No. 21 Blue Devils Prevail in Defensive Contest

Tuesday, January 18

Coral Gables, FL

2 P.M.

Duke University

12-4,3-3ACC

Miami

9-6,2-3ACC

Duke

Miami (FL)

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 21 Blue Devils Prevail in Defensive Contest

1/18/2022 4:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score GALLERY POSTGAME NOTES BOXSCORE (PDF)LAWSON INTERVIEW GOODCHILD/DAY-WILSON INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS

MIAMI, Fla. – The No. 21 Duke women's basketball team picked up a hard-fought road win Tuesday afternoon as the Blue Devils defeated Miami 58-49 at the Watsco Center.

Senior Miela Goodchild poured in 17 points and grabbed seven boards to lead the Blue Devil (12-4, 3-3 ACC) charge, with both totals serving as team highs. Rookie Shayeann Day-Wilson also finished in double-figures with 11 points and a career-high seven assists.

Duke's defense blocked five shots, forced 13 turnovers and held Miami to 31 percent shooting for the game, including a 25.0 percent in the second half.

The Blue Devils held a 16-13 lead after the opening 10 minutes of play. Goodchild got off to a quick start with eight points, while Williams scored Duke's final four points of the quarter. Duke led by as many as six in the period and held Miami without a field goal for a stretch lasting over four minutes.

Sophomore Vanessa de Jesus tallied the first four points of the second, senior Elizabeth Balogun converted a short jumper and graduate student Amaya Finklea-Guity finished inside on de Jesus' feed, after slipping the pick-and-roll. Balogun scored her 1,000th career point on her basket, while the 6-0 run extended the Blue Devils' lead to 24-17 and forced the Hurricanes to call timeout. Miami clawed back to level the score at 26-26, but Day-Wilson's triple with 46 seconds remaining gave the visitors a three-point lead at the break.

Goodchild paced the Duke offense in the first half with 10 points and four rebounds. Goodchild four boards tied Lexi Gordon for the team high through the first 20 minutes of play, while Day-Wilson dished out a team-leading four dimes. The Blue Devils shot 43.3 percent from the field and totaled 10 assists on 13 made field goals.

Day-Wilson heated up in the third scoring six of the team's first 10 points. Duke led 39-34 with 5:26 remaining, however, after a split trip from Miami's Lashae Dwyer, both squads struggled to pop the lid off the basket until a Hurricanes' basket at the 1:45 mark cut the Duke lead to two. Gordon gave the Blue Devils a bit of breathing room and a 42-37 lead heading into the fourth after cashing in from distance just before the buzzer.

Miami took a 45-44 lead midway through the fourth, then Duke responded with a 6-0 run out of the media timeout to reclaim a six-point advantage and force the Hurricanes to call a timeout. From there, Duke's defense tightened up and held the Hurricanes without a field goal for the remainder of the contest. Miami pulled within three on a pair of free throws, but that would be as close as they would get. Goodchild delivered the knockout punch with a dagger three to give the Blue Devils a 53-47 lead with 2:49 to go. Finklea-Guity, Gordon and Goodchild combined to go 5-of-6 from the charity stripe down the stretch to ice the game and secure the nine-point win.

Game Notes:

Elizabeth Balogun eclipsed the 1,000 point mark with her jumper at the 5:27 mark of the second period.
Shayeann Day-Wilson dished out a career-high seven assists.
Duke's defense held Miami to 31 percent from the floor overall, including 25 percent (8-of-32) in the second half.
Celeste Taylor missed her third straight contest with an injury, after getting hurt at Syracuse on Jan. 9.