Stellar Second Quarter Sends Duke Past Boston College, 86-59

Thursday, January 2

Chestnut Hill, Mass.

7 p.m.

Duke University

11-3,2-0ACC

Boston College

10-6,1-2ACC

Duke

Boston College

Photo by: Nick Grace

Stellar Second Quarter Sends Duke Past Boston College, 86-59

1/2/2025 9:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Coach Lawson & Ashlon Jackson Presser Highlights

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The Duke trio of Ashlon Jackson, Taina Mair and Reigan Richardson combined for 42 points to lead the 14th-ranked Blue Devils to an 86-59 victory at Boston College in ACC women's basketball action Thursday night.

Jackson, Mair and Richardson each had 14 points apiece to pace the Duke (11-3, 2-0 ACC) offense that shot 52% for the game. Mair added four assists and three steals while Jackson dropped three dimes and picked up three steals.

Oluchi Okananwa and Toby Fournier rounded out Duke's double-digit scorers with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Jadyn Donovan led the charge on the glass with 10 rebounds while Delaney Thomas nabbed seven.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Blue Devils got off to a rapid start, hitting six of their first nine shots to jump out to an early 12-4 lead at the first quarter media timeout.
Boston College managed to find its footing during the period and battled back to within a pair, 17-15, with less than two minutes to play. Jackson and Fournier combined for the last six Blue Devil points as Duke held a 23-17 lead after one.
The second quarter was 10 minutes of Duke dominance as the Blue Devils outscored the Eagles, 19-2, en route to extending their lead to a 42-19 lead at the break. Duke shot 54.5% in the opening half with balanced scoring being the story.
Mair finished the first 20 minutes with nine points, four assists and three steals. The Blue Devils held Boston College without a point for 9:02 – a span lasting from 28 seconds left in the first quarter until the 1:28 mark of the second period.
Duke kept its foot on the gas in the third quarter, extending the lead to 25, 48-23, early in the stanza. Boston College used a quick 5-0 spurt late in the third, cutting Duke's lead to 18. The Blue Devils and Eagles traded baskets in the final two minutes as Duke took a 57-39 lead into the final frame.
The Blue Devils found their shooting touch again in the final 10 minutes, knocking down 59 percent of their shots from the floor, including 75 percent from long range. Jackson and Okananwa contributed eight points apiece in the quarter.

NOTES:

Duke shot 52.4% (33-of-63) from the floor, 50% from distance (7-of-14) and drained 13 shots at the charity stripe. It marks the eighth game this year the Blue Devils have drained their field goals at a 50% clip or higher.
With their 86 points Thursday, the Blue Devils eclipsed the 80-point threshold for the eighth time. Duke has scored 70 or more points in 13 of its 14 contests on the year.
The Blue Devils' 29 points during the fourth quarter tied for fourth most in the program lore.
For the fourth time this season, Duke had five players finish in double figures - Ashlon Jackson (14), Taina Mair (14), Reigan Richardson (14), Oluchi Okananwa (12) and Toby Fournier (11). The Blue Devils have had at least three players reach double digits in all but one game this year.
Forty-eight percent of Duke's field goals came via the extra pass with 16 dimes on 33 buckets.
Defensively, Duke tallied 14 steals, blocked six shots and forced BC into a season-high 29 turnovers, while also holding the Eagles to 59 points and just 34.4% from the field - the latter two checking in 16 points and 10% below its respective season scoring average. The Eagles entered Thursday's contest putting up 75.3 points on 44.1% shooting.
Duke held Boston College to just two points on 10% (1-of-10) shooting in the second quarter. In the Duke record books, the Eagles' 10 points are tied for the fewest in the period by a Duke opponent all-time, while the shooting percentage is tied for eighth lowest. BC's 19 first half points also marked a season low for a Duke foe, usurping the previous mark of 21 by Wofford (12.18).
The Blue Devils won the battle of the superlatives with a sweep of all five categories - points in the paint (36-22), bench production (30-19), second chance scoring (19-13), points off turnovers (22-19) and in transition (17-16).
Junior Taina Mair turned in a solid all-around game with 14 points, including seven in the second frame, four assists, three rebounds and three steals. All three of Mair's takeaways came in the second period - tied for No. 3 all-time on the program single game charts.
Ashlon Jackson found her rhythm from distance Thursday, drilling four trifectas en route to totaling 14 points. The junior rounded out her night with three assists and three thefts.
Senior Reigan Richardson also chipped in 14 points for the Blue Devils on a strong 75% clip (6-of-8). She dished out a pair of assists and finished the contest with the game's highest plus-minus (+29).
Sophomore Oluchi Okananwa put up 12 points against BC, reaching double figures for the third time in four games. She shot 4-of-5 (80%) from the field while snagging five boards and posting a block and steal.
Toby Fournier posted her team-leading 10th game in double figures this season as she rounded out the quintet of double-digit scorers for Duke with 11 points. Fournier completed her statline with three rebounds, an assist and a block.
Sophomores Jadyn Donovan and Delaney Thomas commanded the glass, combining for 17 of the Blue Devils' 37 rebounds. Donovan led the charge with 10 boards - six coming on the offensive end, to register her fourth double-figure rebounding effort of the year; she also tallied six points and three steals. Thomas grabbed seven boards to go with her eight points and two assists.
Classmate Jordan Wood matched her career high with two rejections against Boston College.

UP NEXT:
The Blue Devils continue league play with a Sunday matinee, welcoming Pittsburgh to Cameron Indoor Stadium Jan. 5. Action is slated to tip off at 12 p.m., live on ACC Network.

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