Duke Falls to No. 5 NC State Late, 77-62

Sunday, February 13

Durham, N.C.

2 P.M.

Duke University

15-9,6-8ACC

NC State

23-3,14-1ACC

NC State

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Falls to No. 5 NC State Late, 77-62

2/13/2022 5:08:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)POSTGAME NOTES LAWSON QUOTES GORDON/AKINBODE-JAMES QUOTES LAWSON INTERVIEW PLAYERS INTERVIEW GALLERY

DURHAM – The Duke women's basketball team gave No. 5 NC State everything it could handle, but the Blue Devils ultimately dropped a 77-62 decision as the Wolfpack pulled away late Sunday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Graduate student Lexi Gordon and freshman Shayeann Day-Wilson finished the game in double figures for Duke as the pair scored 13 and 12 points apiece, respectively. Day-Wilson also led the Blue Devils with three assists while graduate student Jade Williams pulled down eight rebounds.

The highly-competitive first quarter featured three lead changes and four separate runs as neither team was able to gain much separation. After NC State scored the first six points of the game, Gordon and junior Celeste Taylor combined for a 13-4 run to give Duke a 13-10 lead. Taylor got the Blue Devils on the board with a finish inside, Gordon followed with a perfect trip at the charity stripe, then capped off the spurt with three consecutive triples from straightaway. The Wolfpack tallied the next nine to reclaim a 19-13 advantage but once again Duke had an answer, closing the quarter scoring eight of the last 12 – including a three-point play by Day-Wilson – to pull within a pair heading into the second.

Duke (15-9, 6-8 ACC) carried its momentum into the second quarter and registered another 8-0 burst early in the period for a 29-25 apex, forcing the Wolfpack to burn a timeout. On the back half of the run, Day-Wilson delivered a pretty pass to Williams for the finish inside and Taylor got her defender in the air before driving baseline and finishing with a finger roll. The Blue Devils led by as many as six in the quarter and held a 33-29 lead at the break.

Gordon (8), Day-Wilson (7) and Taylor (7) paced the Duke offense through the opening 20 minutes as the trio scored 22 of the 33 Blue Devil points. Williams snagged six boards to lead the efforts on the glass and Day-Wilson dished out two assists.

Gordon reached double-digits after cashing in her third three of the game at the start of the third to push Duke's lead to five. However, NC State went on a 13-0 run and surged ahead 44-36. A split trip at the line by Vanessa de Jesus and buckets from Gordon and senior Onome Akinbode-James sliced the deficit to three but the visitors were able to take a five-point lead heading into the final period.

Senior Elizabeth Balogun came on late for Duke and had a hand in six of the first eight points of the fourth – scoring four before finding a cutting de Jesus inside for the layup. Akinbode-James made a nice move in the paint and scored after a shot fake and step-through to pull Duke within one. Shortly thereafter Williams and Day-Wilson got three the old-fashioned way to cut the visitors lead to 60-57.

NC State (23-3, 14-1 ACC) would grab control of the game late with a 12-0 run over the next 2:45 before going on to win 77-62.

Jakia Brown-Turner led the Wolfpack with 19 points.

Game Notes:

Two Blue Devils finished the game in double figures – Gordon (13), Day-Wilson (12).
The 21 points were the most scored by Duke in the first quarter of an ACC game this season.
Duke held NC State to six points in the second quarter, which ties a season-low for the Wolfpack.
The Blue Devils (10) finished the game with less turnovers than NC State (11).

Up Next:
Duke hits the road for the first of two straight contests away from home. The Blue Devils travel to Charlottesville, Va., Feb. 17 for a 7 p.m., contest on ACC Network Extra.

#GoDuke