Dominant Third Quarter Leads Blue Devils Past Georgia Tech, 65-47

Sunday, January 15

Atlanta, Ga.

4 p.m.

Duke University

16-1,6-0ACC

Georgia Tech

9-9,0-7ACC

Duke

Georgia Tech

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Dominant Third Quarter Leads Blue Devils Past Georgia Tech, 65-47

1/15/2023 10:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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ATLANTA, Ga. – No. 16 Duke women's basketball used a dominant third-quarter performance to overcome a slim halftime deficit and grab complete control of the game en route to securing a 65-47 victory over Georgia Tech Sunday afternoon at McCamish Pavilion.

The Blue Devils outscored the Georgia Tech 38-19 in the second half and held the Yellow Jackets to just 6-of-25 shooting (24.0 percent) from the field over the final 20 minutes of action.

Senior Celeste Taylor led the offensive efforts for the Blue Devils with 13 points, scoring nine of them in the third quarter to help turn the momentum in Duke's favor. Taylor had her fingerprints all over the game and filled up the stat sheet as she also finished with five rebounds, four assists, five steals and a block. Classmate Elizabeth Balogun also finished the game in double figures with 12 points to go along with five boards.

Duke (16-1, 6-0 ACC) also received strong contributions from juniors Kennedy Brown and Vanessa de Jesus and sophomore Reigan Richardson. Brown tallied nine points, four rebounds and a pair of blocks while de Jesus produced half of the Blue Devil bench points with nine points of her own. Richardson chipped in eight points on 100 percent shooting overall and dished out two assists as well.

Georgia Tech (9-9, 0-7 ACC) was led by Kayla Blackshear's 14 points and eight rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Duke jumped out to an early five-point lead, then Georgia Tech responded and closed the period on a 7-2 run and held a 15-13 lead at the end of one.
The teams traded buckets in the second quarter, but the home team was able to keep the Blue Devils at bay, leading by as many as five.
Duke pulled within a point at the break, 28-27, as Taylor used a hesi to shake her defender and lay it home with five seconds remaining.
The Blue Devils grabbed control of the game early in the third quarter and surged in front 42-32 behind a 13-2 run over 4:21.
Overall, Duke outscored the Yellow Jackets 25-13 in the period and hit nine of its final 11 shots, capped off by Taya Corosdale's three from the right corner, to take a 52-41 lead into the final quarter.
Taylor and Brown combined for 17 of the team's 25 points in the third while Balogun, Corosdale, Jordyn Oliver and Richardson contributed buckets of their own as well.
The Blue Devils put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, limiting the Yellow Jackets to just six points in the 10-minute session while forcing four turnovers and holding the home team scoreless for the final 5:45 of the game.

GAME NOTES

With the win, Duke improves to 16-1 overall, 6-0 in conference play and 7-0 in true road contests.
The Blue Devils' 16 wins in 17 games, along with their six straight wins to open conference action, mark program bests dating back to the 2013-14 campaign.
The Blue Devils push their winning streak to 11 games – also its longest since the 2013-14 season.
Duke held its 10th opponent this season to 50 points or less.
For the game, Duke shot 53.1 percent from the field, 66.7 percent from three and 75.0 percent from the charity stripe.
Duke collected 13 steals – Taylor (5) and Corosdale (3) combining for eight of them, marking the eighth game this season with 10-plus thefts.
The Blue Devils doubled the Yellow Jackets' second half point total, outscoring Georgia Tech 38-19.
Georgia Tech's six points in the final period is tied for the third-lowest scoring output by a Duke opponent in the fourth quarter all-time.
Celeste Taylor registered her fifth straight and 13th overall double-digit scoring effort this season with 13 points, while classmate Elizabeth Balogun reached double figures for the 10th time this season and fourth in the last five games.
Duke assisted on 50 percent of its shots, tallying 13 assists on 26 made field goals.
The Blue Devils also outrebounded Georgia Tech 28-24 and outscored the Yellow Jackets in the paint (32-18), second chance points (13-6), on the fastbreak (11-2) and off the bench (18-16).

UP NEXT:
The Blue Devils cap their brief two-game road trip with a midweek tilt against in-state rival North Carolina Thursday, Jan. 19 at Carmichael Arena. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m., live on the ACC Network.

To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."

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