The Nutshell by Orin DayOn the day of Lindsey Harding's jersey retirement the Wolfpack gave Duke almost all they could handle in the first 25 minutes. With the game tied 12-12 Duke rattled off a 10 point run, largely off of steals and layups. State battled back with three pointers by Megan Zullo and Shayla Fields to trail 33-28 at half, and with 17:09 left in the game State tied it at 35 Khadijah Whittington's traditional three point play. But Duke broke the game wide open at that point with an 18-2 run, including a huge Joy Cheek three pointer from the top of the key. It was pretty much over at that point, as the Devils kept a double digit lead the rest of the way home, coasting to the 71-57 win.
Chante Black led all scorers with 17 pulled down 11 boards, while Joy Cheek scored 12 of her 14 in the second half. However Duke continued their struggles from long range, shooting only 3-16 from behind the arc. A focus of Duke's defense was Whittington, who began the day in the top 30 in the nation in scoring (18.2 ppg), field goal percentage (57%), boards (11.9, fifth in the nation), and steals. KD (playing out of position at the 4 because of the injury to Lucy Ellison) got 9 boards and 5 steals, but was limited to 3-13 shooting and just 7 points. Both State and Duke had 24 turnovers, as much a testament to the speed of the game as poor decision making, with each team getting 21 points from them.
We'll have more to follow soon, including photos of the game and Lindsey Harding's halftime jersey retirement ceremony.
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