Massachusetts stuck with the Blue Devils for longer than expected, but Duke's interior force awakened to power a second-half surge to send the Minutewomen crashing back to Earth on Star Wars night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The No. 13 Blue Devils resumed play after a break for final exams with a 70-46 victory Monday night, but they were challenged more than the final score suggested. Duke led by just one possession for much of the first half but put the game away by outscoring Massachusetts 19-6 in the third period. Sophomore forward Azurá Stevens continued her dominant start to the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds, and redshirt freshman Lyneé Belton matched her career-high with 10 points.
"The second half better reflects the way we’d like to play than the first half," Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "I was very pleased with Lynée playing steady and very poised. It’s very important to let the game come to you and I thought she did that."
Eight days after an 11-point loss at No. 2 South Carolina, Duke made a couple changes to its starting lineup, with Belton and freshman Haley Gorecki each earning their first career start. Belton made the most of the opportunity with her career game, making her first five shots, while Gorecki was held scoreless on 0-of-6 shooting but contributed four rebounds and two assists.
The changes paid immediate dividends, as Belton cut into the lane for a layup off an assist from Stevens on the first play of the game, and the Blue Devils (8-2) looked primed for a rout after opening the contest on a 9-1 run.
Massachusetts (3-6) did not go down quietly, though, finishing the first quarter on a 6-0 run of its own to trim the deficit to 15-12. The Minutewomen played a 2-3 zone for much of the contest that was initially effective in limiting Duke’s opportunities in the post. The Blue Devils had major height advantages against a Massachusetts squad that does not have a player taller than 6-foot-2, but struggled with post entry passes against the zone.
"That was a moral victory for us because we haven't played a lot of zone," Massachusetts head coach Sharon Dawley said. "You've got to be real coming into these games—we didn't match up well against them, so we threw caution to the wind and played a lot of 2-3."
Duke also gave the Minutewomen several second chances to help them stay in the game in the first half. Massachusetts crashed the boards aggressively and had six offensive rebounds before the break that produced nine second-chance points. This helped them keep the game close for much of the second quarter, but the Minutewomen never took the lead.
Stevens finally provided a spark for Duke’s post game late in the second quarter, scoring six straight points after Massachusetts guard Cierra Dillard knocked down a triple to cut the Blue Devil lead to 25-24. Stevens then brought the ball up the court after a steal and finished the fast break with a dish to redshirt sophomore Rebecca Greenwell for a layup to help Duke take a 33-26 advantage into the locker room.
Massachusetts entered the contest shooting 36 percent on 3-pointers, but Duke continued a season-long trend by holding its opponent to just 4-of-25 shooting from deep with impressive perimeter defense. McCallie's squad utilized a zone to help defend on the perimeter, and Stevens and junior Oderah Chidom both used their length to contest many of the Minutewomen’s attempts from deep. Stevens finished the game with three blocks.
"We know teams are going to try to shoot us out of a zone," Stevens said. "Whichever defense we play, we just try to do the little intangibles to keep them where we want them. When we play zone, we focus on shutting down the perimeter shots."
Once Massachusetts’ shots stopped falling, the Blue Devils quickly extended their lead and opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run, highlighted by a trey from Stevens—Duke’s first made 3-pointer of the contest.
"We played a tempo that suited them [in the first half]. They were sitting in a zone, and like most teams will do, they won’t play and wait for 10 seconds on the shot clock, and that doesn’t lead for exciting basketball," McCallie said. "I thought we got more of a tempo that we needed in the second half."
Greenwell also came alive in the second half, hitting two 3-pointers to help her rebound from a poor performance against the Gamecocks. The Owensboro, Ky., native finished the game with 12 points, adding seven rebounds and five assists. Her performance helped Duke cruise for most of the second half, and the Minutewomen never threatened to get back into the game after the Blue Devils’ third-quarter run.
The Blue Devils will take the floor again at Cameron Indoor Stadium Thursday at 7 p.m. against Liberty.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.