No. 16 Blue Devils Take Down No. 9 Notre Dame, 57-52

Sunday, February 5

South Bend, Ind.

1 p.m.

Duke University

20-3,10-2ACC

Notre Dame

18-4,9-3ACC

Duke

Notre Dame

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 16 Blue Devils Take Down No. 9 Notre Dame, 57-52

2/5/2023 8:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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DURHAM – The No. 16 Duke women's basketball team grabbed sole control of first place in the ACC and picked up its first road win in the all-time series against Notre Dame Sunday afternoon as the Blue Devils took down the ninth-ranked Fighting Irish, 57-52, in front of a raucous, sold-out Purcell Pavilion crowd.

Senior Celeste Taylor paced the Blue Devils (20-3, 10-2 ACC) in all three major offensive categories, finishing the game with 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Duke also received strong contributions from classmate Elizabeth Balogun (nine points, seven rebounds), Shayeann Day-Wilson (nine points, two rebounds), redshirt junior Jordyn Oliver (eight points, four rebounds) and graduate student Taya Corosdale (eight points, two assists).

Duke won the rebound battle (37-33) against Notre Dame, the ACC's second-best rebounding team, and held the Fighting Irish nine rebounds below their season average of 44.8. The Blue Devils also outscored the home team 26-22 in the paint and held a plus-17 margin (21-4) in bench points.

Notre Dame (18-4, 9-3 ACC) was led by Maddy Westbeld's 15 points and seven rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The first quarter was a tightly contested back-and-forth affair featuring three ties and five lead changes through the opening 10 minutes of action.
Duke and Notre Dame traded buckets to open the game before the Blue Devils took a 10-7 lead following consecutive midrange jumpers from Oliver and Taylor.
Oliver reclaimed the lead for the Blue Devils on a layup to put the visitors ahead by a pair with just under two minutes to go in the period, but the Fighting Irish closed on a 6-0 run and held a 16-12 advantage at the end of one.
Day-Wilson opened the second period with a basket in the paint and a mid-range pull-up to level the score. Shortly after, Corosdale added three points the old-fashioned way to put Duke in front, 19-18, at the 6:51 mark.
Later in the period, Mia Heide converted a pair of buckets inside and Balogun cashed in a pull-up jumper, but it was the home team that held a six-point margin (31-25) at the break.
Duke got off to a fast start in the second half as the Blue Devils scored 10 of the quarter's first 13 points to pull within one, 36-35, at the 6:12 mark of the third. The spurt got going with a driving layup by Taylor, followed by consecutive trifectas from Balogun and Taylor before Day-Wilson capped it with a perfect trip at the charity stripe.
Notre Dame pushed its lead to five at the 4:56 mark, then again with 3:52 remaining on two straight field goals by Westbeld, but like it had all afternoon, Duke had a response.
Taylor drained her second three of the game, Heide added a split trip at the line and then Taylor found Corosdale streaking down the middle of the court for a wide open transition layup to give the Blue Devils its first lead of the game, 43-42. It was Duke's first advantage since the 1:41 mark of first quarter.
Westbeld added another basket to put Notre Dame back in front by one, but this would be the last time the home team would have the lead.
Oliver drained a tough turnaround jay just above the right block and Corosdale cashed in a trifecta from the right corner to put the Blue Devils up four, 48-44 with 47 seconds left in the third.
Offense was at a minimum in the final quarter, but Duke made enough plays down the stretch to pull out the win.
Kennedy Brown joined the scoring party, opening the fourth quarter with a lefty layup after sealing her defender inside the circle.
An Olivia Miles jumper pulled the home team within one, but a Day-Wilson free throw and a Balogun jumper put the Blue Devils ahead 53-49 with 3:57 to go.
Miles hit a pull-up three shortly after to cut the Duke lead to one, but Notre Dame wouldn't get any closer.
Oliver picked up a loose ball in the paint and put the visitors up by three, 55-52, via a finger roll with 2:44 left in regulation.
The Blue Devils followed with three stops down the stretch before icing the win on Balogun's perfect trip at the free throw line.

GAME NOTES

With the win, Duke improves to 20-3 overall, 10-2 in ACC play and 8-2 on the road.
The victory also gives the Blue Devils sole possession of first place in the ACC and puts the squad just one win away from 1,000 program victories.
Duke picks up its second win over a top-10 team this season and improves to 3-3 against the top 25.
The Blue Devils held Notre Dame to just six points in the fourth quarter – the lowest scoring output in any quarter by the Fighting Irish this season.
Duke held Notre Dame to 52 points, which checks in at 26.1 below its season average (78.1) as well as the second-lowest scoring total in a game this season.
Duke picks up its first road win in the all-time series against Notre Dame and have now won the last three matchups against the Fighting Irish.
Celeste Taylor reached double figures for the 16th time this season as she finished the game with 14 points – 10 of which came in the third quarter, to go along with 8 rebounds and five assists.
It marks Taylor's third game this season with at least 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Elizabeth Balogun (7), Kennedy Brown (7) and Taylor (8) combined for 22 of Duke's 37 team rebounds.
Taya Corosdale and Jordyn Oliver combined for 16 of Duke's 21 points off the bench.
Duke won the battle on the boards, finishing the game with a plus-four margin on the glass, 37-33, over the Fighting Irish.
The Blue Devils outscored Notre Dame 26-22 in the paint and were plus-17 (21-4) off the bench.

UP NEXT:
Duke caps its two-game road swing on Feb. 9 as the Blue Devils make the trek to Boston for a matchup with Boston College at 7 p.m., on ACCNX.

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

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