CINCINNATI – The Xavier Musketeers suffered an 82-59 setback to the #4/4 Duke Blue Devils Sunday afternoon at Cintas Center. Junior Ashley Wanninger tied a career-high with 15 points as well as three rebounds and two steals.
Xavier is now 3-2 while Duke remains perfect at 4-0. Duke leads the all-time series 3-1 and is currently on a two-game win-streak against the Musketeers.
Wanninger also set a career-high in field goals made (five) and tied career-highs in field goals attempted (13), three-point basket made (four), and steals (two). Wanninger was the only Musketeer in double figures and played a team-high 37 minutes on the floor. Wanninger has the most individual points of any opponent against Duke so far this season.
Sophomore Lakeisha Crouch netted nine points and had a game-high 10 rebounds. This is the second time Crouch has had double figure boards and is now averaging nine for the season. Crouch set a new career-high with four assists.
Amber Gray scored all of her nine points in the first half and was able to get to the free throw line five times, making three of her attempts. Sophomore Shatyra Hawkes added eight points and four assists
Xavier’s 59 points were the most scored by a Duke opponent this season. XU made 21-of-64 (33 percent) from the field while DU shot 36-of-61 (59 percent) in the field. XU fired 7-of-19 (37 percent) from long range while DU made 5-of-9 (56 percent) from beyond the arc.
Xavier was able score 23 points off of 16 Duke turnovers, and also outscored the Blue Devils’ bench 24-22. Although Duke held a slight advantage in rebounding, 37-34, Xavier was able to grab more offensive boards, 12-4 in the contest.
The Musketeers used a 12-2 run midway through the second half to shave Duke’s lead down to 65-47 with 7:25 left in the second half. The streak ran for 3:28 and the during the span XU forced six fouls on Duke.
Duke pulled off an 8-0 run stretching for 1:03 with 14:23 remaining in the second half. The run gave the Blue Devils a 59-32 lead, the largest lead to that point for Duke.
The Musketeers entered halftime down 44-27 to the Blue Devils. Gray had a team-high nine points going into intermission off of 3-of-6 shooting from the field. Hawkes ended the half with a half court buzzer-beating shot to cut the deficit to 17.
The Musketeers were strong in to begin the first half and managed to keep it close with 14:46 remaining. XU found itself down only three with the help of Pachko who had six points in the first five minutes of the contest.
The Blue Devils expanded their lead to 30-12 with 7:45 left in the half. This margin was gained due to a 15-0 run lasting 4:40. Duke’s stingy defense forced three Musketeer miscues and during the span XU was 0-for-8 from the field.
Chelsea Gray of Duke had a game-high 22 points and 10 assists.
Xavier takes on Appalachian State Friday, November 30 at 7:00 p.m. at Cintas Center. Stay tuned to GoXavier.com for the latest news and updates of women’s basketball.
Notes
Wanninger had career-highs in points, three pointers made, field goals made and attempted, and steals.
Duke went on a 15-0 run lasting 4:40
Musketeers went on a 12-2 run stretching for 3:28 in the second half.
Leave a Reply