DURHAM, N.C. – No.7 ranked and the third-seeded Duke Blue Devils held the 15th-seed Winthrop Eagles to a season-low in points Saturday as the Blue Devils cruised to a 42-point victory, 87- 45.
Duke’s defense held Winthrop to 27 percent shooting. The game was the first part of a double header at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium as part of the first round of the NCAA tournament.
“The team is really enjoying playing together and understanding what everybody can do,” Duke head coach JoAnne McCallie said. “There’s room for growth every time you walk in the gym. It’s just enjoyable to coach a group that enjoys playing together so much, and enjoying looking for each when they’re passing the basketball.”
Duke (28-6) opened the game on a 6-0 run and the Eagles would never lead. The Blue Devils went into the half with a 41-17 lead.
The second half saw Duke continue to pound the ball inside. The Blue Devils outscored Winthrop 42-6 in the paint.
Guard Tricia Liston led the Blue Devils with 20 points, including going 4-6 from beyond the arc. Oderah Chidom, a 6-foo-4 freshman who was previously averaging 5.4 points per game, added 17 points off the bench.
“We had the same mentality coming in that we had to win all of the hustle plays and we had to stay with the little things,” Liston said. “This was the first game that we had and the only game that we technically had so that was a big thing for us.”
Duke center Kendall McCravey-Cooper also finished with a double-double. The freshman had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Winthrop senior Dequesha McClanahan scored 22 points for the Eagles. It was her last game as an Eagle.
This was Winthrop’s first ever NCAA tournament appearance. Winthrop (24-9) won the Big South tournament to clinch a berth into the tournament.
Duke finished the game with 21 assists, an impressive feat according to McCallie. The Blue Devils were without point guards Alexis Jones and Chelsea Gray, who are out for the season with knee injuries.
“The best stat that we have is the 21 assists,” McCallie said. “That’s got to be some kind of world record, and with no point guards on the floor. We get very, very excited about our potential and what we can be, and hopefully this game provides a direction.”
Duke will move onto face No. 23 and the seventh-seeded DePaul on Monday at 5:30 p.m. CST.
