Clemson Gritty Effort Falls Short, #3 Duke Prevails 72-48

Feb. 17, 2005

Durham, NC – With Duke holding a five-point lead late in the second half, the #3 Blue Devils scored the next 13 points to down Clemson 72-48 at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday. The Blue Devils improved to 24-2 (10-1 ACC) with the win, while Clemson dropped its 11th straight and fell to 7-17 overall. The 11 losses is the most consecutive defeats for a Clemson team since the 1986-87 season.

“I was very proud of our effort for the first 32 or 33 minutes of the game,” said Jim Davis. “We haven’t been competing, but at least tonight, I saw a lot of that. We were right there in the game, but just got outscored down the stretch. That’s been the story of our season.”

Duke outscored Clemson 40-4 in the paint. Most of the damage was done by Mistie Williams, who scored 12 points for the Blue Devils. Jessica Foley led the Blue Devils all-around with 21 points on 6-9 shooting. Wanisha Smith had 12 for Duke. The Blue Devils outrebounded Clemson 48-31, including 16 by Chante Black herself.

Tasha Phillips scored a team-high 18 points for Clemson. She hit 4-9 from three-point range for the Lady Tigers. Phillips is now 12-20 over the last four games for Clemson from outside the arc. Reggie Maddox added 12, but only two after halftime. Clemson’s leading scorer in ACC play, D’Lesha Lloyd, was shutout and hit 0-7 from the field.

The first half began on a shaky note for Clemson, as the Lady Tigers had two shot clock violations before the first media timeout. Turnovers contributed to a slow start by both teams. Through the first eight minutes, the two teams combined for 10 turnovers and just four made baskets. Clemson’s only basket through the first nine and a half minutes was a three-pointer by Maddox.

Clemson trimmed a 15-point lead to nine at the break when Maddox nailed a three at the top of the key as time expired. She had 10 points in the half for Clemson. Adrianne Bradshaw added five, hitting a turnaround jumper and 3-4 free throws. The Lady Tigers struggled shooting the ball in the first half, going just 9-26 (.346). Duke got to the free throw line 21 times in the first half, but made only 11 shots. The 33 first-half points by Duke were the fewest allowed by Clemson since the Georgia Tech game back on January 26.

In the second half, Clemson continued its gritty defensive play. Duke scored 11 points versus eight for the Lady Tigers through the first two media timeouts. Clemson cut the lead to five at 50-45 following a pair of three-pointers by Phillips. Currie responded for Duke with a spinning shot in the lane to extend the lead back to seven at the under eight minute timeout. A three-point play out of the timeout by Williams put the lead at 10 again. Duke scored the next 13 points until Phillips hit a pair of free throws almost six minutes later. The Blue Devils scored 22 of the game’s final 25 points.

Wanisha Smith scored 10 second-half points for the Blue Devils.

The Lady Tigers return home for a pair of games next week. Clemson plays host to Wake Forest on Monday (February 21), then plays Georgia Tech on Thursday (February 24) in the final home game of the 2004-05 season. Both games are scheduled for 7:00 PM.