Upset averted in Boston
Tyler Seuc/Chronicle File Photo
When a 10-0 team plays an 0-10 team, it is usually easy to predict the winner. But No. 5 Duke (20-3, 11-0) turned a blowout on paper into a nail-biter Thursday, waiting until the final minutes to pull away from Boston College (5-19, 0-11) and remain unbeaten in ACC play.
Clinging to a one-point lead with less than three minutes remaining, Duke finished the game in dominant fashion, putting up 10 points on its final four possessions to escape Boston with a 71-62 victory. Sophomore Chelsea Gray led the late charge, nailing two 3-pointers within a minute of each other, then adding two free throws in the final seconds.
“Chelsea Gray played like an All-American,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “She made some of the toughest shots I’ve seen out there and elevated her team.”
After tallying more turnovers than points in the first half, Gray dominated the final twenty minutes, draining three deep 3-pointers on her way to 17 points in that half alone.
“We did a better job in the second half of going to the basket and if it wasn’t there stopping and… hitting the threes,” Gray said. “It was just my teammates were finding me.“
The Blue Devils relied on a combined 53 points from Gray, freshman Elizabeth Williams and sophomore Haley Peters to overcome a lack of bench production. Duke finished the game with just seven points from its reserves, all of which were scored by sophomore Tricia Liston.
“We weren’t as deep tonight, and it hurt us,” McCallie said. “This is one of the clearest signs of the bench just not doing their part because we really went with our top dogs. Our top dogs carried us.”
The Blue Devils’ effort the for the majority the game stood in stark contrast to the energy they displayed in Monday’s 40-point victory over No. 22 North Carolina.
“I don’t think we were nearly aggressive as we should have been, our shot contesting was horrible in the first half, and our rebounding was passive,” McCallie said.
Despite the lack of intensity, though, Duke’s talent eventually overcame the Eagles. Just as Gray controlled the second half, Williams kept the Blue Devils in the game early, scoring 14 of the team’s 32 points in the first half, all on shots near the rim. Williams nearly put up her second triple-double of the season, finishing with 18 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocks, including back-to-back rejections with the game on the line.
The Blue Devils will look for to stay perfect in ACC play Sunday as they head to Tallahassee to take on Florida State.