Fournier Paces No. 16 Duke to 72-38 Victory Over No. 18 California

Thursday, January 16

Durham, N.C.

8 p.m.

Duke University

14-4,5-1ACC

California

16-3,4-2ACC

California

Duke

Toby Fournier smiles in preparation for taking a free throw sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Fournier Paces No. 16 Duke to 72-38 Victory Over No. 18 California

1/16/2025 10:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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DURHAM, N.C. – Duke freshman Toby Fournier recorded her first career double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead the No. 16 Blue Devils past 18th-ranked California, 72-38, in ACC women's basketball action Thursday evening inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Ashlon Jackson and Reigan Richardson rounded out Duke's trio of double-digit scorers with 16 points and 14 points, respectively.

Playing stifling defense all night, Duke (14-4, 5-1 ACC) scored 32 points off 31 California turnovers. Jadyn Donovan and Taina Mair anchored the defensive effort with four steals apiece. Mair also dished five assists in the triumph.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke and California traded baskets to start the opening frame until the Blue Devils parlayed an 8-0 run – featuring buckets by Jadyn Donovan, Toby Fournier, Ashlon Jackson and Delaney Thomas – into a 13-5 advantage at the 3:34 mark.
Cal attempted to cut into the deficit with a couple buckets and a pair of free throws, but Fournier and Jackson would have the answer for the home team as Duke held a 19-11 lead after one.
The second quarter was all Blue Devils as they broke off a 16-2 run over a seven-minute span for a 35-13 lead. Fournier had five points in the stretch as four different players scored points in the spurt.
Duke led by as many 23 before Georgia Tech scored the final six points of the quarter sending the Blue Devils into halftime up, 37-20.
Duke's defense was stellar in the second frame, forcing 11 Cal turnovers while holding the Golden Bears to just two points through the first eight minutes of the quarter.
Fournier (5), Oluchi Okananwa (4) and Thomas (4) paced the offensive efforts with Jackson and Richardson also netting buckets.
Duke remained steady in the third quarter, going ahead 24, 46-22, at the 7:04 mark. Thanks to stifling defense and solid shooting by the Blue Devils, Duke stretched its lead to 34, 59-25, late in the period. The Bears and Blue Devils traded layups in the final minutes, leaving Duke up 61-27, after 30 minutes of action.
The Blue Devils shot 50 percent and scored 11 points off turnovers in the quarter. Reigan Richardson led all scorers in the period with seven points.
Duke struggled on offense in the final stanza, shooting just 19 percent and scoring only 11 points. However, the Bears were unable to cut into the Blue Devil advantage, netting just 11 points themselves in the 34-point loss.

NOTES:

Duke's stifling defense was on full display, forcing California into a season-high 31 turnovers while holding the Golden Bears to season lows in points (38), field goals (16), three pointers (2), field goal percentage (.356) and three point percentage (.167).
The 31 turnovers forced marks the 10th time on the year Duke has forced the opposition into 20 or more miscues. It is also the second most forced by the team this season, trailing the 34 turnovers committed by Radford in the season opener (11.4). The Blue Devils also racked up 15 steals - their seventh game this season with at least 15 thefts.
The 38 points by Cal marks the lowest point total all-time by a ranked opponent against Duke. The previous low was 40 points by No. 19 North Carolina (March 3) in the quarterfinals of the 2023 ACC Tournament.
Duke held the visitors to single digits in the second (9) and third (7) quarters, respectively. The Blue Devils have held their opponents to single digits in 16 quarters this season.
Duke led the game wire-to-wire with its lead reaching as large as 36 at the 1:41 mark of the fourth quarter.
Offensively, Duke shot 43.5% from the field (27-of-62), 70.6% at the charity stripe and knocked down six trifectas. Sixty-seven percent of the Blue Devils' field goals were assisted with 18 dimes on 27 buckets.
For the 14th time in 18 games, the Blue Devils scored over 70 points and had at least three players finish in double figures.
Duke finished with a plus-11 margin on the glass, outrebounding the Golden Bears 39-28, including a 17-9 edge on the offensive end.
In the battle of the superlative stats, Duke swept all five categories - points off turnovers (32-7), bench scoring (34-15), second chance points (20-11), in the paint (32-26) and in transition (11-5).
Freshman Toby Fournier posted her 11th double-figure outing, fourth 20-point game and first career double-double with 23 points and a career-best 11 boards in 23 minutes off the bench, rounding out her performance with two blocks and a steal.
Fournier was extremely efficient against the Golden Bears shooting 70% (7-of-10) from the floor and 90% (9-of-10) at the foul line. Her nine free throws is tied for 10th all-time on the Duke freshman single game records list.
Junior Ashlon Jackson reached double figures for the third consecutive game and fourth time in her last five outings, putting up 16 points and two rebounds.
Senior Reigan Richardson contributed 14 points, two rebounds and two steals in the win over Cal. She has reached double figures for the third time in five games and 10th time this season overall.
Junior Taina Mair provided a significant impact on both ends of the floor, running the offense to near perfection with five assists to just one turnover, while matching a season high with four steals on the defensive end.
Sophomore Oluchi Okananwa tallied six points, four rebounds and three steals and finished with the Blue Devils' highest plus-minus at +30.
Sophomore Jadyn Donovan corralled six rebounds and tied a career high with four steals.

UP NEXT:
Duke welcomes Stanford to Cameron Indoor Stadium for a Sunday matinee and the first tilt as ACC foes Jan. 19. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m., live on ESPN2.

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