Brown, Richardson Key Blue Devils to 60-56 Win at Virginia

Sunday, January 7

Charlottesville, VA

12 p.m.

Duke University

10-5,2-2ACC

Virginia

8-6,0-3ACC

Duke

Virginia

Kennedy Brown goes up for a layup at UVA

Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics

Brown, Richardson Key Blue Devils to 60-56 Win at Virginia

1/7/2024 3:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Junior Reigan Richardson scored a game-high 18 points while senior Kennedy Brown finished just shy of a double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds, as Duke grinded out a 60-56 road win over Virginia in ACC women's basketball action Sunday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena.

The Blue Devils (10-5, 2-2 ACC) held the lead from the opening whistle and held off a fourth-quarter push from Virginia (8-5, 0-3 ACC) for the four-point victory. The Cavaliers pulled within three points early in the final stanza, but five straight points by Duke extended the lead back to eight as the Blue Devils remained steady down the stretch for the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Duke jumped out to an early 11-2 lead, sparked by a 7-0 run over a 57-second stretch. The spurt was capped by Oluchi Okananwa banking in a trifecta from straightaway, forcing the Cavaliers to burn an early timeout.
Virginia countered with a 9-0 run of its own shortly after to pull within one, 13-12, at the 2:26 mark.
Reigan Richardson netted the last four points of the period as the Blue Devils held a 17-12 advantage after one.
The Cavaliers won the second period, 14-13, but Duke maintained its advantage and took a 30-26 lead into the break.
Richardson netted six more points on 75-percent shooting in the second as she finished the opening 20 minutes with a dozen points.
More than half of Duke's first-half point production came via points in the paint, with the Blue Devils scoring 16 points inside.
Duke pushed its advantage to nine early in the third. Freshman Delaney Thomas cashed in a triple from the right benchside corner off Richardson's drive-and-kick, before the junior from Charlotte netted a short jumper to put the Blue Devils ahead, 35-26.
Kennedy Brown (4) and Jackson joined the scoring action while Richardson and Thomas added free throws to round out the Duke scoring in the frame – the Blue Devils ahead, 45-39.
Virginia was plus two in the fourth quarter, outscoring the visitors 17-15 as they looked to mount a comeback. The Cavaliers pulled within three two minutes into the fourth quarter on Jillian Brown's three pointer.
Duke responded as Brown netted a midrange jay, Thomas converted a second chance bucket before Brown grabbed an offensive rebound before dropping a touch pass off to Okananwa for the finish inside and a 54-46 Blue Devil lead with 3:47 to go.
The Blue Devils would make six free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

GAME NOTES

With the win, Duke improves to 10-5 overall and 2-2 in the ACC.
The Blue Devils are now 43-35 all-time against Virginia and have won three consecutive games against the Cavaliers. Under Coach Lawson, Duke is 4-1 against Virginia.
Duke won the battle in the paint (30-20), off the bench (16-15) and second chance points (13-9).
50 percent of the Blue Devils' baskets were assisted as Duke dropped 11 dimes on 22 made field goals.
Defensively, the Blue Devils forced 14 turnovers, blocked nine shots and tallied seven steals.
The Blue Devils have held 14 of their 15 opponents this season below their respective scoring averages. The Cavaliers scored 56 points, 19.6 fewer than their average of 75.6.

UP NEXT
The Blue Devils return to action following the bye week, taking on Georgia Tech on Sunday, Jan. 14 in the first of two straight home games. The action is set to tip off at 2 p.m., live on ACCNX.

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