Defense Fuels Duke’s 80-44 Win Over Wake Forest

Sunday, February 1

Durham, N.C.

12 p.m.

Duke University

16-6,11-0ACC

Wake Forest

12-11,2-9ACC

Wake Forest

Duke

Defense Fuels Duke’s 80-44 Win Over Wake Forest

2/1/2026 2:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Postgame Notes Postgame Quotes - Delaney Thomas Postgame Quotes - Kara Lawson Photo Gallery

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke redshirt sophomore Riley Nelson scored a game-high 16 points, pulled down five rebounds and dished five assists to help the 20th-ranked Blue Devils to an 80-44 victory over Wake Forest in ACC women's basketball action Sunday afternoon in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Arianna Roberson registered her second career double-double with 12 points and 11 boards, while Toby Fournier notched her second consecutive double-double with 14 points and 11 caroms.

The Blue Devils (16-6, 11-0) forced Wake Forest (12-11, 2-9) into their season-high 31 turnovers, while Duke grabbed a season-best 19 steals. Delaney Thomas led the defensive effort, garnering a career-best eight steals – a mark that ties for seventh in Blue Devil individual single-game records – collecting eight rebounds to go with her 11 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Blue Devils used suffocating defense to keep the Demon Deacons off the board for the first 4:06 of the game, racing out to an 8-0 lead. Fournier notched Duke's first three points, Nelson got a transition layup and Taina Mair sank a baseline three, giving the Blue Devils the early lead.
Wake Forest got its first field goal midway through the quarter to make it a 10-4 game at the first media timeout.
The Demon Deacons cut the lead to four out of the timeout, but the Blue Devils closed the quarter with a 10-2 run to grab a double-digit lead, 20-8, after 10 minutes of action. Five different Blue Devils scored in the spurt.
Duke's defense continued to shine in the second quarter, holding Wake Forest to just two points in the period. Offensively, the Blue Devils took advantage of the turnovers and extended the lead to 32, 42-10, at the halftime break. It was a balanced effort all over the floor for Duke with seven different players getting on the scoresheet.
The Blue Devils forced 11 giveaways in the second quarter, getting 16 points off turnovers. Overall, Duke had 11 assists on 17 field goals and shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half.
Nelson was the catalyst for the Blue Devils in the third quarter, scoring eight points and dishing out two assists to push the Duke lead to, 56-19. Roberson tacked on four points and three bounds as the Blue Devils went into the fourth quarter with a 65-24 edge.
Wake Forest continued to fight, outscoring Duke 10-8 in the opening five minutes of the final stanza. The Blue Devils went just over 90 seconds without a basket, but Thomas and Roberson notched back-to-back buckets to give Duke a spark in the final minutes and help Duke secure an 80-44 victory.
Milan Brown and Caitlyn Jones led Wake Forest offensively, scoring in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

UP NEXT

The Blue Devils hit the road for a top-20 matchup at No. 7 Louisville, Feb. 5. Tipoff at the KFC Yum! Center is set for 7 p.m., on ESPN.

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