Duke Drops Hard-Fought Contest at No. 12 Virginia Tech, 61-56

Thursday, February 15

Blacksburg, Va.

8 p.m.

Duke University

16-8,8-5ACC

Virginia Tech

21-4,12-2ACC

Duke

Virginia Tech

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Drops Hard-Fought Contest at No. 12 Virginia Tech, 61-56

2/15/2024 10:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Coach Lawson Presser Highlights

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Duke sophomore guard Ashlon Jackson scored 18 points, but the Blue Devils came up just short in a tough 61-56 setback at No. 12 Virginia Tech in ACC women's basketball action Thursday night.

Jackson knocked down three trifectas and buried 5-of-6 from the charity stripe, finishing her night with 18 points to lead all Blue Devil scorers against the Hokies. Junior Reigan Richardson and freshman Oluchi Okananwa added 11 points apiece for Duke (16-8, 8-5), which led with just over five minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Virginia Tech improved to 21-4 and 12-2 in ACC play.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The first quarter was tightly contested with Virginia Tech holding a slim, 15-14, lead after one.
Duke cashed in its final three shots of the period including a right-wing triple from Richardson with four seconds left to pull the team within a point.
Jackson and Richardson paced the scoring efforts with five points apiece while Kennedy Brown and Camilla Emsbo added a bucket each.
The second quarter was back-and-forth with four lead changes and one tie across the 10-minute session.
An 8-2 Duke start – five points coming via Jackson – allowed the Blue Devils to surge in front, 22-17, at the 6:08 mark.
Virginia Tech answered with a 6-0 run to regain the lead by one before Duke responded with the next five to take a 27-23 lead with just under two and a half minutes to play in the frame.
The home team closed the half on a 7-0 run to head into the locker room with a 30-27 advantage.
Duke outscored Virginia Tech, 15-12, in the third quarter. After Virginia Tech opened a 35-29 lead on a three pointer, Duke battled back to level the score at 35-all via a quick 6-0 scoring burst.
Another 6-0 run three minutes later – this one capped by an Okananwa fall-away jumper – pushed the Blue Devils ahead, 41-39, with 2:16 to play in the period forcing the Hokies to burn a timeout.
At the end of three, the teams were deadlocked 42-42.
The fourth quarter proved to be another battle with four lead changes and three ties across the period. A late triple by the home team pushed its lead to four with 4:29 to go but the Blue Devils refused to go away.
Delaney Thomas' free throw and buckets from Okananwa and Richardson pulled the Blue Devils within one, 54-53, with 2:28 remaining.
Virginia Tech outscored Duke, 7-2, down the stretch to come away with the victory, including a three-pointer with 20 seconds left to extend the lead to six, 59-53. Brown hit a three-pointer on the next possession to make it a one-possession game again, but a pair of free throws iced the 61-56 victory.

GAME NOTES

The Blue Devils had three players finish in double figures – Ashlon Jackson (18), Oluchi Okananwa (11), Reigan Richardson (11).
Okananwa notched her second-career double-double with 11 points and a team-high 11 boards – six coming on the offensive glass. She also added two assists and two steals to her statline.
For the season, Okananwa has scored in double figures 13 times and grabbed nine or more boards in six games – Thursday's contest marking the third outing with double-digit caroms.
Duke falls to 16-8 overall and 8-5 in ACC action. In the all-time series against Virginia Tech, the margin now stands at 29-9 in favor of Duke.
Duke's defense forced Georgia Amoore into her worst shooting output of the season as the Blue Devils coerced the senior guard into 4-of-21 shooting from the floor (.190).
The Blue Devils won the battle in second chance points (20-19) and outscored Virginia Tech 18-3 off the bench.
Although the teams finished the game with 35 rebounds apiece, the Blue Devils outrebounded the Hokies on the offensive glass, 18-15.
The Blue Devils dished out 15 assists on 19 made field goals for a 78.9-percent assist rate. On the defensive end, Duke collected nine steals and blocked six shots.
Duke held Virginia Tech 16.3 points below its average of 77.3, marking the 23rd of 24 opponents the Blue Devils have held under their respective season scoring average.

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

To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."

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