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7 p.m.
Women's Basketball
vs Countdown to Craziness
Sunday, February 19
Charlottesville, Va.
2 p.m.
Duke University
at
Virginia
Photo by: Duke Athletics
No. 9 Blue Devils Travel to Virginia for Sunday Matchup
2/18/2023 12:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball
THE OPENING TIP
SHARING THE WEALTH
DISRUPTING THE PEACE – ELITE BLUE DEVIL DEFENSE
UPTICK IN EFFICIENCY
DUKE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
IN ELITE COMPANY
LAST TIME OUT
A QUICK LOOK AT THE CAVALIERS
UP NEXT
Duke closes out the regular season with a pair of home games, beginning with a midweek tilt on Thursday, Feb. 23 as the Blue Devils host NC State at 8 p.m., live on ACC Network.
To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."
#GoDuke
- No. 9 Duke looks to bounce back from Thursday's setback as the Blue Devils close their two-game road swing with a return trip to Virginia, this time heading to Charlottesville for a date with Virginia on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 2 p.m., live on ACCNX.
- Zealand Shannon and Lauren Moses will call the action for ACCNX while Chris Edwards calls the game on the radio on the Blue Devil Sports Network from Learfield.
- Duke head coach Kara Lawson was named to the 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Women's Coach of the Year Late Season Watch List.
- Duke is the only Division I school to have both men's and women's basketball teams undefeated at home, combining for a 25-0 record at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
- Boasting a 22-4 overall record and a 12-3 record in ACC play, the Blue Devils are having their best season dating back to the 2016-17 campaign.
- Duke is slotted No. 9 in the Week 15 Associated Press (AP) and No. 11 in the USA Today Coaches Polls.
- 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 20.3 points and held each of its opponents below their season scoring average, including 14 of them to 50 points or less.
- Duke has held its foes to 50.7 points per game on 34.5 percent shooting from the floor, marks that currently rank third and ninth in the NCAA, respectively, as well as first in the ACC (as of Feb. 18).
- In the latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, Duke is slotted ninth (as of Feb. 18).
- Elizabeth Balogun was 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.
- The Blue Devils have received a huge lift from their reserves, averaging 24.0 points off the bench.
- Sunday's game marks the second matchup of the season and the 77th all-time meeting against the Cavaliers.
- Duke took the first game, 70-56, back on Dec. 21 to improve to 41-35 all-time against Virginia.
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 has provided a steady hand for the Blue Devils this season, combining for 67.2 percent (44.0 points) of the team's 65.5 points per game.
- Taylor has reached double digits in 18 of the 26 games this season followed by Day-Wilson with 12 and Balogun with 11. Richardson has tallied nine double-digit scoring efforts, followed by Brown with seven.
- Taylor leads the offensive charge for Duke, averaging 11.8 points per game with Balogun (9.6) and Day-Wilson (8.9) right behind in second and third. Richardson and Brown round out the group with 6.9 and 6.8 points a contest, respectively.
- Duke's depth has been on full display as the Blue Devils have featured seven different leading scorers through 26 games this season, with Taylor (9), Day-Wilson (6), Balogun (5), Richardson (3) and Vanessa de Jesus (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 logging 20-plus minutes a contest -- Taylor (28.3), Day-Wilson (24.0), Brown (23.5) and Balogun (22.5).
- Duke has assisted on 370 of its 640 made field goals (.578) for an average of 14.2 dimes per game.
- As a team, the Blue Devils rank first in the ACC in turnover margin (+3.77) and fourth in both scoring margin (+14.81) and three-point field goal percentage (.325).
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 34.5-percent clip from the field.
- Those marks check in at third and ninth in the NCAA, respectively, as well as first in the ACC (as of Feb. 18).
- Duke is also fourth in Defensive Rating, allowing its opponents just 0.662 points per possession.
- The Blue Devils have won each of their games by an average of 20.3 points and held each of their opponents below their season scoring average, including 14 of them to 50 points or less.
- Duke held its opponents to single digits in seven straight quarters, a stretch spanning from the 4th quarter at Notre Dame (Feb. 5) all the way through the first half against Miami (Feb. 12).
- In addition to leading the league in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense, the Blue Devils are also second in the ACC in blocks (5.23) and rebounding defense (31.69), third in defensive rebounding percentage (.738) as well as fourth in rebound margin (+6.38) and three-point defense (.277).
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 12.3 points on 39.6 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from distance since the start of ACC play.
- She has scored double figures in 11 of 15 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 to conference action, improving her scoring average as well as 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 10.5 points on 42.2 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from deep.
DUKE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
- Duke checks in at No. 9 in the Week 15 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. 18), second in the ACC, with an undefeated record at home (12-0), a 9-3 mark in true road contests and a 1-1 record in neutral site games.
- With an average opponent NET ranking of five, the Blue Devils are 6-4 this season against teams ranked in the top 50 of the NET Rankings and 15-4 against the top 100, including wins over Notre Dame (No. 8), Virginia Tech (No. 12), NC State (No. 17), Louisville (No. 30), Miami (No. 46), FGCU (No. 47), Virginia (No. 51) and Oregon State (No. 53). Duke's three losses have come against UConn, Florida State, North Carolina and Virginia Tech - the first three checking in at No. 2, No. 19 and No. 24, respectively, in the NET.
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
- Celeste Taylor scored 12 points to lead a balanced scoring effort, but the No. 9 Duke women's basketball team dropped a 61-45 decision at No. 11 Virginia Tech Thursday night at Cassell Coliseum.
- The Blue Devils also received solid contributions from Vanessa de Jesus, Ashlon Jackson and Jordyn Oliver, who combined for all 23 points off the bench.
- de Jesus and Jackson tallied eight points apiece, with de Jesus adding three rebounds and three steals to her statline, while Oliver added seven points.
- Check out the full recap here.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE CAVALIERS
- Virginia enters Sunday's matchup at 15-11 overall and 4-11 in ACC play.
- The Cavaliers last played on Feb. 12, posting a 71-59 win over No. 22 NC State to snap a seven-game skid.
- Camryn Taylor leads the team in scoring with a 13.7 per game average, followed by Mir McClean (12.2) and Sam Brunelle (11.0).
- McClean sports a team-leading 9.6 rebounds per game while Taylor Valladay is dishing out 3.7 dimes per to pace the squad in the assist column.
UP NEXT
Duke closes out the regular season with a pair of home games, beginning with a midweek tilt on Thursday, Feb. 23 as the Blue Devils host NC State at 8 p.m., live on ACC Network.
To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."
#GoDuke
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