Final: Duke 82, Wake 39
Well, that's it. Check Monday's Chronicle for post-game analysis.
2:44 2nd Half: Duke 75, Wake 36
To win games you have to make the ball go in the basket. Wake Forest hasn't done that this half, shooting only 17.4% from the field and less than 50% from the line. Duke has shot 50% from the field. That, and a 51-32 rebounding advantage, are the difference in this game.
4:30 2nd Half: Duke 73, Wake 34
Now Duke is really pulling away forcing turnovers on defense and hitting just about everything—including back-to-back 3's by Chloe Wells—on offense. When the shots aren't falling, the Blue Devils are generally getting offensive rebounds. Let's see how large the margin of victory gets.
7:04 2nd Half: Duke 62, Wake 31
Duke is also out-hustling Wake Forest and preventing the Demon Deacons from getting any easy buckets. Defensively, the Blue Devils couldn't be playing much better. On offense, they continue to find success by pumping the ball inside. Vernerey just converted yet another 3-point play.
10:03 2nd Half: Duke 52, Wake 28
If there's one thing that the Blue Devils need to improve from this game, it's turnovers: Duke has 16 with more than 10 minutes left in the game. The post-game has been very successful and the Blue Devils are doing a great job of rebounding. They just need to be more careful with the ball.
11:33 2nd Half: Duke 52, Wake 26
The Blue Devils are really asserting themselves in the paint—Krystal Thomas bulled through a Demon Deacon defender to get an uncontested layup and on the other end Duke is able to stifle a shot attempt from underneath the basket. When Wake Forest responds by collapsing the defense, Jasmine Thomas is able to find space on the wing and hit a wide-open three. Duke is now in clear control of this game but continues to apply pressure and play with intensity as Kathleen Scheer dives out of bounds trying to save a loose ball.
15 57: 2nd Half: Duke 45, Wake 26
Wake opens the second half with a 3-pointer and a stop on the defensive end, but isn't able to keep the momentum going for long. Duke scores and sets up its vaunted press. So far in the second half the Blue Devils have gone inside for their scoring, relying on the post-presence of Vernerey and Christmas. Both players have drawn fouls by aggressively going towards the basket.
Halftime: Duke 38, Wake Forest 21
As it turns out the Duke bench, aside from Kathleen Scheer's four points, is scoreless on the night though it has provided rebounding. The Blue Devils are really dominant on the boards right now leading in total rebounds 26-15. With a 28-10 advantage on points in the paint, it's clear Duke has been able to control the area around the basket.
Also worth noting: The Wake Forest halftime show is very similar to Duke's. They have Bouncing Bullfrogs doing a jumprope event. They aren't quite as good as the ones at Duke, but they also have kids on unicycles which is pretty awesome in its own right.
4:28 1st Half: Duke 27, Wake Forest 15
Duke is now showing its incredible depth as only Richa Jackson has yet to enter the game for the Blue Devils. The bench players are contributing too: Kathleen Scheer's layup off an offensive rebound breaks a short drought for the Blue Devils. It's worth noting that part of the reason these players are in the game is that Duke is saddled with a little bit of foul trouble. Karima Christmas and Allison Vernerey each have two of Duke's five team fouls. After Krystal Thomas is fouled Jackson also enters the game.
7:41 1st Half: Duke 23, Wake Forest 13
Official timeout. Wake gets a big three pointer coming out of the last timeout to cut the lead. Still, Duke has taken over the game. There's some controversy in the musical chairs game as two of the children fight about who sat down first on one of the chairs. Those kids are competitive!
8:43 1st Half: Duke 23, Wake Forest 10
Duke continues to generate steals and is really starting to take advantage of their height advantage. Another set of fast-break buckets and a woefully rhythmless offense force Wake Forest into another timeout.
10:42 1st Half: Duke 19, Wake Forest 10
A couple of fast-break buckets for the Blue Devils force Wake Forest's head coach to call a timeout. The Blue Devils press seems to be taking the Demon Deacons out of their rhythm.
11:27 1st Half: Duke 15, Wake Forest 10
Wake Forest scores on the next possession to cut the lead to five points. NOW Duke has a rebounding advantage with nine rebounds to the Demon Deacons' five. The Blue Devils are also turning the ball over to a greater degree than their opponent, however, with five turnovers to Wake Forest's two.
12:46 1st Half: Duke 15, Wake Forest 8
Duke has gotten several easy layups on cuts to the basket. On the other end of the floor, Wake Forest has also picked up their offense. There's now a stoppage as officials review whether Allison Vernerey shoved a Demon Deacon to get as open as she did for her last layup. I didn't see anything and I don't think the officials did either as play resumes.
15:35 1st Half: Duke 7, Wake Forest 2
Correction on rebounds: when I wrote that last post the rebounding numbers were actually tied up.
15:56 1st Half: Duke 7, Wake Forest 2
Pregame:
Duke's starters: Chelsea Gray, Krystal Thomas, Jasmine Thomas, Alison Vernerey, Karima Christmas
Wake Forest's starters: Mykala Walker, Lakevia Boykin, Sandra Garcia, Brooke Thomas, Secily Ray
Wake's mascot rides a motorcycle onto the court before their lineup is introduced. It seems like it would work better for football. There's not much room to drive on a basketball court, really.
Pregame:
Despite Duke's lofty ranking and impressive record (22-2, 7-1 in the ACC) the Blue Devils have lost two of their last three and are looking to rebuild the momentum they had at the beginning of the season. This should be a good opportunity for them to do so against a Wake Forest team that probably won't be able to match up with the Blue Devils in terms of talent and depth.
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