Blue Devils, Hurricanes to Square Off in Sunday Matinee

THE OPENING TIP

The Blue Devils are back at Cameron for a Sunday afternoon tilt, playing host to Miami in their Play4Kay game on Feb. 12 at 2 p.m., live on RSN.
Dean Linke and Tabitha Turner will call the action on RSN while Chris Edwards calls the game on the radio on the Blue Devil Sports Network from Learfield.
Boasting a 21-3 overall record and an 11-2 record in ACC play, the Blue Devils are having their best season dating back to the 2013-14 campaign.
In its game against Boston College on Thursday, Duke commanded the game from start to finish en route to a dominant, 68-27, victory - picking up the program's 1,000th victory.
With the win, the Blue Devils became the fourth ACC school and 24th program overall the achieve the feat.
Duke checked in at No. 9 in the Week 14 Associated Press (AP) and No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches Polls.
It marks the Blue Devils' first appearance in the top 10 since 2016-17, when Duke finished the year ranked ninth in the final AP poll of the regular season.
In the latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, Duke is slotted eighth (as of Feb. 10).
Defense has been the calling card for the Blue Devils this season as the team has won each of its games by an average of 20.8 points and held each of its opponents below their season scoring average, including 13 of the 24 to 50 points or less.
Elizabeth Balogun was tabbed as one of 10 players selected to the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Mid-Season Top-10 list while Celeste Taylor was named to the 2023 Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year 2023 Watch List.
Duke has held its foes to 50.7 points per game on 34.4 percent shooting from the floor, marks that currently rank second and eighth in the NCAA, respectively, as well as first in the ACC (as of Feb. 10).
The Blue Devils have received a huge lift from their reserves, averaging 24.5 points off the bench.

SHARING THE WEALTH

Duke's starting five of senior Elizabeth Balogun, junior Kennedy Brown, sophomores Shayeann Day-Wilson and Reigan Richardson and senior Celeste Taylor have provided a steady hand for the Blue Devils this season, combining for 67.3 percent (45.1 points) of the team's 67.0 points per game.
Taylor has reached double digits in 17 of the 24 games this season followed by Day-Wilson with 12 and Balogun with 11. Richardson has tallied eight double-digit scoring efforts, followed by Brown with seven.
Taylor leads the offensive charge for Duke, averaging 11.9 points per game with Balogun (10.0) and Day-Wilson (9.3) right behind in second and third. Brown and Richardson round out the group with 7.0 and 6.9 points a contest, respectively.
Duke's depth has been on full display as the Blue Devils have featured seven different leading scorers through 23 games this season, with Taylor (8), Day-Wilson (6), Balogun (5), Vanessa de Jesus (2) and Richardson (2) finishing with the team-high on multiple occasions.
The squad features 10 players averaging at least 13 minutes per game with four of them averaging 20-plus minutes a contest -- Taylor (28.3), Day-Wilson (24.0), Brown (23.9) and Balogun (22.4).
As a team, the Blue Devils rank second in turnover margin (+3.75), third in scoring margin (+16.29) , fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.326), free throw percentage (.730) and assist/turnover ratio (0.96).
Duke also ranks seventh in the ACC in field goal percentage (.429) and has assisted on 350 of its 604 made field goals (.579) for an average of 14.6 dimes per game -- also No. 7 in the ACC.

DISRUPTING THE PEACE – ELITE BLUE DEVIL DEFENSE

Disruptive defense has been the calling card for the Blue Devils early in the season as the team ranks among the nation's elite, having held its opponents to 50.7 points per game on a 34.4 percent clip from the field.
Those marks check in at second and eighth in the NCAA, respectively, as well as first in the ACC (as of Feb. 10).
Duke is also tied for sixth in Defensive Rating, allowing its opponents just 0.670 points per possession.
The Blue Devils have won each of their games by an average of 20.8 points and held each of their opponents below their season scoring average, including 13 of the 24 to 50 points or less.
In the 41-point win at Boston College on Thursday, the Blue Devils held the Eagles to single digits in each quarter and 27 points for the game – the latter checking in as the second-lowest point total in an ACC game all-time. BC's 27 points were also the fewest points scored by a Duke opponent this year and tied for the fifth-lowest all-time.
In addition to leading the league in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense, the Blue Devils are also second in the ACC in rebounding defense (31.38), three-point defense (.269) and rebound margin (+7.46), third in defensive rebounding percentage (.737)and blocks (5.08) and sixth in steals (9.00).

