Joanne P. McCallie earned her 50th ACC win today, only the legendary Kay Yow reached that total in fewer games.

Duke took care of business on the road against Virginia Tech, running their ACC mark to 5-0 as they prepare for a difficult two week stretch. While this was by no means a pretty game for Duke, they threw a haymaker at the Hokies to start the game with a 22-2 run. VT never quite recovered from that blow, even though they did pull within 13 points late in the first half. Still, this game was never in doubt given Duke's lockdown defense and VT's lack of answers from their bench. Turnovers once again proved to be a problem for Duke, as they were just +2 against a team that turns the ball over quite a bit. To be fair, the Hokies have shown a great deal of improvement this season on defense, even if their roster is depleted. Their forcing 18 Duke turnovers is as much a credit to them as it was problematic for the Blue Devils.

The one player for which VT had no answer was Elizabeth Williams, who simply hammered the Hokies inside. She scored 8 of Duke's first 22 points as Duke turned 5 turnovers into points and fiercely defended the rim. After Liz scored to make it 26-7 with seven minutes left in the half, she picked up her second foul and had to sit. The Hokies cut the lead to 29-16 after a three by Monet Tellier and a couple of foul shots. Duke got plenty of cracks at the basket and Tricia Liston finally stuck back her own miss. Duke's defense held again as Chelsea Gray blocked post player Porschia Hadley, leading to a score for Allison Vernerey. Duke dominated points in the paint 18-6 and points off turnovers 18-7. That latter stat was crucial, because though the overall turnovers were close to even, Duke took advantage of these opportunities while VT was not. Indeed, VT shot just 20% in the half, compared to 47% for Duke, leading to their 33-16 lead.

Duke was unable to extend their lead throughout most of the second half. While Williams continued to run wild, the Hokies were getting some shots to land as the Devils tried to work in its bench. Finally, a three point play by Richa Jackson made it 52-32 with eight minutes left. Virginia Tech started to run out of steam as Duke built its lead to 27 with two minutes left. Jenna Frush got a bit of run late in the game as both teams put in their deep benches, but neither team scored down the stretch. Williams had 10 points in each half to lead the Devils, who backed off on pressure in the second half to conserve energy.

Top Performers:

1. Elizabeth Williams, DU: 20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks
2. Richa Jackson, DU: 11 points, 4 rebounds
3. Alyssa Fenyn, VT: 11 points, 3 rebounds