Thursday, November 7
Lynchburg, Va.
7:00 PM ET
Liberty University
1-1,0-0CUSA
67
vs
83
Duke
2-0,0-0ACC
1
2
3
4
F
Duke
29
10
25
19
83
Liberty
15
22
13
17
67
Jordan Hodges
3rd Quarter Propels No. 11 Duke to 83-67 Victory Over Liberty
11/7/2024 10:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Leading host Liberty by only two points at halftime of Thursday's matchup, No. 11 Duke took control during the third quarter. The Blue Devils shot 75 percent and knocked down four triples in the stanza, propelling them to an eventual 83-67 win before the largest women's basketball crowd in Liberty Arena history (2,845).
Thursday marked the start of the Lady Flames' fifth season at Liberty Arena, and the attendance shattered the facility's previous single-game mark of 2,105 (Dec. 31, 2023 vs. Tennessee).
Liberty, which evens its season record at 1-1, falls to 0-7 all-time against Duke. The Lady Flames have now dropped 42 straight matchups with Top 25 teams over the past 20 seasons. On Thursday, they could not overcome 22 turnovers which led to 31 Duke points.
Ranked No. 11 in both national polls, Duke boosts its record to 2-0. Ashlon Jackson (22 points, 6 assists, 5-7 3FG) led the way for the Blue Devils, who shot 52.7 percent (29-of-55) from the floor and 50 percent (8-of-16) from the three-point line.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Asia Boone – 15 points, 6-8 FT; Emma Hess – 11 points, 4 assists; Jordan Hodges – 9 points; Avery Mills – 8 points, 2-2 3FG; Elisabeth Aegisdottir – 10 rebounds.
Other Duke Individuals: Reigan Richardson – 13 points; Toby Fournier – 13 points, 4 rebounds; Jordan Wood – 10 points.
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished at 44.4 percent (24-of-54) from the field and 30 percent (6-of-20) from beyond the arc. Duke got to the foul line 11 more times than Liberty, shooting 17-of-27 for 63 percent. The Blue Devils had the upper hand in most categories, including rebounds (32-27), assists (19-11), steals (16-8), points in the paint (34-22), second-chance points (14-7) and bench points (30-25).
Turning Point
Jordan Hodges banked in a three-pointer with 7:21 to play in the third quarter, getting Liberty within three points at 47-44. However, Duke then seized control with a 15-1 burst over the next 4:13.
Six different Blue Devils contributed points to the run, including Vanessa de Jesus, whose fast break layup with 3:08 on the clock pushed the visitors' advantage to 17 (62-45). Duke's cushion remained in double digits the rest of the way.
Game Summary
First Quarter
The Lady Flames will remain at home on Saturday for their first-ever matchup with defending WAC champion California Baptist (0-1). Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Liberty Arena, and the contest will air on ESPN+.
Thursday marked the start of the Lady Flames' fifth season at Liberty Arena, and the attendance shattered the facility's previous single-game mark of 2,105 (Dec. 31, 2023 vs. Tennessee).
Liberty, which evens its season record at 1-1, falls to 0-7 all-time against Duke. The Lady Flames have now dropped 42 straight matchups with Top 25 teams over the past 20 seasons. On Thursday, they could not overcome 22 turnovers which led to 31 Duke points.
Ranked No. 11 in both national polls, Duke boosts its record to 2-0. Ashlon Jackson (22 points, 6 assists, 5-7 3FG) led the way for the Blue Devils, who shot 52.7 percent (29-of-55) from the floor and 50 percent (8-of-16) from the three-point line.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Asia Boone – 15 points, 6-8 FT; Emma Hess – 11 points, 4 assists; Jordan Hodges – 9 points; Avery Mills – 8 points, 2-2 3FG; Elisabeth Aegisdottir – 10 rebounds.
Other Duke Individuals: Reigan Richardson – 13 points; Toby Fournier – 13 points, 4 rebounds; Jordan Wood – 10 points.
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished at 44.4 percent (24-of-54) from the field and 30 percent (6-of-20) from beyond the arc. Duke got to the foul line 11 more times than Liberty, shooting 17-of-27 for 63 percent. The Blue Devils had the upper hand in most categories, including rebounds (32-27), assists (19-11), steals (16-8), points in the paint (34-22), second-chance points (14-7) and bench points (30-25).
Turning Point
Jordan Hodges banked in a three-pointer with 7:21 to play in the third quarter, getting Liberty within three points at 47-44. However, Duke then seized control with a 15-1 burst over the next 4:13.
Six different Blue Devils contributed points to the run, including Vanessa de Jesus, whose fast break layup with 3:08 on the clock pushed the visitors' advantage to 17 (62-45). Duke's cushion remained in double digits the rest of the way.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- Liberty was within three (7-4) following two early Emma Hess jumpers.
- Duke then reeled off 10 straight points, taking a 17-4 advantage on Ashlon Jackson's triple at the 5:25 mark.
- The Blue Devils' lead stayed in double figures for the remainder of the period. Duke led 29-15 following an opening 10 minutes where it outscored Liberty inside the paint, 18-2.
- After being held scoreless during the first quarter, Asia Boone tallied seven straight points during a 9-0 Liberty burst to open the second. Her three-pointer at the 7:24 mark cut the deficit to 29-24.
- The Lady Flames got as close as one (34-33), but Duke never relinquished the advantage and took a 39-37 edge into the intermission.
- Boone (11 points) single-handedly outscored the Blue Devils (10) during the second period as Liberty owned a 22-10 advantage for the stanza.
- Duke outscored Liberty 25-13 during the pivotal third period, shooting 75 percent (9-of-12) from the field and knocking down all four tries from three-point range. Jackson hit two of those triples during a 10-point period.
- The Blue Devils took a 64-50 lead into the fourth quarter.
- Turnovers prevented a Liberty comeback attempt late in the contest, as the Lady Flames committed nine fourth-quarter miscues.
- Boone (team-high 15 points) scored in double figures for the first time as a sophomore after doing so 16 times during her CUSA Freshman of the Year campaign in 2023-24.
- Hess (11 points) reached double figures for the fourth game in a row dating back to last season and added a team-high four assists.
- Bella Smuda was limited to five points, halting her 16-game streak of scoring in double digits. That was the longest streak by a Lady Flame since Devon Brown tallied 10+ points 21 times in a row spanning the 2010-11 and 2011-12 campaigns.
- Aegisdottir led all players in rebounding for the second game in a row to start the season, pulling down seven of her 10 boards at the offensive end. She has already recorded more double-digit rebounding efforts as a sophomore (2) than she did as a freshman (1).
- Playing her first collegiate home game, freshman Mills scored her first eight points as a Lady Flame.
- Duke became just the second team in the last 24 games and the 35th opponent in Carey Green's 800 games as Liberty's head coach to shoot 50 percent or better from the field.
- Thursday's 2,845 fans marked the largest attendance for a Liberty home game since the only previous occasion Duke visited Lynchburg (Nov. 11, 2016). That day, 3,741 fans attended Liberty's 2016-17 season opener at the Vines Center.
The Lady Flames will remain at home on Saturday for their first-ever matchup with defending WAC champion California Baptist (0-1). Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Liberty Arena, and the contest will air on ESPN+.
Team Stats
DU
Lib
FG%
.527
.444
3FG%
.500
.300
FT%
.630
.813
RB
32
27
TO
18
22
STL
16
8
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
C
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