GREENSBORO, N.C.—Duke's offense is ice-cold once again without its primary scorer on the perimeter and its defense has not responded, putting the Blue Devils in a big hole against one of the nation's top teams.
No. 2 Notre Dame leads Duke 39-24 at the half in the ACC tournament quarterfinals at the Greensboro Coliseum, stifling the Blue Devils with a 2-3 zone and daring them to stay in the game from the perimeter.
Redshirt sophomore guard Rebecca Greenwell is out for the second straight game with a back injury, and after Duke shot just 1-of-15 from beyond the arc Thursday in a close win against Virginia, Friday has brought more of the same so far. The Blue Devils are just 3-of-10 from downtown heading into the locker room, with sophomore forward Azurá Stevens connecting on the team's first triple for the second straight contest.
Duke has relied heavily on Stevens and junior forward Oderah Chidom, who combined for the Blue Devils' first 13 points. Stevens shot 4-of-10 during the half, but Duke shot just 31 percent from the field as the Fighting Irish broke the game open in the second quarter.
Holding a slim 14-11 lead after the first stanza, Notre Dame opened the second period on a 14-2 run, sparked by sloppy play from the Blue Devils, who turned the ball over on three straight possessions at one point that led to three straight transition layups.
The Fighting Irish have used a balanced offensive attack with no players in double figures, but experienced guards Michaela Mabrey and Madison Cable have each scored eight points.
Notre Dame opened up a 20-point lead late in the second quarter, but Duke closed the half on a 9-4 run, punctuated by a Stevens triple, to give it some hope heading into the second half.
Both teams started slow offensively, and Duke did not make its first field goal until a put-back by Chidom nearly five minutes into the game. That shot was still enough to give the Blue Devils a 4-3 lead after the Fighting Irish missed layups on their previous two possessions, but the offenses heated up for the rest of the period.
The two teams combined to make five straight shots beginning with Chidom's layup as the lead changed hands seven times in the first quarter.
Notre Dame scored six straight points in the last two minutes of the opening frame to open up a 14-9 lead, but Stevens responded with a layup in the closing seconds after struggling for much of the early going.
Here are some observations from the half:
- Duke opened the half in man-to-man defense after primarily using a 3-2 zone Thursday.
- The Blue Devils' 3-point defense was poor against the Cavaliers, who shot 8-of-19 from long distance, and it has not improved very much so far Friday. The Fighting Irish are 4-of-11 on 3-pointers.
- Notre Dame has not committed a turnover yet and has 13 points off of Duke's nine giveaways.
- The Blue Devils made up for their off shooting night with 24 offensive boards Thursday, but they are outrebounding the Fighting Irish just 21-19 so far, and Notre Dame is outscoring them 9-5 on second chance points.
- Notre Dame has 17 bench points to Duke's zero.
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