TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Blue Devils and Seminoles fought in the Tucker Center to break a tie Sunday night; they shared a 13-4 ACC record.
In Duke’s final regular-season game, a 28-point career-high contribution from the rookie Toby Fournier carried her team to a 71-57 victory to clinch a double-bye in the ACC Tournament.
“What a fantastic win for us,” head coach Kara Lawson said. “We started the week knowing we had work to do if we wanted to move up the standings, and playing two teams ahead of us in the standings was great motivation for us.”
Duke (23-7, 14-4 in the ACC) made its biggest run in the final quarter of the game.
A foul committed by Florida State (23-7, 13-5) put the ball into the hands of Fournier on the line. Her two connections and a critical layup bumped Duke’s lead to four. Sophomore Oluchi Okananwa carried the momentum into the next possession to convert another bucket off a quick fast break.
The Seminoles trailed by six, their largest deficit since the opening half. Duke was primed to let the shots launch. Coming out of the timeout, a layup by Okananwa took the visitors’ lead higher while the home team's shots failed to find the net.
Finally, the Seminoles managed to add to the score, but the Blue Devils remained ahead by 10, 63-53. Sophomore forward Delaney Thomas responded with a layup, but she committed a foul on the next play, allowing Florida State to add an and-one to the board.
The Blue Devils defined the remainder of the second half. The efforts of Fournier and junior guard Taina Mair allowed Duke to grow its lead. Together, the duo amassed 14 points in the final quarter, the difference-maker in the 14-point victory.
“It took a really good defensive performance by us to be able to hold that explosive offense down to 57 points,” Lawson said. “Very proud of the effort of my players and the discipline that they showed, certainly in the fourth quarter we were able to create separation and get the win.”
Coming out of the locker room up 32-31, Ashlon Jackson launched a three for the first points of the second half. The lead remained close as Florida State answered with a layup — and it didn’t take long for the home squad to overtake it. A defensive rebound opened a fast-break drive from Makayla Timpson, giving the Seminoles their first lead in the second half. Timpson attained a tip-in on the next possession to grow her team’s lead to 42-39.
Duke’s 21.4% scoring efficiency in the first five minutes of the half meant the Blue Devils failed to gain the momentum needed to build the lead they barely secured in the opening half.
Another second-chance shot from Timpson with a successful and-one continued the Seminoles’ momentum. However, the shots didn’t go unanswered. Fournier forced a consecutive trilogy of layups for Duke; the freshman was the defining factor to shrink the gap to a tied 45-45 game.
“She was able to hold her own and be able to produce like that and lead us to a win on the road in a game that mattered,” Lawson said. “I think it's definitely the finest performance by a freshman in a league game this year ... It goes without saying, this is the freshman of the year in the league. If you can't see that, you got to go to the eye doctor."
Fournier continued to push the pace in the third quarter, throwing up two more baskets to total 10 points and secure the top position on the stat sheet. Her consistency in the paint allowed Duke to recover from its shooting struggles as it ended the quarter with a two-point lead.
The game opened as a back-and-forth battle, with neither side able to create a gap larger than two points. Finally, a shot behind the arc from Jackson broke the rally to give Duke a three-point lead — inspiring a streak of shots. Mair carried the momentum of her fellow guard with a quick jumper. A lost ball from Florida State secured by Duke presented Reigan Richardson with a keen opportunity to fly towards the basket on the fast break and add two points to the gap. The Blue Devil lead jumped to 13-6.
The second quarter became a reflection of the first. Florida State once again clinched the first points of the quarter as shots struggled to fall. Duke was held to a 28.6% shot efficiency in the second quarter, 16.7% lower than its cumulative average of 45.3%. Luckily for the Seminoles, they returned to a 41.2% from 33.3% efficiency in the first quarter — critical to their effort closing the opening gap.
“What our goal is, when we come out to play against anybody, is just to make their shots difficult,” Lawson said. “We just wanted to be really disciplined. And I thought for the most part through the night, we did a good job on their whole team offensively.”
Seminole Ta’Niya Latson — who was held to nine points on the evening — was stuck on one side of the court with an injury while Duke pushed the pace until a foul was called against Florida State. The seats of the Tucker Center erupted with boos. The referees announced the injury struck on Latson was a flagrant foul by Okananwa. For the remaining minutes, a series of missed shots and quick changes of possession kept the game tight.
Ultimately, a close contest through three quarters was shut down by an explosive Blue Devil fourth quarter. With the win, Duke clinched the No. 3 seed in the ACC Tournament and will play in the quarterfinals Friday at 7:30 p.m. It will look to carry its momentum from a strong final week as the team prepares for the madness of March to unfold.
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