GREENSBORO, N.C. – Duke's ACC Tournament run came to a close Saturday as the second-seeded Blue Devils fell to third-seeded Virginia Tech, 58-37, in the semifinals of the Ally ACC Tournament.
Elizabeth Balogun led the Blue Devils (25-6) with nine points and four steals while
Kennedy Brown chipped in eight points, two rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
Georgia Amoore led Virginia Tech (26-4) with a game-high 24 points and seven assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Shayeann Day-Wilson got the Blue Devils on the board after cashing in a jumper, then Balogun followed with a pair at the line to give Duke an early 4-2 lead.
- Brown netted a long two from the right slot, Vanessa de Jesus converted a strong drive to the rack and Ashlon Jackson added a split trip at the charity stripe to account for the remainder of Duke's first quarter scoring. However, Virginia Tech knocked down 2-of-3 from long range to lead, 13-9, at the end of one.
- The Blue Devils knotted the score at 13-13 early in the second on Balogun's layup in transition and Day-Wilson's pull-up jumper from the right side.
- After Virginia Tech pushed its lead to six, Balogun swished home a trey from the far-right corner and Celeste Taylor sank a midrange jay to pull Duke within a point, 19-18.
- The Hokies closed the half on a 17-0 run to take an 18-point lead into the break.
- Brown scored the first six points of the third quarter via some nice post moves and cut the Duke deficit to a dozen at the 7:07 mark.
- Three more Blue Devils joined in on the third-quarter scoring as Taya Corosdale, Taylor and de Jesus each added a bucket for Duke later in the period.
- In the fourth, Duke got buckets from Balogun and de Jesus and a trio of free throws from Day-Wilson, Jordyn Oliver and Taylor.
GAME NOTES
- Duke's record now stands at 25-6 overall.
- The Blue Devils held a 10-7 margin in bench points and outscored the Hokies 20-12 in the paint.
- Duke also finished the game with the advantage over the Hokies in blocks (3-0) and steals (11-3).
- The Blue Devils forced five shot clock violations during the game, pushing their total to 42 this season.
UP NEXT:
A lock for the 2023 NCAA Tournament, the Blue Devils await their tournament seeding as they set their sights on the NCAA Selection Show scheduled for Sunday, March 12 at 8 p.m., live on ESPN.
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