Trio Paces Blue Devils to Commanding Victory Over No. 8 North Carolina

Thursday, February 27

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

22-7,13-4ACC

North Carolina

25-5,13-4ACC

North Carolina

Duke

Reigan Richardson celebrates after hitting a three

Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics

Trio Paces Blue Devils to Commanding Victory Over No. 8 North Carolina

2/27/2025 10:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Coach Lawson Presser Duke Quotes (PDF)Highlights

DURHAM, N.C. – Toby Fournier, Ashlon Jackson and Reigan Richardson combined for 53 of Duke's 68 points, while the 16th-ranked Blue Devils used a stellar third-quarter performance to propel themselves to a commanding, 68-53, victory over No. 8 North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium Thursday night.

Richardson scored 16 points after the half and finished with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including five from beyond the arc. Fournier, aggressive from the jump, notched her second career double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds – six coming on the offensive end. Jackson rounded out the trio with 11 points, contributing three assists and two steals as well.

Jadyn Donovan turned in another terrific all-around performance with eight points, eight caroms and four blocks while Taina Mair quarterbacked the offense with precision with six assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Blue Devils held a 24-17 lead after the first quarter, spearheaded by Fournier's 13 first-quarter points on 5-of-6 shooting and 2-of-3 from the line.
The first quarter featured four ties and three lead changes as the rivals battled back-and-forth across the first six minutes. Lanie Grant pulled the visitors within one, 15-14, at the 3:46 mark, but Fournier (7) and Richardson (2) posted nine of the last 12 points in the frame to give the Blue Devils a seven-point margin heading into the second.
North Carolina owned the second period, outscoring the Blue Devils 15-7 across the 10 minutes to take a 32-31 edge into the break. The visitors closed the half with six unanswered while holding Duke to one of its last nine from the field.
The Blue Devils parlayed a personal 8-0 run by Richardson at the start of the third into a seven-point advantage. The senior stopped on a dime and knocked down a midrange jay from the left wing, then cashed in back-to-back triples to put Duke ahead, 39-32, forcing a Tar Heel timeout at the 7:19 mark.
North Carolina battled back to tie the game at 41-41, but that would be short lived. Jackson drilled a triple from the right slot to snap a four minute Duke scoring drought, which Richardson followed by knocking down her fourth three of the game.
Oluchi Okananwa added a finish in transition and Jackson drilled another trey in the final seconds to give the Blue Devils a 52-41 lead heading into the final period.
North Carolina attempted a comeback early in the fourth and managed to pull within seven, 54-47, with just under seven to play in regulation. That would be as close as they would get for the remainder of the game.
Duke issued a quick response and instantly pushed its lead back to double-digits courtesy of a Donovan jumper and a three-point play from Jackson. Fournier (6) and Richardson (3) added the finishing touches, combining for the final nine Blue Devil points of the night as Duke polished off the 68-53 victory.

NOTES:

With the win, Duke improves to 22-7 overall and 13-4 in ACC play.
The Blue Devils pick up their third win over a top-10 opponent this season and move to 5-5 overall against ranked opponents in 2024-25.
Duke concludes the home slate of the 2024-25 regular season with a 13-1 (.929) record. The Blue Devils are 41-6 (.872) in Cameron Indoor Stadium over the past three seasons.
The Blue Devils shot 26-of-64 (41%) from the floor, 9-of-23 (39.1%) from deep and 7-of-10 (70%) from the charity stripe. Duke dropped 14 dimes on 26 field goals and matched a season-low eight turnovers.
Duke finished with a positive margin on the glass, outrebounding North Carolina, 33-30.
Defensively, Duke collected 12 steals, blocked six shots and forced 20 Tar Heel blunders, including a shot clock violation. The Blue Devils have now forced 39 shot clock violations this season.
Duke held North Carolina to single digits (9) in the third quarter. The Blue Devils have held opponents to single digits in 28 quarters this season.
Duke kept UNC 19 points below its average points per game. The Tar Heels entered the matchup putting up 72.0 points. North Carolina marks the 16th ACC opponent, and 24th foe in 2024-25 overall, that Duke has held below its respective scoring average.
The Blue Devils won the battle of the superlatives, finishing the game with the advantage in four of five categories – points off turnover (25-11), off the bench (21-4), in transition (16-7) and second chance opportunities (13-6). Duke and North Carolina each totaled 26 points in the paint.
Senior Reigan Richardson poured in a game-high 23 points, marking her second 20-point performance of the season and the 15th time in 2024-25 reaching double digits.
Richardson netted 13 of her points in the third quarter – tied for fifth most in the period in program lore.
Freshman Toby Fournier posted her 18th double-figure outing of the season and second career double-double, finishing her evening with 19 points and 10 rebounds – six on the offensive glass – along with two blocks.
She paced Duke in the opening quarter with 13 points, which is tied for the fourth-highest scoring output on the Duke single-game charts.
Junior Ashlon Jackson notched double digits for the 18th time in 2024-25 as she rounded out the trio in double figures with 11 points, three dimes and two steals.
Jadyn Donovan had her hands all over the stat sheet with eight points, eight rebounds, four blocks and a steal. It marks the 17th time this season the sophomore has pulled down seven or more rebounds.
Junior Taina Mair contributed six dimes to just one turnover and added three rebounds and three steals in the winning effort. Mair continues to be stellar with the basketball, totaling 56 assists to 17 turnovers over the stretch for a 3.3 assist/turnover ratio.

UP NEXT:
The Blue Devils close out the regular season in the Sunshine State, making the trek to Tallahassee for a battle with No. 24 Florida State on Sunday, March 2. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m., live on ACC Network.

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