No. 16 Blue Devils Gear Up for Road Test at No. 9 Notre Dame

Sunday, February 5

South Bend, Ind.

1 p.m.

Duke University

Notre Dame

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 16 Blue Devils Gear Up for Road Test at No. 9 Notre Dame

2/4/2023 1:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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THE OPENING TIP

Duke is back on the road for its next two games, starting with a trip to South Bend, Ind., where the Blue Devils square off against No. 9/8 Notre Dame Sunday, Feb. 5 at 1 p.m., live on RSN.
Tom Werme and Tabitha Turner will call the action on RSN while Chris Edwards calls the game on the radio on the Blue Devil Sports Network from Learfield.
Duke is having one of the best seasons in recent history – boasting a 19-3 overall record and an 9-2 mark in ACC play. The Blue Devils' 19 wins in 22 games and 9-2 record in league play mark program bests dating back to the 2013-14 campaign.
The Blue Devils need just two wins to reach 1,000 program victories.
Elizabeth Balogun was tabbed as one of 10 players selected to the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Mid-Season Top-10 list while Celeste Taylor was named to the 2023 Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year 2023 Watch List.
Duke checks in at No. 16 in the Week 13 Associated Press (AP) and No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches Polls.
In the latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, Duke is slotted 10th (as of Feb. 3).
Defense has been the calling card for the Blue Devils this season as the team has won each of its games by an average of 20.6 points and held each of its opponents below their season scoring average, including 12 of the 22 to 50 points or less.
Duke has held its foes to 51.7 points per game on 34.8 percent shooting from the floor, marks that currently rank fourth and ninth in the NCAA, respectively, as well as first in the ACC (as of Feb. 3).
Duke has found its stroke from distance lately, knocking down its treys at a 40.0-percent clip in ACC play.
The Blue Devils have received a huge lift from their reserves, averaging 24.3 points off the bench.
Notre Dame leads the all-time series, 17-3, but the Blue Devils are winners of the last two matchups.
In the lone meeting last season, Duke pulled out a thrilling 72-70 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium behind 27 points from Elizabeth Balogun, including the game winner.

SHARING THE WEALTH

Duke's starting five of senior Elizabeth Balogun, junior Kennedy Brown, sophomores Shayeann Day-Wilson and Reigan Richardson and senior Celeste Taylor have provided a steady hand for the Blue Devils this season, combining for 68.1 percent (45.9 points) of the team's 67.4 points per game.
Taylor has reached double digits in 15 of the 22 games this season followed by Day-Wilson with 12 and Balogun with 11. Richardson and Brown have each tallied seven double-digit scoring efforts.
Taylor leads the offensive charge for Duke, averaging 11.9 points per game with Balogun (10.3) and Day-Wilson (9.6) right behind in second and third. Brown and Richardson round out the group with 7.3 and 6.8 points a contest, respectively.
Duke's depth has been on full display as the Blue Devils have featured seven different leading scorers through 22 games this season, with Taylor (7), Day-Wilson (6), Balogun (5) and Vanessa de Jesus (2) finishing with the team-high on multiple occasions.
The squad features 10 players averaging at least 13 minutes per game with four of them averaging 20-plus minutes a contest -- Taylor (28.3), Brown (24.3), Day-Wilson (23.9) and Balogun (22.3).
As a team, the Blue Devils rank second in turnover margin (+3.41), fourth in scoring margin (+15.68), free throw percentage (.745) and three-point field goal percentage (.334) and eighth in assist/turnover ratio (0.95).
Duke also ranks seventh in the ACC in field goal percentage (.429) and has assisted on 323 of its 552 made field goals (.585) for an average of 14.7 dimes per game -- sixth in the ACC.

DISRUPTING THE PEACE – ELITE BLUE DEVIL DEFENSE

Disruptive defense has been the calling card for the Blue Devils early in the season as the team ranks among the nation's elite, having held its opponents to 51.7 points per game on a 34.8 percent clip from the field.
Those marks check in at fourth and ninth in the NCAA, respectively, while ranking first in the ACC (as of Feb. 3).
Duke is also eighth in Defensive Rating, allowing its opponents just 0.668 points per possession.
The Blue Devils have won each of their games by an average of 20.6 points and held each of their opponents below their season scoring average, including 12 of the 22 to 50 points or less.
In addition to leading the league in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense, the Blue Devils are also first in the ACC in rebounding defense (31.00), third in three-point defense (.276), rebound margin (+7.73), blocks (5.18) and defensive rebounding percentage (.739) and fifth in steals (9.36).

