No. 15 Duke used another staunch defensive effort to shut down Clemson 65-37 Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils have a chance to snag a top-four seed in the ACC tournament with a strong finish to the regular season.
Lexie Brown has now scored more than 20 points in four straight games.
The No. 14 Blue Devils rebounded from the tight 62-58 loss with a resounding 71-43 win against Wake Forest at Cameron Indoor Stadium in its first home game in 10 days.
After a promising start, the frustrating trends that have led to poor results on the road returned to plague Duke again.
Led by surging ACC Player of the Week Lexie Brown, the Blue Devils seem to be peaking at the right time heading into the heart of conference play.
Lexie Brown led Duke to two easy ACC wins last week leading up to a showdown with No. 8 Notre Dame.
Although the Blue Devils initially expected to add depth in the backcourt about midway through the season, they will have to make do with their current crop of guards as they look to contend for an ACC regular-season title.
Despite a slow start that saw the No. 15 Blue Devils up only one point at the half, a 21-2 third-quarter spurt sent Duke to a 67-44 win against Boston College Sunday afternoon.
Duke is approaching one of its easier stretches of the year with three straight games against unranked opponents.
Coming off of posting a 27.0% shooting clip and a 4-31 performance from the three-point line in the past two games, the Blue Devils’ splash sister duo of Rebecca Greenwell and Lexie Brown looked to regain momentum before they hit the road again for two tough ACC matchups.
After suffering two disappointing road losses in the last two weeks, it feels like Duke's season is now hanging in the balance entering the heart of the ACC schedule.
With a key ACC road game on the line, Duke's offensive execution vanished. The Blue Devils did not score again, with a flurry of four missed shots—including three near the rim—and a game-sealing Greenwell turnover costing Duke a chance at its first road win against a ranked team.
Freshman Leaonna Odom had a breakthrough game Thursday night against North Carolina.
Just three days after downing rival North Carolina at home to preserve its unblemished home record this season, Duke’s road demons returned to haunt them in a heartbreaking loss at fellow rival N.C. State.
Although Duke star guards Rebecca Greenwell and Lexie Brown were largely held in check for a second straight game, the Blue Devils used a balanced attack with five players notching at least eight points to preserve a 15-point halftime advantage.
With two rivalry games next on the docket for Duke, the Blue Devils will look to put the blowout loss behind them and start another streak anew.
Lexie Brown helped Duke to a top-10 win at the start of the week, but struggled against another top-10 opponent to finish the week.
Despite owning one of the top backcourts in the country, Duke’s offense failed to keep the team on pace with Florida State as the Blue Devils showed they have a lot to prove before they can be considered one of the country’s elite teams.
The Blue Devils sit atop the ACC standings after the first week of conference play, but to stay there, they will have to do something they have not in almost two years—beat a ranked team on the road.
