Duke Back in Action at Belmont Saturday

The Opening Tip

Duke makes the trip to Nashville, Tennessee to take on Belmont following its 97-54 win over South Dakota State Thursday night. The Blue Devils are 5-6 overall and have won two straight. Duke hits the ground running after a brief holiday break, playing five ACC games in a span of 15 days.
Duke's six losses are against the current NET No. 6 LSU, No. 3 UCLA, No. 5 South Carolina, No. 25 West Virginia, No. 28 Baylor and No. 72 South Florida. The Blue Devils are led on offense by sophomore Toby Fournier's 16.3 points per game. Ashlon Jackson is dropping 12.7 points per game and Taina Mair follows with an average of 12.4 to round out the double-digit scorers. Fournier and Delaney Thomas lead the charge on the glass, averaging 6.6 and 5.7 rebounds per game, respectively. Fournier is the top rim protector, averaging 2.4 blocks per game, while Jordan Wood is at 1.5 per game. Mair is the floor general, dishing 5.2 assists to 2.7 turnovers per game.
The Bruins are 5-6 and coming off a 77-67 win over Missouri Valley foe Evansville Wednesday night. Belmont, 3-2 at home this season, is led on offense by Jailyn Banks' 14.9 points. Banks is adept at getting to the free throw line with 46 of her 119 points this season coming from the charity stripe. Hilary Fuller is chipping in 11.8 points per game while Tuti Jones averages 11.4. Jones is the top rebounder at 5.7 per game while also leading the defense with 36 steals to rank 17th nationally. The Bruins average 68.8 points per game and have struggled at times on the glass, being outrebounded in seven of the 11 games.
Duke looks to extend its series lead against Belmont to 3-0. The two teams last met a year ago, when the Blue Devils registered a 79-47 win over the Bruins in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Toby Fournier had a big night for Duke, scoring 25 points and collecting six rebounds. Duke held Belmont to just 33.3 percent shooting in the game.

About Belmont/Series History

Duke and Belmont are meeting for the third time overall and for the second straight season. The Blue Devils are 2-0 versus the Bruins with an average margin of victory of 23 points. Duke defeated Belmont inside Cameron Indoor Stadium last November, 79-47. The first matchup was in the NCAA Tournament in 2018 - a 72-58 win in Athens, Georgia.
Belmont is playing its sixth home game this season and its third game in seven days. Five of the Bruins' six losses came against current AP Top 25 teams.
Jailyn Banks paces the offense with 14.9 points per game while Hilary Fuller is dropping in 11.8. Tuti Jones contributes 11.4 points per game along with leading the charge in the rebounding game at 5.7. The Bruins are shooting just 38 percent from the floor this season but sport a turnover margin of 3.7 in forcing opponents into 18 turnovers per game.

Ashlon Jackson Starting to Find the Touch

Ashlon Jackson has started to hit her shooting touch after getting off to a slow start. The senior guard has 13 threes in the past four games after hitting 12 in the first seven games of the year. She is shooting 35 percent in the previous four contests, a from deep in the past three games after hitting just 12-of-44 (27 percent) from deep to start the season.
The three three-pointers against South Dakota State pushed her career total to 187, which sits fifth in Duke history. She needs just 13 more threes to become just the fifth player in Duke lore to surpass 200. Her 531 attempts are fifth.

Riley Nelson Is So Back

Redshirt sophomore Riley Nelson saw her first action as a Blue Devil against Baylor in Paris. It was the first game for the Clarksburg, Maryland, native in 659 days, dating back to Jan. 14, 2024, in a Maryland uniform.
Nelson is starting to figure out the Duke offense, distributing 14 assists in the past three games, 58 percent of her total of 24 this season. In the past five games, Nelson is averaging 7.33 points per game and has three double-digit outings in that span, including a career-high matching 15 points against South Dakota State.

Up Next

The Blue Devils return from the brief holiday break to resume ACC play at Syracuse, Dec. 28. Tipoff at the JMA Wireless Dome is set for 4 p.m.

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

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Duke Back in Action at Belmont Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Toby Fournier

Ashlon Jackson

Taina Mair

Riley Nelson

Delaney Thomas

Jordan Wood

Duke information

Duke Back in Action at Belmont Saturday

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Toby Fournier

Ashlon Jackson

Taina Mair

Riley Nelson

Delaney Thomas

Jordan Wood

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Duke information