ACC Tournament First Round
Pitt (11-18, 2-16) vs. Duke Blue Devils (16-12, 7-11)
Wednesday, March 2  •  3:30 PM
Greensboro, N.C.   •  RSN-TV
Greensboro Coliseum

Tickets:  www.GoDuke.com (1-877-375-3853)
Live Stats: www.GoDuke.com
Radio:  Blue Devil Sports Network (WDNC 620 AM, www.GoDuke.com, Varsity Network App)
Radio Talent: Chris Edwards (PXP)
TV/Video:  RSN-TV
TV Talent: Tom Werme (PXP), Debbie Antonelli (Color)

Game Notes l  How to Watch on RSN-TV  l  Watch on ACC Network  l  Listen Live  l  Live Stats  l  Twitter  l  Duke Media Hub  l  Duke Media Guide

Setting the Scene...
    The 10th-seeded Duke women's basketball team (16-12, 7-11) will open the 2022 ACC Tournament on Wednesday, March 2 at 3:30 p.m., against 15th-seeded Pitt (11-18, 2-16) at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C.
    The game will be carried live on RSN-TV with Tom Werme (PXP) and Debbie Antonelli (Color) calling the action.  The coverage will feature Tabitha Turner-Wilkins on the sideline and Evan Lepler as the host in Greensboro.  It will also be aired on the Blue Devil Sports Network via WDNC AM 620, the Varsity Network app and www.GoDuke.com with Chris Edwards (PXP) on the air at 3:15 p.m.

What is Next?...
    If Duke were to defeat Pitt on Wednesday, the Blue Devils would next face Miami on Thursday, March 3 at 6 p.m., live on RSN-TV.  

A Look at Pitt...
    Pitt enters the contest with an 11-18 overall and 2-16 league mark.  The Panthers have lost nine straight contests.  Pitt has been led by Dayshanette Harris (9.5 points, 3.0 rebounds), Amber Brown (9.4 points, 6.0 rebounds) and Liatu King (7.2 points, 7.0 rebounds).  

The Series with Pitt...
    Duke and Pitt will meet for the 14th time in school history with the Blue Devils leading the series, 13-0.          Earlier this season, Duke defeated the Panthers, 54-39, in Pittsburgh, Pa.  The Blue Devils will meet Pitt in the ACC Tournament for only the second time in school history.  In 2019, 11th-seeded Duke defeated 14th-seeded Pitt, 86-64.

Duke in the ACC Tournament...
    The Blue Devils own a 48-35 overall record in the ACC Tournament and have won at least one game in 23 out of the last 26 appearances.
    With the ACC Tournament moving to Greensboro in 2000, Duke's luck in the postseason changed greatly as the Blue Devils won 17 consecutive games to claim the ACC Tournament crowns from 2000-04 before losing to North Carolina in the championship in 2005.  Duke has recorded a 39-13 ledger playing at the Greensboro Coliseum, which has been nicknamed Duke's "Home Away From Home."
    The first two victories came in 1999 in the NCAA East Regional against Old Dominion and Tennessee. The victories advanced Duke to its first NCAA Final Four and National Championship game appearance.  In ACC Tournament games, the Blue Devils have posted a 37-12 overall record in Greensboro.

Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament...
    Duke features limited experience in the ACC Tournament and five Blue Devils have scored only a combined 142 points and played in 25 contests -- Amaya Finklea-Guity, Miela Goodchild, Elizabeth Balogun, Onome Akinbode-James and Jade Williams.  
    The Blue Devils also feature the following players who have played in conference tournaments over their career at different institutions -- Lexi Gordon (AAC & Big 12), Emma Schmidt (Big 12), Imani Lewis (Big Ten), Jiselle Havas (Patriot League), Jordyn Oliver (Big 12) and Celeste Taylor (Big 12).   
    Finklea-Guity is Duke's most experienced player in the ACC Tournament as she has started six of nine games and averaged 7.3 points.  She played in two games in 2019-20 and averaged 11.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks.
    Williams has averaged 6.8 points and 5.5 rebounds as she has played in four games, while starting three.  She had 12 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists in her last game against Boston College.
    Akinbode-James has played in three games and started each of those contests.  She scored eight points, had 10 boards and five blocks in 53 minutes.  
    Balogun has played in six games and made three starts. She scored 22 points and had 14 boards in those contests.
    Goodchild started two of the three games she has played.  She had 19 points on 5-of-10 treys in her first game and then was held scoreless in her last appearance against the Eagles in only 10 minutes.
    
Lawson in the SEC Tournament...
    As a student-athlete at Tennessee, Blue Devil head coach Kara Lawson collected a 7-3 record.  As a freshman in 1999-2000, Lawson helped the Lady Vols win games against Florida, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State to win the SEC Championship.

