CLEMSON, S.C.—Duke’s road struggles are over.
The Blue Devils methodically defeated Clemson 72-43 at Jervey Gym Thursday night, winning away from home for the first time since the season opener at Pennsylvania and snapping a five-game ACC road losing streak. Sophomore forward Azurá Stevens torched the Tigers for a career-high 33 points on 11-of-19 shooting, scoring from all over the floor against an undersized Clemson squad.
“That’s what we want from Azurá, and that’s the way she wants to play as well—inside dominating the paint, demanding the basketball and scoring, and then on the outside shooting the three-ball,” Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “I loved the combination. She was fabulous tonight.”
Playing as an unranked team for the first time since 1999, Duke (14-6, 3-3 in the ACC) was energized and efficient on both ends of the floor from the opening tip and never trailed in the contest. Stevens knocked down treys from both corners sandwiched around a layup under the basket, and another trey from freshman point guard Kyra Lambert capped an 8-0 run and staked the Blue Devils to a 15-6 lead at the first media timeout.
“My teammates did a really good job of just finding me early on, and that got me going,” Stevens said. “The threes obviously helped to get me feeling good about my shot and I was able to score down low too, which was nice.”
Stevens’ two early triples showed off her versatility, but she did most of her damage closer to the hoop. The Raleigh native beat the Clemson defense down the floor for easy layups several times in transition after steals. With the clock moving to less than four minutes remaining, though, she stepped back behind the arc to set her new career-high with her third 3-pointer of the evening, eclipsing her previous mark of 32 set Nov. 22 against Army.
Duke forced 24 turnovers in the contest that turned into 22 points, playing an aggressive trapping defense that made it difficult for the Tigers (4-14, 0-5) to set up their halfcourt offense.
“Our defensive intensity was good. I thought we were immediate and aggressive. I thought we made some good plays in transition, and that’s what you want—those are easy buckets,” McCallie said. “They come from defense and hard work, and I thought the team as a whole did a good job of defensive intensity across the board.”
Freshman guard Faith Suggs came off the bench and nailed a 3-pointer with less than a minute remaining in the opening frame to continue the impressive shooting display, and Duke finished the quarter shooting 4-of-5 from beyond the arc to open up a 22-10 advantage.
The Blue Devils never led by less than double digits the rest of the way, though they could not extend the lead in a quiet second quarter offensively. Duke committed eight turnovers in the frame and Tiger guard Victoria Cardaci banked in a trey at the halftime buzzer to trim the deficit to 35-24 heading into the locker room.
The Blue Devils never made a decisive run to put the game the out of reach, but a behind-the-back pass from Lambert to junior forward Oderah Chidom for a fast-break layup began to build the lead again. Duke continued to play impressive defense and outscored the Tigers16-11 during the stanza.
“We were just really aggressive, and we threw them off guard,” Stevens said. “Even when they started coming back, we made sure to stop their rhythm, and that’s a key thing for us to do.”
The early lead allowed Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie to get her bench involved early and often, as all 10 healthy players saw the floor in the first quarter. Freshman point guard Angela Salvadores sat out for the second straight game as she continues to nurse an ankle injury, but redshirt freshman forward Lyneé Belton returned after missing two games with a sprained ankle to deliver two points and three rebounds in 13 minutes.
The deep rotation made it difficult for anyone to stand out aside from Stevens, who poured in nearly half of the team’s points. Redshirt sophomore Rebecca Greenwell knocked down a triple to open the fourth quarter to join Stevens in double-figures, and Chidom added 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting. No Clemson player scored more than eight points.
The Blue Devils come back home to play arch-rival North Carolina Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m., looking to improve to better than .500 in ACC play for the first time this season.
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