Following a revitalizing win against Florida Gulf Coast, Duke’s energy propelled it to a 70-45 win against Toledo Wednesday evening.
In a break from ACC play, the Blue Devils played with comfort and ease on their home court against the Rockets, with freshman forward Jadyn Donovan and senior center Kennedy Brown leading the team’s scoring effort. From the beginning, Duke’s energy was palpable. Donovan came out blazing, scoring the first four points of the game, leading the team’s energy.
“Going out, I had those voices in my head telling me, ‘do what you know you can do’ and I think I was able to do that and help the team jump start,” Donovan said after the game.
Donovan’s ferocity seemed to kick Brown into gear, who then scored two layups and, frankly, didn’t stop scoring — in fact, the Derby, Kan. native reached a career high of 17 points. From then on, Donovan and Brown continued to produce.
“I thought this was the best game of the season when you look at it overall,” head coach Lawson said of Donovan’s performance, “When she plays with that force … it’s hard to guard her and it’s hard to score on her.”
Duke’s offensive strategy was characterized by methodical layups and tight ball handling and passing. Brown was the queen of layups, pushing past the Rockets’ defense to make shots with ease. In the paint, Toledo didn’t stand a chance against the 6-foot-6 Brown. Rebounds and exhilarating fast-breaks added to Duke’s energy, and erupting cheers from the home crowd boosted the Blue Devils (7-4, 0-1 in the ACC) even higher. In total, Duke scored 14 points off fast-breaks and 20 off turnovers. Not once did the Blue Devils trail the Rockets (6-3).
However, the 3-pointer was still a point of weakness for Duke in its scoring — it wasn’t until the middle of the second quarter that sophomore Ashlon Jackson scored the team’s first three. The Blue Devils went just 2-of-7 for their threes. Despite this, they staunchly defended against the Rockets’ threes, holding them 3-for-20. According to Lawson, this was due to a mixture of luck and skill.
“We’ve done a pretty good job the last couple of games of defending the 3-point line,” she said. “I did think they got loose for some open ones where we had breakdowns of coverage and we got lucky that they missed.”
From the start, Toledo barely had breathing room to make shots against Duke’s defensive stronghold. By the second quarter, the Rockets were scoring field goals at only 34.6%. Donovan and sophomore guard Taina Mair led Blue Devil rebounds, totaling 10 and seven, respectively, barely leaving room for the visitors to take possession of the ball. The nail in the coffin was the fact that Toledo’s graduate guard Quinesha Lockett — who averaged an impressive 15.3 points per game this year — was unable to play due to an injury.
In the second half, the Blue Devils’ energy shot even higher and the Rockets were losing steam. The opening of the third quarter was Duke’s biggest steamroll over Toledo. Mair and freshman guard Oluchi Okananwa fueled the team’s fire alongside Donovan and Brown, starting the half with one layup after another. The Blue Devils did not slow down.
“That group that we started in that third quarter was able to put some distance between us and them,” Lawson said. “I thought their pace, scoring in transition … that was our best offense.”
The end of the third quarter was an exciting one with two fast-break layups in a row — the first one coming off a block and steal by Ashlon Jackson and then a second by graduate forward Camilla Emsbo just beating the buzzer. By this point, the stadium and Blue Devil bench were on their feet. A drained Toledo only scored six points in the third quarter.
Duke got a bit too comfortable at the start of the final quarter, letting in a layup on a fastbreak, among other misses. After a Blue Devil timeout was called, though, Duke started to take control again. The team came back onto the court with aggression. Fouls were racking up on both sides, with a game total of 15 for the Blue Devils. In the last 10 minutes of the game, Okananwa and Brown found themselves in foul trouble with six fouls between them. Toledo couldn’t fully lock in free throw points, however, adding to its struggles. The Rockets ended the game with empty tanks — but the Blue Devils ended the game with an air of smooth confidence and solidity.
Next Thursday, Duke welcomes Coppin State to Cameron Indoor Stadium for another round of non-ACC play.
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