Blue Devils Hold Off Clemson, 64-61

Sunday, February 20

Clemson, SC

2 P.M.

Duke University

16-10,7-9ACC

Clemson

9-18,3-13ACC

Duke

Clemson

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Hold Off Clemson, 64-61

2/20/2022 4:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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CLEMSON, S.C. – The Duke women's basketball team concluded its two-game road swing with a win, as the Blue Devils were able to hold off Clemson, 64-61, Sunday afternoon at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Senior Miela Goodchild netted 13 points and had five rebounds to lead a balanced Duke attack. Junior Celeste Taylor also reached double figures, scoring 10 points while also grabbing six rebounds. Graduate student Jade Williams added nine points to go with a team-high seven boards and sophomore Vanessa de Jesus led the way with eight dimes to go with her seven points.

Graduate student Lexi Gordon and freshman Shayeann Day-Wilson also added nine points apiece.

The Blue Devils (16-10, 7-9 ACC) got off to a much faster start and held an eight-point lead after 10 minutes of play. Duke jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on layups from Taylor and senior Elizabeth Balogun along with a three-point play from Day-Wilson, forcing Clemson to call timeout less than four minutes into the period. Following Goodchild's floater, the Tigers were able to pull within 9-8 before an 8-0 spurt increased the Duke margin to nine. The run was keyed by de Jesus' pullup jumper, then rookie Lee Volker and Taylor drilled back-to-back treys from the left corner to make it 17-9. The Blue Devils capped the quarter with another de Jesus basket as the sophomore converted on a scoop lefty layup just before time expired.

Gordon and Williams joined in on the scoring action as the classmates scored four points apiece in the second. Day-Wilson also cashed in a pair of two-point field goals, opening and closing the period with a mid-range jay. Duke led 31-26 at the break.

Day-Wilson paced eight first half Blue Devil scorers with seven points, while de Jesus had three dimes. Goodchild pulled down four rebounds to lead the efforts on the glass. Through 20 minutes of game action, Duke was shooting at a 50-percent clip from the floor and had outscored the Tigers 20-4 in the paint.

Clemson outscored Duke, 13-7, in the early stages of the third as the Tigers clawed all the way back to go in front 39-38. The Blue Devils quickly reclaimed the lead scoring seven of the next nine points – beginning with senior Onome Akinbode-James tracking down an offensive rebound and finding de Jesus wide open under the rim for the finish. On the ensuing play, de Jesus drove the lane and kicked the rock out to Goodchild who buried the three from the corner. Soon after, good ball movement and nice interior passing led to Volker's basket inside and a 45-41 lead for the visitors, but a pair of free throws trimmed the Blue Devil margin to two heading into the final period.

The sides traded baskets to begin the fourth before the Blue Devils began to create some separation. Duke's defense held the Tigers without a field goal for over three minutes while on the offensive end, Williams scored inside, and Goodchild and Gordon added trifectas to give the visitors a 55-48 advantage.

Clemson wouldn't go away as it sliced the deficit to three, but Williams added another basket in the paint and Goodchild cashed in a trey from the left wing after fading a pin-down screen to push the lead to 62-53.

The Tigers attempted one more rally and pulled within two, 63-61, with 11 seconds remaining. Clemson was able to force a turnover and had a chance to tie or take the lead but gave the ball right back – de Jesus collected the steal before knocking down a free throw to produce the final margin.

Delicia Washington led Clemson (9-18, 3-13 ACC) with 18 points and eight assists.

Game Notes:

Vanessa de Jesus' eight assists tied a career high and were her most in ACC play this season.
The Blue Devils finished the game with two in double figures – Goodchild (13) and Taylor (10).
Duke shot 47 percent from the field and outscored the Tigers off the bench (34-4) and in the paint (36-22).

Up Next:
Duke will return home for its final regular season contest in Cameron Indoor Stadium as the Blue Devils host Boston College at 8 p.m., for senior night. The game will be aired on RSN-TV.

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