Blue Devils Race Past No. 23 Florida State, 88-46

Thursday, January 25

Durham, N.C.

6 p.m.

Duke University

13-6,5-3ACC

Florida State

14-7,5-4ACC

Florida St.

Duke

Blue Devils Race Past No. 23 Florida State, 88-46

1/25/2024 8:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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DURHAM – Five Duke players finished in double figures and the Blue Devils defense stifled the Florida State offense, racing to an 88-46 victory over the 23rd-ranked Seminoles Thursday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Duke (13-6, 5-3 ACC) held the Seminoles (14-7, 5-4 ACC) to both their lowest shooting (17-of-76, 22 percent) and scoring output (46) of the season en route to the 42-point victory.

Taina Mair had a fantastic all-around performance, leading all scorers with 18 points and pulling down seven boards and dishing five assists. Rookie Jadyn Donovan had nine points, nine rebound and six assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Duke held a 16-9 lead after the opening 10 minutes of play. The Blue Devils capped the first quarter with some fireworks as Ashlon Jackson banked in a buzzer-beating triple from three-quarter court.
The Blue Devils used a 9-0 run midway through the opening stanza to turn a 5-4 deficit into a 13-5 lead while simultaneously holding Florida State without a field goal for a four-minute stretch.
The second period saw Duke outscore the Seminoles 24-13, with the Blue Devils pushing their lead to a dozen early in the frame on a Taina Mair three-pointer. Reigan Richardson netted a midrange jumper while Jadyn Donovan and Jackson converted inside to give Duke the 11-point edge.
After the Seminoles pulled within six, 25-19, at the 5:42 mark on an Alexis Tucker three, Duke responded with 11 consecutive points to push its advantage back to double digits and take a 36-19 with 1:29 to play in the half.
At the break, the Blue Devils ledger stood at 18, 40-22. Jackson and Mair led the way with 10 points apiece while Donovan added eight. Oluchi Okananwa led the efforts on the glass with nine boards through the first 20 minutes.
The Blue Devils put up another 20-plus point quarter in the third quarter, netting 24 points compared to the opposition's 18.
Back-to-back makes from distance by Jackson and Brown pushed the Duke lead to 25, 53-28, and forced the visitors to burn another timeout.
Florida State closed the quarter strong with six of the last eight points, but it was the Blue Devils who held a 24-point advantage at the end of three.
Duke continued to fire on all cylinders on both ends of the court, outscoring Florida State, 24-6, in the fourth quarter. The Seminoles shot just 16.7 percent in the period and were 0-of-7 from long range.
The Blue Devils turned their defense into offense all night, scoring 21 fast-break points and getting 14 points off turnovers. Duke dominated the glass as well, outrebounding the Seminoles 58-35.

GAME NOTES:

With the win – Duke improves to 13-6 overall and 5-3 in ACC play. Coach Lawson now owns at least one win against each of the other 14 ACC schools.
In the all-time series against Florida State, the Blue Devils' see their series lead increase to 39-15 overall and are now 18-5 against the Seminoles in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils finished the game with three starters and five total players in double figures – Kennedy Brown (11), Camilla Emsbo (11), Ashlon Jackson (13), Taina Mair (18), Delaney Thomas (11).
Duke had four players grab at least five rebounds – Jadyn Donovan (9), Mair (7), Oluchi Okananwa (13), Reigan Richardson (5).
Duke earns its second victory against a ranked opponent this season and now stands at 2-4 against teams in the Top 25.
The 42-point dub was also the largest margin of victory for Duke over a top-25 opponent since the 2000-01 campaign when the Blue Devils declawed No. 15/16 Clemson, 92-42 (1.28.01).
For the game, Duke shot 53 percent (35-of-66) from the field and 40 percent (8-of-20) from distance. The Blue Devils shot at a 76.9-percent clip in the fourth quarter – the highest of the year, besting the 64.3-percent shot in the final frame against NC Central (11.26.23).
The Blue Devils held Florida State to both its lowest shooting (17-of-76, 22.4 percent) and scoring (46 points) outputs of the season thus far.
The field goal percentage is the lowest against the Blue Devils so far on the season while the 44 points checks in as the third-fewest points scored by a Duke foe this year.
Thursday's game marks the third consecutive home game that Duke has held its opponent to 46 points.
Duke finished the game plus-23 on the glass (58-35) and dropped 22 dimes on 35 buckets for a 63-percent assist rate.
In the specialty stats battle the Blue Devils swept all five categories – points in the paint (44-18), bench scoring (31-12), fastbreak points (21-7), points off turnovers (14-7) and second chance opportunities (12-7).

UP NEXT
Duke hits the road for its next two ACC games, starting with a trip to Coral Gables for a Sunday afternoon tilt at Miami on Jan. 28 at 2 p.m., live on ACC Network.

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