Don't look now, but the Blue Devils are on a roll.
No. 11 Duke powered past Virginia 71-45 at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va., Thursday evening. Redshirt freshman Rebecca Greenwell scored 22 points to lead the Blue Devils to their 10th conference win of the season and their sixth straight victory, giving Duke serious momentum heading down the final stretch of the season.
The Blue Devils (19-6, 10-2 in the ACC) did not need long to get hot. Just 3:58 in the game, Duke led 11-2, with seven points coming from Greenwell. And although all seven were critical to claiming the early lead, three of those points carried a bit of extra weight.
Greenwell broke the freshman record for 3-pointers made Thursday night, as the Owensboro, Ky., native drilled a game-high four long balls to solidify her name in the record books. Her first 3-pointer tied her with former Blue Devil Abby Waner at 50, and her next three treys pushed her tally to 53 to move into first place.
But even with Greenwell making history and draining threes, the Cavaliers were not easily subdued early on. After falling into the early nine-point hole, Virginia (15-9, 5-6) fought to stay within striking distance. And until a late first-half 3-pointer from Duke junior Mercedes Riggs, it seemed like the Cavaliers would hang around all night.
But with 6:41 left before halftime and the Blue Devil lead at eight, Riggs knocked down a triple to spur a 9-0 run for Duke. For the next four minutes, Virginia was held scoreless and by halftime, the Blue Devils led 40-21. Greenwell led the way at the break with nine points and the dangerous post tandem of Azura Stevens and Elizabeth Williams had eight points apiece.
The second half provided more of the same for Duke, as Greenwell kicked things off with eight points in the first 3:49 to double up the Cavaliers, 50-25. From that point on, the Blue Devils did not let up or allow Virginia to make a game of it—a welcome change from the inconsistencies seen early on the year.
The Blue Devils owned the glass, coming down with 42 rebounds to Virginia's 25. Stevens led Duke with a career-high 14 boards, with Williams and sophomore Kendall Cooper and each hauling in eight. Williams and Stevens combined for 10 offensive rebounds.
Senior Ka’lia Johnson also got in on the action for Duke, as the Blue Devil point guard put in 11 points and added six assists to lead Duke from the helm.
The Cavaliers were bolstered by the play of Sarah Imovbioh, who led the home squad with 14 points and eight rebounds. Imovbioh was the only Virginia player to crack double digits and the only starter to shoot better than 50 percent with a 6-of-10 performance from the field. The remaining starters shot a combined 9-of-28.
Duke will stay on the road as a part of a four-game stretch as it heads to South Bend, Ind., Monday to take on No. 4 Notre Dame at 9 p.m. in what will be a battle for first place in the ACC.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.