Duke recovered from a slow start and hefty shooting droughts en route to its 134th consecutive nonconference home win.
The No. 8 Blue Devils met Buffalo for the first time in program history, ending with a 88-54 win for Duke Tuesday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Bulls hung close in the early minutes with help from 11 Blue Devil team fouls that added 10 points for Buffalo and kept the game competitive for the first half of play.
“There was certainly frustration at times,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “This game is not a dainty game, and I think in the first half we struggled with some of that.”
The game began with the same level of success that would return in the second half. Back-to-back 3-pointers from the left wing gave Duke a 14-8 advantage heading into the first timeout of the evening. A quick putback from sophomore forward Kendall Cooper extended the lead to 16-8, and the Blue Devils (4-0) looked ready to run away with the game. Relying on height at the high post to break down Buffalo’s zone defense, the home team had no trouble scoring 12 points from the paint in the first 10 minutes of play.
Defensively, Duke lost some momentum early after freshman guard Sierra Calhoun and freshman forward Azura Stevens were forced to sit with two personal fouls apiece, contributing to seven team fouls 10 minutes into the game. Despite towering over their opponents, the Blue Devils could not stop the dribble penetration and sent one Bull after another to the free throw line, where a 69.6 free-throw percentage kept the visiting team in the game.
“We got out-fought; we got out-scrapped,” McCallie said. “Buffalo came in trying to play in as hard as they could, and they tipped balls they never should have tipped…. That can’t happen. The intensity has to start from the beginning, and I don’t think ours did.”
Duke still managed to stifle Buffalo’s offensive efforts from the field, holding the Bulls (2-2) to 25.0 field-goal percentage on the night, including a 2-of-8 performance from junior guard Mackenzie Loesing—Buffalo’s leading scorer entering Tuesday—who didn't score more than a point until two-thirds of the game had expired. The Buffalo bench scored just eight points after previously averaging 17.3 in its first three contests.
The Blue Devils also quelled the Bulls’ previous 55.3 rebounds-per-game average, keeping them to 31 throughout the night and grabbing 69 of their own, breaking the previous 68-rebound Duke record set in 1979.
“You have to be really intense, because rebounding is not for the faint-hearted,” McCallie said. “Rebounding is something special, it really comes from the heart, and hopefully we can continue that.”
Before entering the locker room leading 36-25 at the half, the Blue Devils suffered a three-minute drought, during which guard Rebecca Greenwell was just 2-of-10 from the field. The redshirt freshman was able to recover during Duke’s turnaround second half, earning her third double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
She was one of two Blue Devils with double-doubles on the evening, with senior forward Elizabeth Williams contributing 14 points and 10 boards of her own.
“From an individual standpoint, I know that I can get the job done in the paint,” Williams said. “[My teammates] have done a great job. I said earlier that I have the utmost faith in this team, and it showed today, having four of the freshmen in double figures and being efficient.”
Duke erased all memory of a shaky start when, on the first possession of the second half, Calhoun sank her second 3-pointer of the night to bring the score to 39-25 and kick off a 7-0 run for her squad. The Brooklyn native finished the night with a career-high 21 points, and her 5 points from the line—adding to her previous nine—broke the Duke record for most consecutive free throws to open a collegiate career.
“No one’s guarding you,” Calhoun said. “You definitely have to be a great free throw shooter to become a really great player, so that’s something I work on a lot.”
The Blue Devils were able to put away their fourth win of the season to remain undefeated. Duke has now completed two games of their four-game, eight-day stretch and will face Stony Brook Friday at 6:30 p.m. at home before leaving for a showdown at No. 7 Texas A&M Sunday.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.