Duke women’s basketball punched its ticket to the second round on Friday with a 72-61 victory over 10-seed Richmond.
The Blue Devils entered the game as the higher seed, with the committee assigning Duke the No. 7 spot in the Portland 3 region, but the Spiders had the advantage in the early going. The two teams combined for 49 points in an explosive first quarter, with Duke leading most of the way.
The final five minutes all came up Richmond, however. Siobhan Ryan buried a triple to give her team the lead with four minutes left, sneaking the Spiders ahead 16-15 and igniting a 13-6 run. Richmond took a 26-23 lead into the first break of the day.
The second quarter couldn’t have been more different, though. Both teams combined for 16 total points, including just five from the Blue Devils. A 3-pointer from Emma Koabel with three minutes left before halftime was the only made field goal of the frame for Duke despite 14 attempts from the floor.
Luckily, Richmond didn’t fare much better for the second quarter, but the Spiders’ 11 points still gave them 37-28 lead at the midway point, putting Duke squarely on upset alert.
Reigan Richardson, the Blue Devils’ leading scorer from the season, refused to let that go any farther. She made the first basket of the third quarter, a jumper on the opening possession, and Duke hit the ground running. The Blue Devils scored the first nine points of the quarter, swinging it back to a tie game when Ashlon Jackson buried a triple for the exclamation point.
A few minutes later, Richardson made a three of her own, and ACC Sixth Player of the Year Oluchi Okananwa drew a foul, dropping both free throws to give the Blue Devils a three-point lead. Okananwa made another layup a few minutes later before Jackson’s second 3-pointer of the quarter broke the game apart.
When the third quarter was all said and done, the Blue Devils outscored Richmond 23-10 to flip the game from a nine-point deficit to a four-point advantage.
Jackson buried another 3-pointer for the first points of the fourth quarter, and she finished the game with 14 points after shooting 4/7 from beyond the arc.
Richardson caught fire again midway through the final quarter. She went two-for-two from the free-throw line before making two straight baskets on back-to-back possessions, one of which from beyond the 3-point line, leading a 13-7 run from Duke that put the game out of reach.
By the time Richardson’s latter jump shot found the nylon, Duke was leading 67-56 with three minutes to play. Jackson ended the game for good with her fourth and final 3-pointer a minute later.
Richardson finished the game with 25 points, shooting 10/18 from the floor and adding seven rebounds. Center Kennedy Brown added 10 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
The Blue Devils move on to face No. 2 Ohio State in the second round with the game scheduled for Sunday.