Duke women’s basketball loses to Miami, 61-55, in the ACC tournament in Greensboro
Duke was playing to keep its NCAA tournament hopes alive, but those dreams were all but dashed in the second round of the ACC women’s tournament on Thursday.
Miami defeated the Blue Devils, 61-55. Duke probably needed at least two wins to extend its season beyond Greensboro. After a come-from-behind win over Pittsburgh in the opening round, there was no more tournament magic left in the tank.
Despite another big day from Celeste Taylor, the Blue Devils couldn’t stop a Miami fourth-quarter run.
Destiny Harden put the Hurricanes back up one with a jumper from the wing, the fifth lead change of the fourth. Lola Pendande was fouled on a layup and completed the three-point play, pushing the Miami lead to five.
Duke turned the ball over its next offensive possession, its 18th turnover of the day. The Blue Devils finished with 19 for the game.
Miami (18-11) advances to the next round, where it will face No. 2 seed Louisville.
“Disappointing loss for us,” Duke coach Kara Lawson said. “We obviously battled, the game was in the balance in the fourth quarter. Have to credit Miami, I thought they made winning plays down the stretch. We didn’t have enough there down the stretch. Frustrating for all of us, nobody likes to lose.”
Duke heads back to Durham wondering what happened to its season. The Blue Devils were ranked in the top 25 as late as January. They lost three in a row to drop out of the top 25, and went 3-6 in the month of February.
Duke trailed by three with 1:27 remaining in the game, but Shayeann Day-Wilson missed a 3. The ACC Freshman of the Year struggled, finishing with 13 points on 3-of-13 shooting and was 0-5 from 3.
“It was just one of those nights when things don’t go your way,” Day-Wilson said. “That didn’t really get to me, I was still trying to stay confident and still trying to take those shots that I usually make.”
The rookie from Canada had four turnovers. A jumper by Elizabeth Balogun gave the Blue Devils their final lead, 46-45.
“We went dry from beyond the arc,” Lawson said. “We had many open looks in the second half from three, we weren’t able to knock them down.”
Miami won despite making no field goals in the final four minutes. Harden led the Canes with 11 points. Duke shot 5-for-17 from the floor in the fourth quarter. Miami was in attack mode late, finishing with a 26-12 advantage in post points.
“We had 12 offensive rebounds, but only finished with 12 points in the paint,” Lawson said. “Our finishing inside was poor tonight. You’ve got to make your layups and you have to be able to finish.”
Duke finishes the season 17-13 overall. It went 3-5 in its final eight games.
The Blue Devils at one time dominated the ACC tournament, winning five in a row in the early 2000s. Their last title came in 2011.
Kara Lawson was brought in from the NBA to get the team back to the glory days. Duke canceled its season last year due to COVID. Once they got back on the court this year, they won nine straight before losing to South Carolina on December 15.
Duke still appeared to be in good shape to return to the NCAA tournament. But the turn of the new year was not kind to the Blue Devils. The month included a blowout road loss to N.C. State and a 16-point home loss to rival North Carolina.
Duke went 0-4 against its Triangle rivals, both of whom will continue their season beyond the ACC tournament.
This story was originally published March 3, 2022 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Duke women’s basketball loses to Miami, 61-55, in the ACC tournament in Greensboro."
