THE FLATS – Behind the play of Lorela Cubaj and Elizabeth Dixon, Georgia Tech defeated Duke Thursday night in McCamish Pavilion, 70-64. Dixon recorded a career night with 22 points and 17 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season, while Cubaj posted 13 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double. The duo helped Tech improve to 12-4 overall and 2-1 in ACC play.
“I was really proud of the way we rebounded the basketball today,” noted head coach MaChelle Joseph. “Anytime somebody plays you a zone like that, zone traps, it really makes it hard for you to run anything, and you have to have players make plays. I thought today we had some players make plays. I thought Liz Dixon was amazing for a freshman in her first game against Duke. She came out, she was dominant from the tip and she sustained that for forty minutes.”
How It Happened
Duke came out of the gate with an early lead in the first quarter, but the Jackets quickly reversed momentum, using a 7-0 run over 1:57 of play to capture its first lead of the game, 9-8, at the 3:33 mark. The Jackets extended the run to 13-4 fueled by 10 points from Dixon to lead 15-12 entering the second quarter. The Blue Devils kept it close through the media break in the second stanza as Tech’s largest lead was six points, but after a Jade Williams bucket at the 2:43 marker, Tech closed the half with a 10-2 edge to lead 36-25 at halftime.
Tech pushed out a comfortable lead in the third quarter, leading by as many as 17 points three times in the frame, but Duke rallied in the fourth quarter and closed the score to within one possession. The Blue Devils hit four treys in the final stanza to put together an 18-7 run over four minutes to setup a 62-59 score and force the Jackets to burn a timeout with 3:52 on the clock. Dixon broke the run, but four unanswered from Duke pulled the Blue Devils within one point, 64-63, with 1:16 to play. Elizabeth Balogun converted an old-fashioned three-point play to energize the Jackets to finish strong, limiting Duke to just one free throw over the final minute of play.
Tech Tidbits
* Dixon finished with career-highs of 22 points and 17 rebounds to walk away with her fourth double-double of the season
* Dixon also finished with a career-best four assists and four blocks
* Cubaj captured her second double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds
* Balogun capped Tech’s trio scoring in double-figures with 16 points
* Tech dominated on the glass, outrebounding Duke, 45-33, including a 15-11 edge on the offensive side
* The Jackets collected 19 assists led by Kierra Fletcher with six
* Duke outscored Tech in the fourth quarter, 23-15
* For the game, Tech shot 43.3 percent (26-60), while Duke shot 40.9 percent (27-66)
Next Up
Georgia Tech travels to No. 2 Louisville for a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
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