All throughout the regular season, head coach Kara Lawson preached a defense-first mentality. Put the work in on the defensive end and trust that the team’s offense would follow suit. That mindset would come together to become the story of Duke’s first ACC Tournament ring in over a decade, and in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Devils would reap the fruits of their labor once more as a defensive gauntlet built an impressive opening-round victory.
In Cameron Indoor Stadium Friday evening, Duke rolled past Lehigh in a crushing 86-25 defensive masterclass to advance the Blue Devils to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Mountain Hawks' 25-point total marks the second lowest in March Madness history.
A smorgasbord of charges, traveling violations, steals and offensive mishaps made up the Mountain Hawks’ 17 first-half turnovers which — with the help of Duke’s 16 points off turnovers — fueled the 33-10 lead that the Blue Devils (26-7) earned going into the first-half break. Oluchi Okananwa led both teams with 10 points through the first two quarters alongside sophomore forward Delaney Thomas’ seven-rebound insurance policy. And even with the aggressive defensive showing from Lawson’s defense through the first half, not a single shooting foul was charged on the Blue Devils as Duke’s 10 free throws contributed to its scoring.
Thomas opened the game’s scoring for the Blue Devils before a full-court press commenced in the first minute of play. The next possession down, Reigan Richardson earned the first steal of the game to make it two points the other way before a shot clock violation handed the Mountain Hawks another turnover. Thomas’ subsequent midrange jumper gave Lawson’s squad the early 6-0 lead.
The flustered visitors' offensive frustrations continued as Lehigh’s graduate guard Maddie Albrecht, in a hurry, passed the ball straight out of bounds and into the hands of Lawson, a symbolic reminder that the mastermind behind Duke’s defensive schemes would always find a way to get her team the ball back. Eventually, more than half of the first quarter had drawn past before a triple earned the Mountain Hawks their first points of the contest.
In the minutes that followed, the Blue Devil swarm continued as Duke’s Patriot League visitors closed out the first frame with a 33.3% shooting clip. Still — despite scoring contributions from Okananwa, Thomas, Richardson and Toby Fournier — Cameron Indoor’s very own only entered the first quarter break up five, 13-8.
Into the second quarter, the game’s defensive flow continued as over two minutes passed before Thomas once again tallied the first points of the quarter. Duke would get the scoreboard rolling as the Blue Devils’ usual defensive form in tandem with more effective shooting drove the 20-2 run in the second quarter.
The Mountain Hawks (27-7) and Blue Devils came out into the third quarter after the teams’ halftime reflections, but the second mirrored the first. Thirteen straight Duke points augmented the Blue Devil lead. In the process, Fournier could not be stopped; even with countless defenders up against the Canadian freshman, the forward continued her efficient night from the field.
And, like the first half, the Blue Devils continued to be relentless on the defensive end. At one point, as Lehigh’s senior guard Ella Stemmer earned a steal and began to gun for the fast break, Thomas poked the ball away for a steal of her own. One of the three other defenders who swarmed Stemmer grabbed the ball to secure a steal for Duke.
The Mountain Hawks were suffocating, and the Blue Devils refused to let up. The only point of relief for Lehigh was Duke’s lackluster 4-of-18 3-point rate through the game’s first three frames, but two triples in the third’s closing 30 seconds hinted that even that statistic could change for the worse for Lehigh.
Indeed, Taina Mair, Ashlon Jackson, and Richardson opened the final frame with three 3-pointers and a long two to bring the Blue Devil lead to a crushing 69-17.
With the sizable margin, Duke had the opportunity to rotate in Belgian sophomore Louann Battiston, who stepped up and knocked down a three of her own. The dominance continued to close out the slaughtering.
The Blue Devils proceed to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Cameron Indoor against No. 10-seed Oregon Sunday.
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