#9 Duke Topples Clemson, 67-41, in ACC Opener

Jan. 7, 2010

CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson women’s basketball ran into a tough Blue Devil defense in the ACC opener, falling, 67-41, to Duke in Littlejohn Coliseum. Lele Hardy tied a season high with six steals and the Tigers (9-8, 0-1 ACC) forced 21 turnovers from the nation’s ninth-ranked team, but struggled from the field.

The Blue Devils (13-2, 1-0 ACC) held Clemson to 13-52 shooting (25.0%) for the game, including only 5-29 in the first half. Sthefany Thomas had ten points off the bench to lead the Tigers. Hardy had eight points, seven boards, and six steals in the game, giving her 343 in her career, and further extending her school record.

The 41 points was the fewest in the 64 game history of the series, which Duke tied at 32-apiece with the win.

Duke scored 28 points in the paint, and turned Clemson over 23 times, capitalizing to score 29 points. By contrast, Clemson was only able to convert Duke’s 21 turnovers into nine points.

The Tigers fought throughout the contest and trailed by one with 13:17 remaining in the first half, but Duke used an 11-0 run to take control of the game and take a 17-5 lead. They stretched the lead to 17 in the half before Clemson chipped it to 12 on a three by Thomas. A late three by Jasmine Thomas pushed the lead back to 17, at 36-19. Hardy had six steals in the half, but only managed three points.

The Tigers are in the midst of a seven game stretch in which they play five ranked teams, including three in the top ten. Clemson opens the ACC slate with four consecutive ranked teams, as they travel to #20 Georgia Tech on Monday at 7:00 pm in a televised contest. They will then return home for a game with #13 Florida State before traveling to #7 North Carolina.