Balanced Effort Leads No. 15 Duke Past Norfolk State, 83-32

Wednesday, November 12

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

2-1,0-0ACC

Norfolk State

2-2,0-0MEAC

Norfolk St.

Duke

Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics

Balanced Effort Leads No. 15 Duke Past Norfolk State, 83-32

11/12/2025 9:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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DURHAM, N.C. — Making her Duke debut, redshirt freshman Arianna Roberson scored 12 points and pulled down six rebounds to help the 15th-ranked Blue Devils to an 83-32 victory over Norfolk State in non-conference women's basketball action Wednesday evening.

Roberson, playing in her first game in 440 days, went 3-of-6 from the field, 6-of-6 from the charity stripe and picked up two steals and three blocks in just 12 minutes of action. Senior Taina Mair had another impressive outing with a team-high 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Duke (2-1) had 10 players score and three Blue Devils made their debuts in a Duke uniform.

Anjanae Richardson led Norfolk State (1-2) with 11 points. Duke held the Spartans to just 16 percent shooting – the fourth lowest field goal percentage by a Blue Devil opponent in program history and the lowest since 2005.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Blue Devils raced out to an 8-0 lead in the opening four minutes. It was a balanced effort offensively with four different players getting on the board. Jaydn Donovan opened the scoring for the Blue Devils with a put-back. The Blue Devils held the Spartans to 1-of-11 shooting in the first 6:13.

Duke redshirt freshman Arianna Roberson made her Blue Devil debut and, within a minute of being in the game, knocked down two free throws to put Duke ahead 10-2. The 6-4 center continued to fill up the basket, adding five more points to send the Blue Devils into the first-quarter break with a 17-5 lead.

The Blue Devils stretched it to 21-7 before Norfolk State drained an open three to bring it back to 11. Duke got its transition offense going midway through the second, putting together an 8-0 spurt keyed by Taina Mair's two baskets and assist. The senior guard and Riley Nelson tacked on a pair of trifectas as the Blue Devils went to the locker room with a 38-16 lead.

Roberson had nine points in seven minutes of action in the opening 20 minutes while freshman Emilee Skinner had two points, three assists and three rebounds in her first nine minutes.

The Blue Devils rode the hot hand of Nelson in the early minutes of the third quarter, stretching the lead to 28 points and forcing a Norfolk State timeout.

Skinner continued to make plays for the Blue Devils, scoring and facilitating as Duke's advantage ballooned to 58-26 after three quarters of action.

Duke had seven different scorers in the third stanza with Nelson pacing the effort with six points. The Blue Devils shot 58 percent in the quarter while holding Norfolk State to just seven percent shooting (1-of-14).

Junior Delaney Thomas opened the fourth frame by converting a three-point play for Duke. The Spartans answered with a jumper, but the Blue Devils halted any momentum with a dominant 16-0 run to extend their lead to 77-28.

Duke held Norfolk State scoreless for 6:04 in the quarter, with the drought ending as the Spartans added four points late. The Blue Devils closed out the 83-32 victory with Thomas sinking a pair of free throws and Mair delivering the final bucket on a layup.

UP NEXT

Duke hits the road for the remainder of the month. The Blue Devils take on West Virginia in the Skechers Greenbrier Tip-Off at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Tipoff against the Mountaineers is set for 7 p.m., on ESPNU.

To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to the YouTube channel by searching "DukeWBB."


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