UPTICK IN EFFICIENCY

Duke's duo of Shayeann Day-Wilson and Celeste Taylor have seen an uptick in their efficiency, particularly on the offensive end.
The team's leading scorer this season, Taylor is averaging 12.5 points on 40 percent from the floor and 34.9 percent from distance since the start of ACC play.
She has scored double figures in 10 of 13 games, including a season-high 23 points to help the Blue Devils knock off then-No. 6 NC State, 72-58.
In non-conference play, Taylor put up 11.2 points on 44.0 percent from the floor and 29.4 percent from three.
Day-Wilson has raised her play since the schedule transitioned over to conference action, improving her scoring average by almost three points while also raising her shooting percentage.
After putting up 8.8 ppg on 38.1 percent and 35.7 percent shooting splits in non-conference play, the sophomore has averaged 11.3 points on 43.4 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from deep.
She has scored double figures in six of her last nine games.

DUKE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS

Duke checks in at No. 9 in the Week 14 Associated Press (AP) and No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches Polls.
It marks the Blue Devils' first appearance in the top 10 since 2016-17, when Duke finished the year ranked ninth in the final AP poll of the regular season.
The Blue Devils are also ranked ninth in the ESPN Women's Basketball Power Rankings.
The latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings has the Blue Devils slotted ninth nationally (as of Feb. 7), second in the ACC, with an undefeated record at home (11-0), an 8-2 mark in true road contests and 1-1 record in neutral site games.
With an average opponent NET ranking of seven, the Blue Devils are 5-3 this season against teams ranked in the top 50 of the NET Rankings and 12-3 against the top 100, including wins over Notre Dame (No. 6), NC State (No. 11), Virginia Tech (No. 21), Louisville (No. 33), FGCU (No. 48), Virginia (No. 52) and Oregon State (No. 56). Duke's three losses have come against UConn, Florida State and North Carolina, who check in at No. 2, No. 13 and No. 22, respectively, in the NET.

BLUE DEVILS PROJECTED AS NO. 2 SEED IN FIRST DI WBB COMMITTEE TOP-16 REVEAL

The No. 9 Duke women's basketball team was projected as a No. 2 seed in the Greenville Regional 1 in the first Division I Women's Basketball Committee Top-16 reveal announced Thursday evening.
Thursday's top-16 reveal was the first of two that will be provided by the committee during the 2022-23 regular season, with the second one slated for Thursday, February 23 during halftime of the South Carolina-Tennessee game on ESPN (7 p.m. ET). The full 68 team field for the NCAA Tournament will be announced by the committee on the NCAA Women's Basketball Selection Show set to air on ESPN Sunday, March 12 at 7 p.m. CT.
Duke submitted its bid to host the 1st and 2nd rounds of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Cameron Indoor Stadium; if ultimately selected as one of the 16 host sites, more information on tickets will be available at www.goduke.com/tickets post-selections.

IN ELITE COMPANY

The Blue Devils are the only women's basketball team so far this season to shoot 100 percent from the charity stripe and 64 percent or higher from beyond the arc in the same game, according to HerHoopStats.
Duke cashed in nine of its 14 three-point attempts and went 15-of-15 from the foul line in the win over the Wolfpack.
After tallying 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals against Syracuse, Celeste Taylor joined Chelsea Gray (3X), Haley Gorecki (4X), and Lexie Brown (4X) as the only Duke women's basketball players since 2009-2010 to post multiple career games of 15+ Points, 5+ Rebounds, 4+ Assists, and 4+ Steals, according to HerHoopStats.

LAST TIME OUT

The No. 9 Duke women's basketball team flexed its muscle Thursday night as the Blue Devils commanded the game from start to finish en route to a dominant, 68-27, victory over Boston College in ACC action at Conte Forum.
Duke finished the game with three in double figures, led by Reigan Richardson's season high 14 points. Celeste Taylor tallied 11 points and four rebounds while Jordyn Oliver matched her season-high with 10 points to go with four boards and dishing out two assists.
Vanessa de Jesus dropped a team-high three dimes while Elizabeth Balogun led the way on the glass with six rebounds.
Check out the full recap here.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE HURRICANES

Miami enters the weekend tilt with a 16-8 overall record that includes a 9-4 mark in conference play.
Haley Cavinder and Destiny Harden lead the team in scoring at 12.8 and 12.2 points per game, respectively. Harden paces the squad on the boards (5.3) while Ja'Leah Williams averages a team-best 2.7 assists per game.

UP NEXT
Duke is back on the road for its next two games, heading to the Old Dominion state for a midweek tilt at #11/9 Virginia Tech on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m., live on ACCNX.

To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."

#GoDuke

Blue Devils, Hurricanes to Square Off in Sunday Matinee

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Players Mentioned

Elizabeth Balogun

Kennedy Brown

Shayeann Day-Wilson

Vanessa de Jesus

Jordyn Oliver

Reigan Richardson

Celeste Taylor

Duke information

Blue Devils, Hurricanes to Square Off in Sunday Matinee

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Elizabeth Balogun

Kennedy Brown

Shayeann Day-Wilson

Vanessa de Jesus

Jordyn Oliver

Reigan Richardson

Celeste Taylor

Related Videos

Duke information