Blue Devils Travel to Blacksburg for Midweek ACC Tilt at No. 12 Virginia Tech

Thursday, February 15

Blacksburg, Va.

8 p.m.

Duke University

Virginia Tech

Taina Mair and the Duke bench celebrate following Mair's dagger three

Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Travel to Blacksburg for Midweek ACC Tilt at No. 12 Virginia Tech

2/14/2024 2:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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THE OPENING TIP

The Blue Devils are on the road for two of their next three, starting with a midweek trip to Blacksburg, Va., for a Thursday night showdown at No. 16 Virginia Tech at 8 p.m. Jenn Hildreth and Kelly Gramlich are set to call the action live on ACC Network.
Duke and Virginia Tech have squared off on the hardwood 37 times with Duke holding a 29-8 advantage in the all-time series. In road contests, the Blue Devils are 12-4 when playing at Cassell Coliseum.
In this season's first meeting between the squads back on Jan. 18, Duke limited Virginia Tech to 33-percent shooting for the game and forced 20 turnovers en route to an exhilarating 63-46 victory over the 14th-ranked Hokies.
The Blue Devils enter Thursday's matchup fresh off a thrilling, 68-60, overtime victory over rival North Carolina. Duke rallied from a 14-point third-quarter deficit and outscored the Tar Heels 34-14 across the final 15 minutes of play to snatch the win.
Freshman Delaney Thomas scored a career-high 19 points on an 80-percent clip (8-of-10) and pulled in seven rebounds to pace the Blue Devils in the dub. Sophomore Taina Mair tallied 13 points, four rebounds and three assists in her 30 minutes of action while classmate Ashlon Jackson rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Duke is set to embark on another daunting stretch of games to close out the regular season slate with four of its final six games against Top-25 teams -- Virginia Tech (#12), Notre Dame (#16), Syracuse (#19) and NC State (#6).
The Blue Devils rank second nationally in blocks per game with an average of 6.4 rejections -- first in the ACC (NCAA rankings as of Feb. 12). Graduate student Camilla Emsbo, senior Kennedy Brown and rookie Jadyn Donovan have all posted 30-plus blocks each, leading the way with 36, 31 and 30 rejections, respectively.
In addition to leading the league in blocks, the Blue Devils also rank among the top five in the ACC in nine additional categories.
On the defensive end, Duke sits atop the ACC in defensive points per possession (0.723), rebounding defense (31.2), scoring defense (57.5) and field goal percentage defense (.356).
The squad also ranks second in rebounding margin -- a +5.9 advantage, third in defensive rebounding percentage (.718) and fifth in scoring margin (+9.5).
Offensively, the Blue Devils rank second in field goal percentage (.455) and fifth in assists (14.75).
Duke has taken on one of the nation's toughest schedules this season as the Blue Devils' SOS check in at No. 15 nationally (NCAA rankings as of Feb. 12). The Blue Devils are also in the top 25 of the NCAA NET, ranking No. 21 on the list.
Three Blue Devils average double figures in scoring -- Reigan Richardson (11.2), Taina Mair (10.8), Oluchi Okananwa (10.8).
The Blue Devils have assists on more than 50 percent of their field goals (.554) with 343 dimes on 619 made buckets. Mair leads the team with 3.5 dimes per contest.
22 of Duke's 23 opponents have been held below their respective season scoring averages. North Carolina's 60 points was 9.8 points fewer than its average of 69.8.
As a team, Virginia Tech ranks among the top-10 nationally in threes (6th) and blocks per game (8th).
Georgia Amoore checks in at No. 2 in the NCAA in assists per game and total assists. Elizabeth Kitley is second nationally in total field goals and third in double doubles while also ranking in the top 10 in defensive rebounds per game (6th), total rebounds (6th), rebounds per game (7th), total points (8th), points per game (9th).

