Blue Devils Upended by Colorado in Second Round of NCAA Tournament

Monday, March 20

Durham, N.C.

9:00 p.m.

Duke University

26-7,14-4ACC

Colorado

25-8,12-5Pac-12

OT 1

Colorado

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Upended by Colorado in Second Round of NCAA Tournament

3/21/2023 2:02:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Duke Postgame Presser Duke Quotes (PDF)Colorado Quotes (PDF)Highlights

DURHAM – Duke women's basketball fought tooth-and-nail for 45 minutes against Colorado in the NCAA Tournament Second Round but ultimately fell short in overtime, 61-53, Monday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Senior Elizabeth Balogun led the way for the Blue Devils (26-7) with 14 points, four rebounds and two steals, while sophomore Reigan Richardson finished with 10 points and a career-best eight boards. Senior Celeste Taylor had her fingerprints all over the game finishing with a nonconventional double-double of 10 rebounds and 10 steals – the latter marking a career best and a Duke NCAA Tournament record. Taylor flirted with a quadruple double as she added eight points and eight assists to her statline.

Colorado (25-8) was paced by Quay Miller's 17 point, 14 rebound double-double.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Vanessa de Jesus paced the Duke first-quarter scoring five points off the bench.
Shayeann Day-Wilson, Mia Heide and Richardson each added buckets of their own, however, Colorado held a 21-11 lead at the end of one.
Duke outscored the Buffaloes 15-11 in the second period to pull withing six (32-26) at the break.
Balogun scored five points during the frame and was helped by de Jesus, Heide, Richardson, Taylor, and Jordyn Oliver as well.
The Blue Devils commanded the third quarter, outscoring Colorado, 17-7, in the 10-minute session, including a 12-2 run over the final 4:53 of the period to take a 43-39 lead into the fourth quarter.
Richardson cashed in a pair of triples during the spurt to end the quarter – the first pulling Duke within three (37-34), while the second knotted the game at 39-all. Duke capped the stretch with a fastbreak layup off Taylor's steal and a tough, fall away jumper by Oliver that hit nothing but nylon.
The Buffaloes opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run to retake a 46-43 lead, but Duke issued a response of its own – Balogun netted a straightaway triple to level the score at 46-46, then de Jesus and Taylor each scored in the paint to give Duke a 50-46 advantage at the 1:41 mark.
After Colorado knotted the game at 50, Duke had a chance to win in regulation, but Day-Wilson's three point attempt hit the back rim.
Colorado outscored the Blue Devils 11-3 in overtime to come away with the eight-point victory.

GAME NOTES

Duke concludes the season at 26-7 overall and 14-2 in Cameron Indoor Stadium – both marks are program bests dating back to the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, respectively.
The Blue Devils assisted on 53-percent of their buckets, dropping 10 dimes on 19 made field goals.
Duke collected 17 steals, the second-most in a game this season, and forced 23 Colorado turnovers – scoring 19 points off those miscues.
The Blue Devils outscored Colorado on fastbreak attempts (15-2) and off the bench (17-9).
Duke had two players finish in double figures – Balogun (14) and Richardson (10), while also getting solid contributions from de Jesus (9) and Taylor (8).
Taylor set a Duke NCAA Tournament record with 10 steals and tied her career high of eight assists.
Richardson grabbed a career-best eight rebounds.

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