FINAL: No. 5 Duke 66, Boston College 53
With staunch defense and excellent post play the Blue Devils have picked up their second win of the weekend to improve to 9-1 in ACC play. Krystal Thomas led Duke in scoring with 16 points, and Christmas, Vernerey and Gray also made significant contributions on both sides of the court. That wraps up our coverage here today. Check out dukechronicle.com tomorrow for more extensive coverage of Duke's win.
3:51 2nd Half: No. 5 Duke 62, Boston C0llege 50
Duke has built a comfortable lead with absolutely smothering defense. Boston College is having a hard time moving the ball, and Krystal Thomas and Kathleen Scheer have come up with big blocks in this final stretch. If the Blue Devils protect the basketball and continue to defend with intensity, they should emerge with the win.
8:23 2nd Half: No. 5 Duke 54, Boston College 43
The Eagles are hanging around, due much in part to Thoman's steady barrage of three-pointers. But Duke is slowly taking controlling of this game, absolutely dominating the Eagles in transition and in the paint. The Blue Devils are doing an excellent job hustling down the floor and pushing the ball down low before Boston College has set up its defense. Thomas and Christmas continue to put points on the scoreboard, scoring 12 and 14, respectively. Gray has also created several big plays en route to scoring 9 points.
12:22 2nd Half: No. 5 Duke 43, Boston College 38
Duke regained the lead with some serious hustle, and the crowd is loving every second of it. Vernerey has been all over the floor fighting for rebounds and hitting tough lay-ups from the post. Shay Selby hit a contested shot on a break away that brought the crowd to its feet.
15:48 2nd Half: No. 5 Duke 37, Boston College 33
Both teams came out of the locker room playing extremely aggressive defense and running up-tempo offenses. Jasmine Thomas has been sticking close to Boston College's Thoman, but she still managed to drop another trey. Vernerey scored on a breakaway off of a beautiful pass from Chelsea Gray, and Christmas continues to put points on the board after being fouled on a break away.
Halftime: No. 5 Duke 29, Boston College 28
The Blue Devils cling to a one point lead as they head into the locker room. The Eagles are big and athletic down low, and Murphy and Swords have lived up to the hype by combining for 12 points so far. This statistic isn't too dominant, however Duke's focus on controlling the paint has opened the door for Boston College's guards to take advantage of open looks from outside. The Blue Devils have only hit two treys, both by Gray, while the Eagles have knocked down four. In the second half, the Blue Devils must reestablish their perimeter defense.
Duke seniors Christmas and Krystal Thomas are leading the scoring with eight points each. Christmas has added four offensive rebounds and Thomas has been cleaning up the glass on the defensive end, picking up three boards.
3:57 1st Half: No. 5 Duke 25, Boston College 23
The Eagles have closed the gap behind Thoman's 8 points. Boston College has more size down low and they are using it to chip away at Duke's otherwise smothering defense.
7:31 1st Half: No. 5 Duke 25, Boston College 19
The Blue Devils are starting to build a lead behind excellent play from seniors Christmas and Krystal Thomas. Thomas scored four straight points with a nice spin move from the post followed by a long two from the top of the key. Christmas added four more with a drive to the basket and then a quick jumper. Just before the timeout, Gray hit a lay-up and drew a foul.
11:39 1st Half: No. 5 Duke 15, Boston College 13
Even though Boston College's Thoman came up big with back to back threes, the Blue Devils managed to stay on top behind another trey from Gray, as well as lay-ups from Thomas and Christmas.
14:54 1st Half: No. 5 Duke 8, Boston College 7
This game has been extremely fast paced so far with both teams running the floor and taking shots at the first open opportunities. Both Murphy and Swords have hit easy buckets, and the Eagles received a big trey from Doherty. Meanwhile the Blue Devils were down until Gray hit a three from the top of the key.
Pregame:
Hello everybody and welcome to today's ACC contest between No. 5 Duke and Boston College. After demolishing a weak Wake Forest squad Friday night, the Blue Devils will face a more challenging opponent in the Eagles. Boston College is one of the top offensive teams in the nation averaging 80.8 points per game. Its scoring attack is led by senior center Carolyn Swords averaging 17.5 points per game, and she is accompanied by senior forward Stefanie Murphy who is averaging 16 points per game. The Blue Devils will look to Krystal Thomas, Allison Vernerey and Haley Peters to shut down the Eagles down low. On offense, Duke senior Jasmine Thomas has been consistent for the Blue Devils all season, and freshman Chelsea Gray has been heating up as of late, averaging 15 points in her last two games.
Starters:
Duke
#34 Krystal Thomas center
#43 Allison Vernerey center
#13 Karima Christmas forward
#12 Chelsea Gray guard
#5 Jasmine Thomas guard
Boston College
#11 Jaclyn Thoman guard
#10 Kerri Shields guard
#21 Kristen Doherty guard
#32 Stefanie Murphy forward
#30 Carolyn Swords center
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