Blue Devils Knock off 14th-Ranked Florida State, 66-64

Sunday, February 16

Durham, N.C.

1:00 PM

Duke University

15-10,9-5ACC

Florida State

20-5,9-5ACC

Florida St.

Duke

Blue Devils Knock off 14th-Ranked Florida State, 66-64

2/16/2020 3:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Blue Devils Knock off 14th-Ranked Florida State, 66-64

DURHAM, N.C. – Needing a signature win to add to its resume, the Duke women's basketball team registered it Sunday in Cameron Indoor Stadium as the Blue Devils knocked off 14^th-ranked Florida State, 66-64, in a key ACC matchup.

With the victory, Duke improved to 15-10, 9-5 in the ACC, while the Seminoles dropped to 20-5, 9-5 in the league. The win snapped a 13-game losing streak to ranked opponents.

Graduate Haley Gorecki put the Blue Devils ahead late and led all scorers with 21 points, while notching six rebounds and one assist. Senior Leaonna Odom added 18 points and junior Jade Williams finished with 10.

Duke got off to a hot start hitting its first three shots of the game and led 7-2, but the Blue Devils missed seven straight field goals and the Seminoles cut the lead to 9-8. Gorecki, who hails from Palatine, Ill., broke the streak with a corner three-pointer.

Florida State took its first lead of the game with 24 seconds remaining in the first, 15-14, but Lambert drained a contested three-pointer on the next possession to give the Blue Devils a 17-15 advantage after 10 minutes. Kyra Lambert, a native of Cibolo, Texas, finished the quarter hitting two three-pointers and grabbing two rebounds.

Boosted by an 8-0 run in the second period, the Blue Devils grabbed as big as an eight-point lead, 34-26, and would take a 34-28 advantage into the half. Gorecki scored all seven of her second period points from the free throw line and led all scorers with 12 at the half. She hit 9-of-10 free throws in the first.

A product of Lompoc, Calif., Odom scored all eight points in the second as Gorecki and Odom scored 15 of Duke's 17 points.

Duke increased its lead against the nationally-ranked Seminoles to 41-32 in the third as Odom connected on her 12^th point of the contest and forced FSU to call timeout. The Seminoles responded with a 7-2 run of their own and drained a three-pointer at the end of the third to cut the Duke lead to 49-46.

Sophomore Miela Goodchild and Williams each registered field goals to open the fourth and sophomore Onome Akinbode-James added a free throw as the Blue Devils increased the lead to 54-46. With 6:58 remaining, Duke held a 56-47 lead, but the Seminoles once again made a run, 11-0, as FSU drained three three-pointers out of a span of four made field goals to take a 60-58 lead with 2:30 remaining.

Odom connected on back-to-back field goals to put the Blue Devils back ahead, 62-60, including an alley-oop from Williams. FSU evened the score on to free throws from Nicki Ekhomu, but Gorecki responded with a key drive and finish with 13.4 seconds remaining to put Duke ahead, 64-62.

Ekhomu quickly registered a layup to tie the game, 64-64, with 9.8 seconds on the clock. After Duke called timeout to advance the ball, Gorecki was fouled with 3.5 seconds left and hit two free throws to give her a game-high 21 points. She now owns an ACC-best 20 contests with 20 or more points over the last two years.

Florida State advanced the ball and missed a contested three-pointer as time expired to give Duke its signature win it needed.

Williams, who is from The Colony, Texas, collected double-figure scoring for the fourth straight game as she finished with 10. Duke outrebounded the Seminoles, 35-28. The Blue Devils hit 13-of-25 field goals in the second half to get the win. Akinbode-James finished with nine points and seven rebounds in a season-high 35 minutes

Florida State was led by Ekhomu with 19 points and eight assists.

The Blue Devils were without the services of redshirt sophomore Mikayla Boykin with lower body soreness.

Duke will close out its regular season home slate Thursday, Feb. 20 as the Blue Devils host Virginia at 7 p.m., in Cameron Indoor Stadium. It will mark senior night for Kyra Lambert, Gorecki, Emily Schubert and Leaonna Odom.

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