Duke took another step forward by handling Auburn on the road, 75-62. The Tigers played their second game against a ranked opponent in their new Auburn Arena after losing to Florida State on Monday. The Devils used their superior size to keep Auburn out of the lane (48-10 edge in points in the paint for Duke), shot a season-best 50% from the floor and used their press to disrupt Auburn's offense while striking quickly against Auburn's own tough press.

The Tigers are yet another perimeter-oriented team who found it tough to score against Duke's size and length. To their credit, they took advantage of Duke's aggressiveness by getting to the foul line 24 times. The Tigers didn't do themselves any favors by missing 8 of those shots, especially when they were trying to come back in the second half. The two teams were even for the first fifteen minutes of the game, with the Devils holding a 26-25 edge at the 5:12 mark. Haley Peters came off the bench for a struggling Kathleen Scheer, who missed 4 shots in 4 minutes. Peters came in and gave Duke a huge boost by scoring 8 points in her first four minutes with layups and short jumpers.

The Devils went on a 13-0 run by turning the Tigers over 4 times and turning those into 6 points. Chloe Wells triggered the run by nailing a three on a pass from Shay Selby, who returned after missing the USC game with an injury. Duke's press generated quick points when Krystal Thomas stole the ball and scored. A steal by Wells led to a layup by Peters, while Selby turned a long rebound into 2 more points. Duke continued to apply pressure when Wells got a steal and layup, and Jasmine Thomas finished it with another long rebound and fast break layup. When the dust cleared, Duke led 39-25. A couple of Duke turnovers prevented them from building on that lead and the Tigers cut the lead to 10 at the half.

Jasmine took over in the second half as Duke kept Auburn at arm's length. Duke's offense went into a deep freeze for awhile, scoring just 6 points in eight minutes. Fortunately, Auburn was only able to cut the lead to 9, and two Duke frosh made big plays. First, Tricia Liston scored after Allison Vernerey grabbed an offensive board. After 2 Auburn free throws, Chelsea Gray hit a three and stole the ball. After Jasmine scored, Chelsea stole the ball again and was fouled, hitting both shots. That put Duke up by 16 with 3:36 left.

Auburn went on a last-gasp 11-2 run, pulling within 69-62 with 51 seconds left. Duke passed over Auburn's press as Jasmine scored. After an Auburn layup, Selby found Vernerey for a layup. Auburn missed a three that Gray rebounded, and she closed out the scoring with 2 foul shots, making it 75-62. Duke's three seniors all finished in double figures (Jasmine with 16, Krystal with 11 and Karima Christmas with 10). Peters had 10 points and 6 boards in 20 minutes and would have had an even bigger impact if she hadn't fouled out. Gray had a breakout game with 13 points in just 14 minutes, nailing 6-6 free throws under pressure. Auburn's Alli Smalley had 12 points but only got off 4 shots. All told, this was a solid first road effort in a loud and hostile arena, especially for the freshmen.

Duke Blue Devils Team Box Score

PTS FG FG % 3FG 3FG % FT FT% A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 39 16-32 50.0 3-12 25.0 4-6 66.7 5 8-8-16 4 6 7 7 2nd 36 14-28 50.0 1-6 16.7 7-7 100.0 5 4-11-15 1 9 10 12 TOT 75 30-60 50.0 4-18 22.2 11-13 84.6 10 12-19-31 5 15 17 19

Auburn Team Box Score PTS FG FG % 3FG 3FG % FT FT% A O-D-REB BLK STL TO PF 1st 29 9-25 36.0 4-10 40.0 7-8 87.5 8 7-8-15 0 5 11 8 2nd 33 11-25 44.0 2-7 28.6 9-16 56.3 5 6-10-16 0 3 10 9 TOT 62 20-50 40.0 6-17 35.3 16-24 66.7 13 13-18-31 0 8 21 17 Please support DWHoops with a site membership today! Click Here to Learn More