The Blue Devils made their presence in the key known, notching 62 points in the paint and grabbing 58 rebounds en route to a dominant victory.
No. 13 Duke defeated UMass Lowell 95-48 in the teams’ first-ever meeting Friday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. On one of their best shooting nights of the season, the Blue Devils boasted a 48-percent clip from the field, holding the River Hawks to just 18 made field goals.
“[Tonight was] a good game for us to grow and learn and improve in some areas,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “[We had] strong rebounding, reduced turnovers, a lot of balanced scoring [and] a lot of good attacks.”
Duke (7-3) erupted on a 20-4 run midway through the first half, keyed by six points apiece from redshirt freshman Rebecca Greenwell and sophomore Oderah Chidom. The Blue Devils took a comfortable 50-20 lead into the locker room and didn't look back after halftime.
UMass Lowell (5-5) relied on senior guard Shannon Samuels to keep the game far closer than it could have been. Samuels scored 26 of her team’s 48 points and went 11-of-22 from the field.
“I want to compliment Shannon Samuels,” McCallie said. “Anyone who can get 26 [points] against us, that’s not what we like—we don’t like people to do that. She obviously played a great game here, and that’s a motivator for us in the next game.”
Despite Samuels’ performance, she was no match for the sharp-shooting Blue Devils, as six different Duke players finished the game in double-figures.
Freshman forward Azura Stevens notched her third double-double of the season and first in five games with 10 points and 11 rebounds. She has now started in the four most recent contests and is averaging 13.8 points per game since entering the starting lineup compared to 11.4 off the bench.
“Coming off the bench, you’re so fired up, but sometimes you can lose that when you start,” Stevens said. “It’s important for me to come out and help my team any way I can and keep it going steady throughout the game.”
Stevens' classmate and fellow starter Sierra Calhoun scored 19 points in 25 minutes and made 8-of-10 free throws to improve to 29-of-33 on the season. Her 88.0 percent season free-throw percentage is second on the team behind redshirt freshman Rebecca Greenwell. Thirteen of the freshman's 19 points came after intermission.
One of Duke's primary ball-handlers, Calhoun committed zero turnovers Friday, as the Blue Devils coughed up the ball just nine times, a welcome improvement for McCallie after consecutive 22-turnover outings.
“Sierra’s leadership—getting to the basket—[I] love to see that,” McCallie said. “She took 10 free throw attempts, that’s something I’d like Sierra to do every game, getting the feel for what that’s like.”
The Blue Devils did not only shoot the ball well but shared it as well, ending the night with 20 assists, led by senior guard Ka’lia Johnson's six helpers. Greenwell and senior Elizabeth Williams rounded out the impressive contribution from the starting lineup, adding a combined 31 points to the high-scoring Duke offense.
The Duke bench added 30 points of its own as it spelled the starting five for extended minutes. Sophomore forwards Chidom and Kendall Cooper both had double-digit scoring nights and combined for 13 rebounds as well.
“We’re all challenging ourselves for defense and rebounding, but it was a good team game,” McCallie said.
All season the Blue Devils have towered over their opponents with an average height of 6-foot-1, giving Duke its tallest team in school history. The height difference was again significant Friday—the Blue Devils swatted seven River Hawk shots and grabbed nearly twice as many rebounds as UMass Lowell, which has just two players at 6-foot or taller on its roster.
The Duke defense transitioned effectively to offense, scoring 24 points off of 19 UMass Lowell turnovers. The 95 total points are the Blue Devils' highest total all season and it has now scored 187 total points in its last two games.
“[It was] a good team situation, points in the paint, and everyone played together and tried to get a little bit better,” McCallie said. “We’re excited to go back out on Sunday.”
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