CONWAY, S.C.—The first time Duke played Syracuse, the Blue Devils shut down the nation's highest-scoring backcourt in a routine 72-55 win.
One wondered whether Duke could replicate that success again in the teams' rematch with its matchup zone defense.
The Blue Devils answered that question emphatically.
Third-seeded Duke used a game-ending 26-7 run to rout No. 6 seed Syracuse 68-46 Thursday night at the HTC Center to advance to the ACC tournament semifinals. Junior Lexie Brown led the Blue Devils with 22 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals, sparking a 9-0 run near the end of the third quarter that put Duke firmly in control despite a slew of turnovers.
“I’m really proud of our team in the second half. We came out very strong and aggressive,” Blue Devil head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “We just had to get things going. I really wasn't worried about it, but it was disappointing because we don’t like to turn the ball over.”
Even with 18 giveaways, Duke held ACC Player of the Year Alexis Peterson to a season-low nine points on 4-of-21 shooting as the Orange suffered through an ice-cold 23.0 percent shooting effort.
Although Syracuse collected 18 offensive rebounds, its 57 misses prevented the team from taking advantage of the Blue Devils’ slow start.
“It’s terrific that we held them to 23 percent. There’s a lot of offensive rebounds when a team is shooting 23 percent,” McCallie said. “The reality is the defense was really fabulous, and that stat really sticks out because they’re an excellent team.”
Despite Duke’s decisive margin of victory, the Blue Devils (26-4) looked shaky to start the game.
McCallie's team committed eight first-quarter turnovers—many of which came on travels or other unforced errors—allowing Syracuse (21-10) to take a narrow lead early on even with the Orange, who routinely score in the 80s and 90s, missing open jumpers.
Brown's buzzer-beating corner 3-pointer gave Duke a one-point edge heading into the second period, which was also disjointed with both offenses sputtering.
“I thought Lexie’s game was just as Lexie does—very poised, directing, leading and showing the player that she is in this league, a pretty special player.” McCallie said. “On both sides of the ball she is an elite player—one of the best in the country—and she is just working on her game always trying to get better.”
After totaling 28 points in their first matchup against a perimeter-oriented Syracuse team Feb. 10, Blue Devil senior forwards Kendall Cooper and Oderah Chidom found success in the paint once again. The tandem combined for 23 points, 14 rebounds, nine turnovers and six blocks Friday night, giving their team a boost inside with first-team All-ACC performer Rebecca Greenwell struggling to get shots. Greenwell finished with just six shot attempts.
Although Duke’s offense was not at its best, sophomore Kyra Lambert canned a 3-pointer just before halftime to give Duke the lead again, and the Blue Devils maintained that slim margin before finally pulling away at the end of the third quarter.
Duke avoided back-breaking live-ball turnovers against Syracuse's full-court press during its key spurt, attacking the back end of the defense for easy layups and converting Orange miscues into points on the other end.
It helped the Blue Devils that even when Syracuse got open looks, it could not buy a bucket. The Orange got six 3-pointers from Gabby Cooper, but only generated a season-low 46 points and shot 2-of-17 in the final period to go quietly.
Following a ninth straight win by at least 10 points, Duke will take on seventh-seeded Miami Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in the semifinals. The Hurricanes upset second-seeded Florida State earlier Friday, and hope to avenge an 83-70 loss to the Blue Devils from Feb. 19.
"It’s been a really nice experience to be back in the ACC," Brown said. "This season has been the most fun I’ve ever had and to be here with [my teammates] has been amazing. For us to come out and play the way we did, I can’t be prouder."
A win against Miami would put Duke in the ACC championship game for the first time since 2014 and potentially set up a fourth straight conference tournament matchup against top-seeded Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish take on fifth-seeded Louisville Saturday in the first semifinal and eliminated the Blue Devils each of the last three years.
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