Defense Paces No. 10 Duke to 74-55 Victory over Clemson

Thursday, February 6

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

Clemson

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Defense Paces No. 10 Duke to 74-55 Victory over Clemson

2/6/2025 9:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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DURHAM, N.C. – Duke freshman Toby Fournier led a quartet of double-figure scorers with 20 points as the 10th-ranked Blue Devils beat Clemson, 74-55, in ACC women's basketball action Thursday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Fournier finished 9-of-12 from the floor to post her sixth 20-point performance. Ashlon Jackson had 15 points while Oluchi Okananwa had 14 and Reigan Richardson 12. Jackson added four rebounds and four assists while Richardson had five and three, respectively, in balanced efforts from the veterans.

Duke (18-5, 9-2 ACC) forced Clemson (11-12, 4-8) into 27 turnovers and turned those into 35 points on the offensive end. Okananwa and Emma Koabel led the way with three steals apiece.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Clemson opened the game's scoring on a Maddi Cluse triple, then Duke reeled off 10 unanswered to jump out to a 10-3 advantage. Fournier and Taina Mair kickstarted the run, with Okananwa capping it with back-to-back threes.
Richardson netted the final points of the quarter as Duke held a 14-8 lead after one. Defensively, the Blue Devils held Clemson to just 33-percent shooting (2-of-6) while forcing nine turnovers in the opening 10 minutes.
The Tigers found their offensive footing in the second quarter, putting 19 points up on the board. Duke was able to maintain its separation, netting 18 points during the period to keep the visitors at bay and take a 32-27 advantage into the half.
Fournier (8) and Jackson (6) combined for 14 points to lead the way, as Duke shot a season-high 66 percent (8-of-12) in the quarter.
The Blue Devils had their foot on the gas coming out of the halftime break, parlaying an 11-0 run into a 16-point lead with 4:46 left in the third.
Richardson cashed in a pair of buckets and Okananwa finished inside, before Koabel capped the spurt with a triple from the right wing and a floater in the lane. Clemson was forced to burn a timeout as Duke's lead surged to 45-29 midway through the period.
After Clemson pulled within 11, 45-34, Duke immediately responded with nine unanswered for its largest lead of the game, 54-34. The Tigers closed the quarter on a 5-1 spurt, making it a 16-point game, 55-39, with 10 minutes left.
The Blue Devils found their shooting touch in the third quarter, hitting 58.8 percent of their shots from the field. On the defensive end, Duke forced the Tigers into seven turnovers in the stanza, translating those to nine points.
Duke remained steady in the final 10 minutes, never letting Clemson get any closer than 13 en route to the 19-point victory. Jackson had nine of her 15 points in the final quarter as Duke turned over the Tigers eight times.

NOTES:

Duke shot a season-high 67 percent in the second quarter as the Blue Devils knocked down 8-of-12 shots from the field.
With their 74 points against the Tigers, the Blue Devils eclipsed 70 points for the 18th time this season. Duke finished the night with four players in double figures, marking the 19th outing of the year that at least three Duke players have scored 10 or more points.
The Blue Devils assisted on more than 50 percent of their field goals with 17 dimes on 30 buckets (.566). Duke also had a season-low eight turnovers.
Defensively, the Blue Devils blocked four shots, tallied 12 steals and forced 27 turnovers. Duke held Clemson to single digits (8) on 33-percent shooting (2-of-6) and forced nine turnovers in the first quarter. Duke has held its foes to single digits in 24 quarters this season.
Additionally, Duke kept the Tigers 22 points below their average points per game. Clemson entered the matchup putting up 67.3 points per game. The Blue Devils have now held 10 ACC opponents, and 18 foes this season overall, below their respective scoring averages.
Duke won the superlative battle via a sweep of all five categories - points off turnovers (35-10), bench points (42-22), points in the paint (40-22), second chance opportunities (14-5) and transition scoring (12-6).
The Blue Devils forced four shot clock violations by the Tigers, pushing their season total to 24 violations forced.
Toby Fournier registered her 14th game in double figures and fifth 20-point effort of the year with a game-high 20 points on an efficient 9-of-12 shooting (75%). The freshman also pulled down four rebounds and blocked two shots - her eighth contest with at least two rejections.
Ashlon Jackson reached double figures for the eighth time in 10 games courtesy of a strong all-around performance. Jackson scored nine points in the fourth quarter en route to finishing with 15 for the game, while also adding four rebounds, four assists and two steals to her statline.
Oluchi Okananwa posted her 11th game in double digits after chipping in 14 points. The sophomore was perfect during the game, going 5-of-5 from the field, 2-of-2 from distance and 2-of-2 at the charity stripe. Okananwa rounded out her night with three rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Reigan Richardson rounded out the Duke quartet in double figures with 12 points - her 11th game this season in double figures. Richardson completed her showing with five boards, three assists, a steal and a block.
Emma Koabel provided a spark off the Duke bench in the third quarter as the Blue Devils broke the game open. Koabel chipped in five points, two rebounds, two assists and three steals - the latter tying a career high.

UP NEXT:
The Blue Devils cap a two-game homestand with a matchup against Miami Sunday, Feb. 9 in the annual Pink Game. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m., live on ACCNX.

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