Balogun, Day-Wilson, Taylor Lead Blue Devils to 71-48 Win at FGCU

Sunday, December 11

Fort Myers, Fla.

1 p.m.

Duke University

10-1,0-0ACC

Florida Gulf Coast

8-2,0-0ASUN

Duke

FGCU

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Balogun, Day-Wilson, Taylor Lead Blue Devils to 71-48 Win at FGCU

12/11/2022 4:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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FORT MYERS, Fla. – Duke women's basketball closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule in style as the Blue Devils rode strong defense and three double-figure scorers to a 71-48 victory over Florida Gulf Coast Sunday afternoon at Alico Arena.

Elizabeth Balogun led the Duke (10-1) offensive charge for the second consecutive game as she finished with 16 points – 14 of those coming in the second quarter – to go with four rebounds and three assists. Celeste Taylor filled up the stat sheet, adding 14 points to reach 1,000 points for her career, while also grabbing four boards, swatting away three shots and collecting a team-high five steals. Rounding out the trio was Shayeann Day-Wilson who posted 12 points and three rebounds.

Sha Carter paced the Eagles (8-2) with 18 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Duke held a 13-10 lead following a physical opening 10 minutes of action. The Blue Devil defense flexed their muscle late in the period as they held Florida Gulf Coast to one make over its last nine attempts, including no field goals over the final 3:18 of the quarter.
Both teams began to find their offensive rhythm in the second quarter as they combined for 34 points, with Balogun refusing to be denied in the quarter as she netted 14 of the Blue Devils' 22 points.
The Blue Devils extended their lead to seven early in the period before FGCU battled back to pull within a pair, 24-22, with 3:58 remaining in the frame.
Duke cashed in four of its final five shots and closed the half on an 11-0 run to take a 13-point lead into the break. Defensively, the Blue Devils forced four turnovers and held the Eagles without a point over the final 3:15 of the stanza.
FGCU continued to fight and pulled within single digits, 43-34, with 2:49 to go in the third. That would be as close as the home team would get for the remainder of the contest.
Vanessa de Jesus' floater in the lane snapped a four-minute scoring drought and pushed the lead back to double digits. Day-Wilson followed by cashing in a triple to give Duke a 48-34 advantage at the end of the third.
The Blue Devils kept the pressure as they closed out the game in the final quarter, outscoring FGCU 22-14 to lock down the 22-point victory.

GAME NOTES

Duke improves to 10-1 overall and 4-0 in true road games.
With the win over Florida Gulf Coast, Duke finished non-conference action with 10 victories, marking the most for a Blue Devil team since the 2017-18 season when they finished non-conference action 11-2.
The Blue Devils finished with three players in double figures – Balogun (16), Taylor (13) and Day-Wilson (12).
Elizabeth Balogun's 14-point explosion in the second quarter moved the senior into the No. 2 slot all-time for most points scored in the period.
With her jumper at the 2:27 mark of the fourth quarter, Celeste Taylor reached 1000 career points.
Taylor becomes the second Blue Devil in as many seasons to achieve the benchmark, joining Balogun, who surpassed the 1,000-point threshold during Duke's 58-49 win at Miami on Jan. 18, 2022.
The Blue Devils' stifling defense was on full display as the team held its eighth opponent this season to 50 points or below and ninth foe to under 40 percent shooting. Florida Gulf Coast's 48 points were 28 points below its season average.
Duke shot 76.7 percent from the field in the fourth period, which ranks as the fourth-highest field goal percentage in the quarter all-time.
Duke shot at over a 50-percent clip for the third consecutive game and fifth time overall, cashing in 51.8 percent of its shots. The squad also dished out 15 assists on 29 made field goals while committing a season-low 12 turnovers.
Graduate student Taya Corosdale, junior Vanessa de Jesus and redshirt junior Jordyn Oliver provided a huge lift off the bench for Duke as the trio combined for 21 of the Blue Devils' 23 bench points.
Corosdale chipped in eight points, including two three-point plays, four rebounds and three assists, de Jesus added seven points, three boards and two dimes while Oliver tallied six points, five rebounds and five assists – the latter two team highs.
The Blue Devils outscored the Eagles 16-0 in fastbreak points and also held a 23-11 advantage off the bench.

UP NEXT:
Duke turns its attention to conference play, beginning with the ACC opener on Wednesday, Dec. 21 against Virginia. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., live on ACCNX.

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