figure advantage throughout the rest of the game as Williams continued to snag rebounds and give the Sooners trouble in the post. The Blue Devils’ zone and double-teams made it difficult for the Sooners to find any success below the free-throw line.
One of the important pieces for Duke down low was freshman Lynee Belton, who scored a career-high 10 points in 12 minutes but was forced to leave the game late in the second half with an injury and did not return.
Williams' final stat line joins her with Chris Moreland and Barbara Krause as the only players in Blue Devil history to post 20-point, 20-rebound performances.
After three consecutive tough losses, the Blue Devils are back on track, looking to capitalize on the positives from Wednesday's win as they move forward.
"Can we play better? Yes, we can play a whole lot better," McCallie said. "But we got better tonight. So by getting better tonight, that really helps us and we’re looking forward to trying to do that again Friday.”
Duke continues a touch stretch in its schedule Friday against UMass-Lowell before it takes on No. 8 Kentucky Sunday and No. 2 Connecticut Dec. 29.
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