Duke played yet another team on the road that made extensive use of a press, and the Devils seem to be learning how best to attack it to score. The Devils shot a sizzling 68% from the floor and scored 16 points in transition while staying just south of the 21 turnovers I noted needed to be avoided in order to win. Much like in their win against Virginia Tech, Duke came out and threw haymakers at their opponent for the first few minutes of the game and then more-or-less held serve after that. In this case, Duke broke out to a 24-8 lead during the game's first eight minutes and weathered several Tech runs and their own mistakes. Richa Jackson ran wild during this run, scoring 9 points both in transition and from behind the arc. Elizabeth Williams scored 4 points but also had 3 blocks and 3 rebounds. Meanwhile, Tech was just 4-11 to start the game with 3 turnovers.

Tech made a comeback and pulled within 6, with Williams scoring 5 points to keep them at bay. Duke had 8 turnovers in the last eight or so minutes of the half, and Tech certainly made them pay with some easy baskets. When Duke did beat the press, GT couldn't prevent Duke from scoring. After one sequence where she was blocked twice at the rim, Williams started taking short jump shots that were left uncontested, and they dropped for her. Every opponent is going to let her shoot that shot instead of letting her post up, and if she continues to make them, then she will be close to unstoppable without a double-team. GT still managed to shoot 45% thanks to some stickbacks and points off turnovers, and no one could slow down a red-hot Sasha Goodlett, who has been tearing up the ACC of late. She had 15 points in the first half alone, but Duke did the job on every other Tech player. Liz had 14 of her 20 points in the first half and Jackson chipped in with 11.

One piece of curious news: Haley Peters did not play a single minute in the second half after a wretched first half in which she committed 4 turnovers. Kathleen Scheer started in her place in the second half, so I'm not sure if this was a matter of punishment, illness or what. Regardless, Duke needs what Peters brings to the floor in terms of versatility, toughness and most especially shooting. In that second half, GT came out with maniacal intensity, pounding the boards repeatedly for second shots. Despite that effort, they could only pull within 3 points before Williams scored again. The lead hovered between 5 and 7 points for a few minutes as Goodlett and Marshall were keeping GT in the game while Scheer and Williams battled for Duke. Tech had multiple chances to cut a 5 point lead to 3 but missed some easy shots. Shay Selby came off the bench to drain a three on a dish from Scheer to make it 54-45 with 13:26 to go, and that wound up being a back-breaking basket. Duke got multiple cracks at the basket before Williams was fouled and hit both, and then Jackson scored in transition to boost the lead to 13. The lead didn't drop below double figures the rest of the game as Duke made its free throws. The veteran group of Selby, Scheer and Vernerey combined for 38 minutes in the second half alone as Liston was also benched for extensive minutes. Gray had 10 points in the half and her team held the Jackets to just 26% shooting in the half. Duke was +10 on the boards, even if they did give up 15 offensive boards. Still, this was a solid win against a borderline top 25 team that was looking for a signature win and had come close to beating Duke last year. This time around, Duke never gave them much of a chance to compete. Ever after the Jackets had pulled within 3 points, they had expended so much energy in their comeback that they couldn't really stop Duke.

Top Performers:

1. Elizabeth Williams, DU: 20 points, 11 rebounds, 5 blocks
2. Richa Jackson, DU: 17 points, 8-9 FG, 4 assists
3. Sasha Goodlett, GT: 25 points, 9-10 FG, 3 assists