BLOCK PARTY – EVERYONE'S INVITED

The Blue Devils' length has proven to be a factor on the defensive end this season as the squad averages 6.4 blocks per game -- No. 2 in the NCAA and tops in the ACC (NCAA rankings as of Feb. 12).
Duke has registered five or more blocks in 18 games this season, including a pair of ball games with double-digit swats -- Coastal Carolina (12) and NC Central (11) -- as well as six contests with eight or more rejections -- at Stanford, vs. South Carolina, vs. Florida Gulf Coast, vs. Boston College, at Virginia, vs. North Carolina.
Graduate student Camilla Emsbo, senior Kennedy Brown and rookie Jadyn Donovan have posted 30-plus blocks each, leading the way with 36, 31 and 30 rejections, respectively. They are joined in double digits by freshman Delaney Thomas with 12.
In the victory over Florida State (1.25), Brown set the Duke record for most blocks in a first quarter, tallying four of her game-high five rejections during the period.
The Blue Devils' blocks per game average (6.4) is the highest by a Duke squad since the 2006-07 season and would rank fifth all-time in the Duke Team Single Season Records for highest blocked shot average if the 2023-24 slate ended today.

BIG GAME DELANEY

Delaney Thomas has produced some of her best outings this season with the lights at their brightest as the rookie has posted five double-figure scoring performances this season -- four of which have come against marquee opponents (Stanford, South Carolina, Florida State, North Carolina).
The Charles Town, W. Va., product averaged 14.3 points and 4.3 caroms across these four games, lighting it up from the field via a 72.7-percent clip from the floor and 50-percent shooting from deep.
In Sunday's exhilarating comeback overtime dub against North Carolina, Thomas delivered the best offensive performance of her career thus far, netting 19 points at an 80-percent clip from the floor while also corralling seven boards.
The other three contests saw Thomas put up 14 points and three boards at current No. 3 Stanford (11.19), 13 points, three rebounds and three steals vs. No. 1 South Carolina (12.3) and 11 points and four boards vs. then-No. 23 Florida State (1.25).

A BATTLE TESTED BUNCH – STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

Duke has embarked on one of the toughest schedules in the NCAA this season.
Duke's strength of schedule currently ranks among the top 20, checking in at No. 15 nationally (NCAA rankings as of Feb. 12). The Blue Devils are in the top 25 of the NCAA NET, ranking No. 21 on the list.
The Blue Devils' schedule has gotten progressively more challenging each year under Coach Lawson. Duke finished the 2022-23 season having played the 10th toughest schedule in the NCAA.
The Blue Devils have faced six opponents ranked in the AP Top 25 thus far this season (2-4) with the potential to play up to five more.
Four of the teams Duke has played so far this season also boast a top-30 SOS -- Stanford (2nd), North Carolina (5th), Wake Forest (10th) and South Carolina (21st).
Additionally, Duke owns several notable non-conference wins over teams that currently lead or rank among the top three in their respective conferences:
- Nov. 6 – 83-53 vs. Richmond (currently 21-4, Tied for 1st place in A-10 with 11-1 conference record)
- Nov. 14 – 66-62 at Columbia (currently 16-5, 2nd in Ivy League standings at 7-1)
- Dec. 10 – 82-63 vs. Florida Gulf Coast (currently 21-4, 1st place (11-0) in ASUN)
- Dec. 20 – 70-45 vs. Toledo (currently 18-4, Tied for 1st in the MAC via a 10-1 mark)

HITTIN' FROM DISTANCE

Duke has knocked down 138 threes this season – an average of 6.0 per game. The Blue Devils are cashing in their triples at a .338 percent clip and have made at least five threes in 13 games, including 10 contests with seven or more.
Five Blue Devils have cashed in double-digit trifectas -- Ashlon Jackson (33), Taina Mair (29), Oluchi Okananwa (25), Emma Koabel (20), Reigan Richardson (20).
Earlier this season Duke set a single-game record for most threes in a game, knocking down 14 against Coastal Carolina.
Duke shot a season-best 59.1 percent from distance in the victory over Georgia Tech (1.14.24) draining 13 of 22 attempts. It marked the first time since Jan. 15, 2005, against Boston College, Duke knocked down 13 or more triples in an ACC game.
If the 2023-24 campaign ended today, Duke's 6.0 triples per game would rank fourth on the Duke single season charts for average three-pointers made. Duke averaged 7.25 in 2020-21, but only played four games.

UP NEXT
Duke makes a quick return stop home for its annual Pink Game, playing host to #16 Notre Dame on Monday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m., live on ESPN2.

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