UPTICK IN EFFICIENCY

Duke's duo of Shayeann Day-Wilson and Celeste Taylor have seen an uptick in their efficiency, particularly on the offensive end.
The team's leading scorer this season, Taylor is averaging 12.5 points on 40.0 percent from the floor and 35.8 percent from distance since the start of ACC play.
She has scored double figures in eight of 11 games, including a season-high 23 points to help the Blue Devils knock off then-No. 6 NC State, 72-58.
In non-conference play, Taylor put up 11.2 points on 44.0 percent from the floor and 29.4 percent from three.
Day-Wilson has raised her play since the schedule transitioned over to conference action, improving her scoring average by almost four points while also raising her shooting percentage.
After putting up 8.8 ppg on 38.1 percent and 35.7 percent shooting splits in non-conference play, the sophomore has averaged 12.5 points on 47.1 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from deep.
She has scored double figures in five straight games and in six of her last seven outings.

TAYLOR NAMED TO 2023 NAISMITH WOMEN'S DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCHLIST

Duke women's basketball senior Celeste Taylor was one of 15 athletes named to the 2023 Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year Watch List.
Taylor has been as pest on the defensive end for the Blue Devils with an average of 2.14 steals per game, good for fifth in the ACC. She has tallied two-plus steals in 12 games this season, including seven games with three or more thefts.
The Valley Stream, N.Y. product is ninth in defensive win shares with an average of 2.7 per 40 minutes while her player defensive rating is 72.7 - good for 39th in the country (out of 3,442 players).

DUKE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS

Duke checks in at No. 16 in the Week 13 Associated Press (AP) and No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches Polls.
The Blue Devils are also ranked 13th in the ESPN Women's Basketball Power Rankings.
The latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings has the Blue Devils slotted 10th nationally (as of Feb. 3), second in the ACC, with an undefeated record at home (11-0), a 7-2 mark in true road contests and are 1-1 in neutral site games.
With an average opponent NET ranking of eight, the Blue Devils are 5-3 this season against teams ranked in the top 50 of the NET Rankings and 11-3 against the top 100, including wins over NC State (No. 13), Virginia Tech (No. 20), Louisville (No. 34), Virginia (No. 49), FGCU (No. 50) and Oregon State (No. 53). Duke's three losses have come against UConn, Florida State and North Carolina, who check in at No. 2, No. 15 and No. 18, respectively, in the NET.

IN ELITE COMPANY

The Blue Devils are the only women's basketball team so far this season to shoot 100 percent from the charity stripe and 64 percent or higher from beyond the arc in the same game, according to HerHoopStats.
Duke cashed in nine of its 14 three-point attempts and went 15-of-15 from the foul line in the win over the Wolfpack.
After tallying 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals against Syracuse, Celeste Taylor joined Chelsea Gray (3X), Haley Gorecki (4X), and Lexie Brown (4X) as the only Duke women's basketball players since 2009-2010 to post multiple career games of 15+ Points, 5+ Rebounds, 4+ Assists, and 4+ Steals, according to HerHoopStats.

HEATING UP FROM DISTANCE

After a slow start from downtown to open the season, the Blue Devils have settled in and begun to find their stroke from three-point land.
Since the start of conference play, Duke has knocked down its treys at a 40.0-percent clip compared to just 34.3 percent in non-conference action.
The Blue Devils have shot over 40 percent in five of the 10 ACC games while seven Duke players have combined for the 66 three-point makes.
Shayeann Day-Wilson and Celeste Taylor lead the charge with 20 and 19 threes apiece, respectively. Vanessa de Jesus has cashed in nine, while Elizabeth Balogun has knocked down seven and Ashlon Jackson six.
Reigan Richardson and Taya Corosdale round out the group with three and two triples, respectively.

LAST TIME OUT

Sophomore Shayeann Day-Wilson and senior Celeste Taylor each scored a game-high 13 points to help lead No. 16 Duke past Pitt, 53-44, Thursday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Elizabeth Balogun also had a solid night for the Blue Devils with nine points and four rebounds.
Junior Kennedy Brown pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to go with her six points and two blocks while Taylor led the assist efforts with four dimes.
Duke assisted on 11 of its 20 made field goals and blocked eight shots during the game, with three players posting two blocks apiece – Brown, Mia Heide and Taylor.
The Blue Devils outscored the Panthers in the paint (26-16) and on second chance opportunities (15-5).
Check out the full recap here.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE FIGHTING IRISH

No. 9 Notre Dame enters Sunday's matchup at 18-3 overall and 9-2 in conference play, fresh off a 72-59 win at Boston College.
The Fighting Irish lead the ACC in field goal percentage, assists and scoring margin while ranking second in assist/turnover ratio, scoring and offensive rebounding. Defensively, Notre Dame is second in field goal percentage defense and blocks.
Olivia Miles (15.3), Sonia Citron (14.2) and Maddy Westbeld (10.6) lead the team in scoring with double figure averages. Miles also paces the squad in rebounding (7.2) and assists with 7.1 per game.

UP NEXT
Duke caps its two-game road swing on Feb. 9 as the Blue Devils make the trek to Boston for a matchup with Boston College at 7 p.m., on ACCNX.

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