Just in time for March.
Driven by double-digit scoring efforts from junior guard Reigan Richardson and senior center Kennedy Brown, Duke was able to hold off Virginia 73-54 to secure its final home-court victory of the regular season Thursday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“I think people have fallen in love with this team. If you started with us from the beginning and you've just watched us grow: tough losses, big wins, home wins, road wins, close calls; this season's had everything” said head coach Kara Lawson. “This group's taken us on a journey. I'm fortunate enough to be along for the ride. And it's not done yet.”
Although Duke (19-9, 11-6 in the ACC) faced off against the Cavaliers following two victories against ranked teams, the Blue Devils were outscored in the second half of both matchups. The Blue Devils have shown that they’re a first-half team as of late, so any first-half lead is put at risk.
While Duke entered the third quarter prepared to defend its leading margin, Virginia (14-14, 6-11) was prepared to take it. In an attempt to not start their second half as slow as their first, the Cavaliers displayed enhanced focus and aggression on the defensive end. But Virginia’s defense only led to fouls and more offensive opportunities for the hosts, who pounced on the opportunity.
“Virginia has been playing really well. And I was worried about this game and our ability to control them on the glass and control them from beyond the arc,” Lawson said. “[The Cavaliers] have a number of really good 3-point shooters, and I thought we just stayed pretty locked in most of the game defensively.”
Even with reduced shooting rates, Duke fought through a sloppy third quarter and was able to ever-so-slightly increase its lead. Only scoring 13 points in the third frame on 5-for-14 shooting, the Blue Devils ended the last quarter up 53-38.
At that point, it seemed that there wasn’t much the Cavaliers could do to work themselves out of the hole they were in. But just last game, Virginia put up an astounding 26-point fourth-quarter performance in Louisville, Ky., to knock off the 22nd-ranked Cardinals. The Blue Devils would need discipline and awareness of this fact to avoid suffering the same fate.
Duke performed in the fourth quarter like it wanted it. Richardson was hitting turn-around jumpers and the Blue Devils were earning every rebound they could over their visitors. The Cavaliers called a timeout three minutes into the final frame with progress lost on the lead. Chances of recreating their last game’s historic comeback were slim, if not nonexistent.
The first quarter commenced with Duke’s offense running like a well-oiled machine. Fueled by Richardson’s flawless shooting in the open minutes and an early spurt of relentless defense, the Blue Devils quickly found themselves up 13-2 on their ACC visitors.
“Reigan played well. I thought she came out aggressive, really attacking. And I've said this before–when [Richardson] plays well, offensively, I just think we're a really hard team to beat,” Lawson said.
But Duke’s serotonin levels evened, shots started to drop for Virginia and the heat of battle increased. Despite its hopeful start over the first moments matchup, Lawson’s squad entered the first break only 17-12.
The Blue Devils pulled out the full-court press in the second quarter but couldn’t keep the pace of the first frame. Plagued by careless turnovers, Duke’s offensive momentum slowly started to dwindle. The Cavaliers, however, could gain no sort of offensive traction of their own, allowing the Blue Devils to keep the serviceable lead they gained in the game’s earliest plays.
Through the first half, Brown made the most of her senior night, earning her buckets off pick the roll, assisted by her team’s driving guards. By the half, the center gained 12 points without missing a single shot from the field or the line.
“We run everything through [Brown]. And she is just one of the smartest players I've ever coached or been around. She is an incredible teammate,” Lawson said.
Duke entered the halftime locker room on a high note and with a dose of deja vu as — for the second game in a row — Ashlon Jackson drained a 3-point buzzer-beater to close the first half and extend her team’s lead to 40-27.
The Blue Devils’ 60.7% first-half field-goal rate cleanly outshone Virginia’s 37% clip and the team was up by 13, but this far into the season, Lawson’s ever-learning group knew better than to take its foot off the accelerator. Just three games ago, Duke’s halftime lead was stolen from them by No. 17 Notre Dame — the Blue Devils lost the game and its nine-game home win streak in the process.
However, an inspired crowd in tandem with another chapter in Duke’s defensive tutorial shook the Cavaliers past their breaking point.
The Blue Devils will bus over to Chapel Hill Sunday for their final matchup before the ACC tournament against archrival North Carolina.
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