No. 14 Duke Bests No. 18 Georgia Tech in Defensive Battle

Sunday, January 26

Atlanta, Ga.

2 p.m.

Duke University

17-4,8-1ACC

Georgia Tech

17-4,5-4ACC

Duke

Georgia Tech

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 14 Duke Bests No. 18 Georgia Tech in Defensive Battle

1/26/2025 4:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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ATLANTA, Ga. – Three different Blue Devils scored 12 points and Duke's defense turned in another stellar performance in a 55-50 victory at No. 18 Georgia Tech in ACC women's basketball action Sunday afternoon.

Taina Mair, Oluchi Okananwa and Delaney Thomas each finished the game with 12 points. Mair added five assists to her stat line while Thomas and Okananwa had eight and six rebounds, respectively. Toby Fournier also had eight caroms in the win.

Defensively, Duke (17-4, 8-1 ACC) held Georgia Tech (17-4, 5-4 ACC) to single-digit scoring in both the second and fourth quarters and to 1-of-20 from behind the three-point line.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Georgia Tech held a slim lead, 18-17, after a tightly contested first quarter. The Yellow Jackets led by as many as six in the frame, but it would be the Blue Devils who had the last word.
Duke closed the frame strong, using a Mair triple and a pair of Ashlon Jackson free throws to pull within a point at the end of one.
The Blue Devils carried the momentum into the second quarter, with Okananwa scoring five of the team's first seven points to extend Duke's lead to 25-20 less than three minutes in.
Georgia Tech battled back to level the score at 25 apiece, courtesy of a short jumper from Zoesha Smith. Duke quickly countered with buckets from Jadyn Donovan, Mair and Reigan Richardson at the end of the period, sending the Blue Devils into the halftime break up 31-27.
The Yellow Jackets came out strong in the third quarter, scoring the first six points to go back ahead, 33-31. Thomas responded with a turnaround jumper to tie the game and set up the thrilling back-and-forth quarter.
Thomas added on four more points as Duke went ahead by four, but four unanswered points in the final 52 seconds by Georgia Tech left the game deadlocked, 45-45, after 30 minutes. The quarter featured five ties and two lead changes.
After the seventh tie of the game midway through the fourth quarter, Okananwa scored consecutive buckets to give Duke the 51-47 advantage with 5:40 left to play.
Duke's defense locked down over the next few minutes, holding the Yellow Jackets to just two points in the final 5:40. The Blue Devils held Georgia Tech without a field goal for the final 5:13 en route to the crucial five-point victory.

NOTES:

Duke held its eighth consecutive opponent below 60 points. The Blue Devils have held foes below the 60-point threshold in 13 games this season.
Duke held Georgia Tech to single digits in the second (9) and fourth (5) quarters. The Blue Devils have held their foes to single digits in 21 quarters thus far.
The Blue Devils held Georgia Tech to season lows in points (50), field goals (21), field goal percentage (.333), three pointers (1) and three point percentage (.050).
GT's five fourth-quarter points on 2-of-19 shooting (10.5%) marked season lows by a Duke foe, with both marks also tied for fourth fewest all-time.
Duke shot 38 percent from the field (23-of-61), 100 percent (6-of-6) from the line and knocked down three triples.
The Blue Devils assisted on 77-percent of their field goals with 17 dimes on 22 field goals.
Duke won the superlative battle, finishing with the advantage in three of five categories - bench points (18-8), in transition (8-2) and points off turnovers (10-9).
For the 17th time in 21 games, the Blue Devils had at least three players in double figures. Taina Mair, Oluchi Okananwa and Delaney Thomas each scored 12 points.
Sophomore Delaney Thomas had her hand all over the stat sheet, finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks. She did most of her damage after the half, headlined by a six point, four rebound effort in the third quarter. For Thomas, it marks her ninth game this season in double figures and 12th outing with at least five caroms.
Junior Taina Mair turned in another strong all-around performance with 12 points, five assists, two rebounds, a block and a steal. Mair posted her third consecutive outing in double figures, pushing her overall season total to six games.
Additionally, Mair has been phenomenal with the basketball over her last five games, totalling 25 assists to just two turnovers.
Oluchi Okananwa reached double figures for the 10th time this season and scored six of her 12 points in the fourth quarter to help the Blue Devils secure the five-point victory over GT. The sophomore also tallied six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Freshman Toby Fournier and sophomore Jadyn Donovan also provided strong contributions combining for 10 points and 14 rebounds in the win. Fournier tallied six points and eight rebounds while Donovan posted four points, six rebounds, three assists and a block.

UP NEXT:
The Blue Devils make the short journey to Raleigh for an in-state tilt at No. 20 NC State. The primetime top-20 showdown is slated for a 7 p.m., tip, live on ESPN2.

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