Jackson Drops 30 to Lead No. 13 Duke Past No. 9 Kansas State, 73-62

Monday, November 25

Henderson, Nev.

3 p.m.

Duke University

6-1,0-0ACC

Kansas State

5-1,0-0Big 12

Kansas St.

Duke

Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics

Jackson Drops 30 to Lead No. 13 Duke Past No. 9 Kansas State, 73-62

11/25/2024 4:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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HENDERSON, Nevada – Duke women's basketball junior Ashlon Jackson dropped a career-high 30 points to lead the 13th-ranked Blue Devils (6-1) to a convincing ,73-62, victory over No. 9 Kansas State (5-1) in the opening game of the 2024 Ball Dawgs Classic at Lee's Family Forum Monday afternoon.

Jackson's 30 points are the most since Haley Gorecki had 30 against Idaho State in 2019.

Senior Reigan Richardson contributed 16 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals in the winning effort, while junior Taina Mair quarterbacked the offense with a season-high seven dimes. Delaney Thomas was the third Duke player to finish in double figures with the sophomore turning in a solid all-around performance of 10 points and eight rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The opening quarter was a seesaw affair with both teams trading sizeable runs across the 10 minutes.
Kansas State jumped out to an early 14-4 lead, but the Blue Devils issued a response of their own, parlaying a 13-2 run over three minutes to surge ahead, 17-16, with 41 seconds to play.
Sophomores Oluchi Okananwa and Jordan Wood kick-started the burst for Duke via a nifty reverse and a hook shot following some nice footwork, respectively.
Donovan, Jackson and Richardson combined for the next nine – five coming from Richardson – to give the Blue Devils their first lead of the game.
The Wildcats scored with 30 seconds remaining, however, to take an 18-17 lead at the end of one.
Jackson was the story of the second frame as the junior had the hot hand with 16 points from four three-pointers and 6-of-7 shooting overall. She spearheaded the 15-3 run over the final six minutes of the period to give Duke the 37-31 lead going into the locker room.
Duke held Kansas State to just four field goals in the second quarter and forced six turnovers while not committing a single turnover itself.
A balanced stat sheet in the third quarter allowed the Blue Devils to extend their lead to double digits, 47-36, midway through the stanza. Duke stretched the advantage to as many as 15 late in the quarter before Kansas State scored the final three points to make it a 12-point game, 58-46, after three.
Seven different Blue Devils scored in the third quarter as Duke hit 8-of-16 from the field.
Jackson's stellar afternoon continued into the fourth quarter as she knocked down her sixth shot from behind the arc to push the Duke lead back to 15, forcing Kansas State to call a 30-second timeout.
The Blue Devils carried the momentum through the final seven minutes of the game, leading by as many as 19. Kansas State went on a short run in the final minutes, but Duke's second-half efforts were too much in the 73-62 victory.

NOTES:

Duke scored 70 or more points for the seventh consecutive game. It marks the team's longest streak of 70-point outings to open a season dating back to 2013-14 when Duke scored 70-plus in each of its first 10 games.
The Blue Devils shot 43 percent (30-69) from the field, 47 percent (7-of-15) from distance and 67 percent (6-of-9) at the foul line.
Duke's three-point percentage was the second best by the Blue Devils this season, trailing only the 50-percent clip (8-of-16) registered at Liberty Nov. 10.
For the seventh time this season, Duke finished the game with at least three players in double figures - Jackson (25), Richardson (16), Thomas (10)
The Blue Devils outrebounded the Wildcats 38-34 while also winning the battle in points off turnovers (15-8) and second chance points (11-5).
Kansas State's 34 rebounds marked a season low and was 15.6 fewer than its third-ranked rebound per game average (49.6) coming into the game.
Duke's 10 turnovers were its second fewest this season. The Blue Devils tallied a season-low nine miscues in the road win at South Dakota State (11.17).
Forty-seven percent of Duke's field goals came via the extra pass, notching 14 assists on 30 made buckets.
On the defensive end, Duke held Kansas State 26.8 points fewer than its respective season scoring average.
The Wildcats entered the contest 13th in the NCAA in scoring offense (88.8 ppg), but the Blue Devils held them to 62 points and just 2-of-10 from distance.
The Blue Devils also forced 18 turnovers - a season high for Kansas State - and registered more blocks (5-3) and steals (8-4) than the Wildcats.
Junior Ashlon Jackson exploded for a game and career-high 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the floor, including 6-of-9 from three. She also added three rebounds and two steals.
Sixteen of her points came in the second frame (6-of-7 FG, 4-of-4 3PT), matching the highest individual second-quarter scoring output by a Blue Devil all-time. She tied former Duke standout Haley Gorecki, who set the original second-period scoring mark against Davidson almost six years ago exactly (Nov. 27, 2019).
Jackson, who registered her 23rd double-figure scoring output and the fourth 20-point performance of her career, is the first Blue Devil since Gorecki (11.21.19) to score 30 or more in a game and also moves into a tie with Lexie Brown (2.19.18) for the second-most points against a top-10 team.
Reigan Richardson finished in double digits for the fifth time this season. The senior netted 16 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win.
Sophomore Delaney Thomas turned in a solid all-around performance with 10 points and team-high eight boards. It is her second game this season, and seventh of her career, with 10 or more points.
Sophomore Jadyn Donovan matched her career high with four rejections while also totaling six points, seven caroms - five offensive, and two assist.
Junior Taina Mair quarterbacked the Duke offense and registered a season-high seven dimes.
Freshman Jenessa Cotton made her collegiate debut against Kansas State, playing two minutes.

UP NEXT:
The 13th-ranked Blue Devils gear up for their second straight top-15 matchup, this time taking on No. 8 Oklahoma in the Ball Dawgs Classic title game Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 4:30pm ET.

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