Duke bounced back from an early 14 point deficit for another comeback victory over USC, 78-72. This time the Blue Devils didn't require overtime to knock off the Trojans, who built a working margin between six and fourteen points and used blistering outside shooting to hold it for much of the game. But Duke battled back with, according to leading scorer Jasmine Thomas, "The will and the fight to get some stops on defense and then make the plays on offense." Thomas, who scored 28 on the heels of a 29 point performance vs. Ohio State Thursday, gave Duke its first lead of the second half with a clutch three pointer. USC answered with two threes from Heather Oliver, but the Devils kept attacking the basket to score from either the paint or the line. A technical foul on USC Head Coach Michael Cooper was a huge turning point, after two J.Thomas technical free throws, Joy Cheek hit from the baseline, and the Devils held on. "The neat thing was really testing ourselves - it's hard to come back from down 14," said Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie. "We had great leadership from Joy, and Jaz was cool, calm, and focused, understanding what to do on every possession. It was a great game to learn from."

Duke now heads into final exams, with their next contest coming on the road at Stanford on December 15th."