Blue Devil Staff in Conference Tournaments...
    The Blue Devil staff have been a part of nine conference tournament championships over their careers.   Kara Lawson helped Tennessee win one SEC title as a player, while Winston Gandy led Rice to one Conference USA Championship.  Beth Cunningham helped Notre Dame to one Big East Championship and five ACC titles as a coach.  She also led the Irish to one Midwestern City Tournament title as a player at Notre Dame.     
Day-Wilson Named ACC Freshman of the Year...
    Duke rookie Shayeann Day-Wilson has been tabbed the ACC Freshman of the Year following a vote of the league's 15 head coaches.
    Day-Wilson became the fifth Blue Devil to earn the honor joining Alana Beard (2001), Katie Meier (1986), Chris Moreland (1985) and Elizabeth Williams (2012).  Current Duke senior Elizabeth Balogun also earned ACC Freshman of the Year accolades when she was a rookie in 2018-19 at Georgia Tech.
    A product of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Day-Wilson has made an immediate impact for the Blue Devils this season averaging 12.3 points, 3.5 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals.  Her 3.5 assists ranks eighth in the ACC, while her 12.3 scoring average is 17th, 68.0 free throw percentage is 11th and 1.1 assist/turnover ratio is ninth.  
    Day-Wilson also leads all true freshmen in the ACC in scoring and assists.  She is one of only four true freshmen in the nation and the only rookie in power five conferences averaging 12.3 points and 3.5 assists.  The 5-6 point guard has collected 22 games with three or more assists and three contests with 20 or more points.  
    Day-Wilson is the 24th Blue Devil to be selected to the All-ACC Freshman team.  She earned ACC Freshman of the Week honors on three different occasions during the season, becoming just the seventh Duke player to earn the accolade three or more times.

Standout Wins...
    As the regular season concluded, the Blue Devils knocked off three non-conference teams that went on to win conference titles -- Iowa (Big Ten), Troy (Sun Belt) and Dayton (A-10).  
    The Blue Devils are currently ranked No. 53 in the latest NCAA Net rankings.
    
Duke at Full Strength...
    For the first time since returning from Christmas break, Duke was at full strength against Wake Forest on Feb. 6. The Blue Devils totaled an 81-76 victory.
    The Blue Devils had gone 11 straight contests with at least one student-athlete or coach in each game out due to either injury, suspension or health and safety protocols.
    Duke head coach Kara Lawson missed the UNC, Louisville and Georgia Tech contests due to health and safety protocols.  She returned at Pitt to help snap a three-game losing streak.
    With Duke's core team together, the Blue Devils have totaled a 12-6 record this season with the lone losses coming to top-ranked South Carolina, versus Florida State, No. 3 NC State (Feb. 13), Virginia (Feb. 17), Boston College (Feb. 24) and then No. 18 North Carolina (Feb. 27).

Taylor Returns to the Court...
    After missing seven games with an injury, Celeste Taylor returned to the court and sparked the Blue Devils to a win at Pitt, snapping a three-game losing streak.  
    Since returning, Taylor has averaged 8.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals.  She has hit only 32.5 percent from the field and 28.0 percent from downtown.
    In the seven games Taylor was out, the Blue Devils saw their offense struggle - hitting 41.5 percent from the field, 30.7 percent from downtown while averaging only 61.4 points.  The Duke defense allowed 66.6 points in those games as well. In the first 13 games with Taylor, Duke hit 44.6 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from downtown and averaged 74.7 points.  The Blue Devil defense was allowing only 59.4 points with Taylor as well.

Milestone Watch...
    •    Lexi Gordon needs 43 points to reach 1,000 for her career. Her 48 three-pointers is a career-best for the fifth-year senior.
    •    Duke has made 190 three-pointers and needs three more to move into a tie for seventh on the Blue Devil single-season charts.  The 610 three-pointers attempted is a new school record.
    •    Shayeann Day-Wilson has moved into a tie for fourth on Duke's freshman three-pointers made (41) and fourth on the attempted lists (120). With her three games with 20+ points on the season, she ranks tied for 10th on Duke's freshman charts.
    •    Miela Goodchild needs three 3-pointers to move into a tie for eighth on Duke's all-time treys list with 170, which would tie Haley Gorecki.
    •    Jade Williams owns 113 career blocks and needs 18 rejections to move into a tie for 10th on Duke's all-time charts along with Mistie Bass (131).    

Storylines/Other Blue Devil Notes...
    • Duke has competed in the ACC Tournament 43 times and totaled a 48-35 record.  The Blue Devils won ACC Championships in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011 and 2013.
    •    Duke will face a No. 15 seed in the ACC Tournament for the first time in school history.
    •    Lexi Gordon had a streak of 10 straight games with at least one 3-pointer made come to an end at North Carolina.  She has failed to reach double-digit scoring over the last four games.
    • Duke has advanced to the ACC Championship 15 times. The Blue Devils have been a top four seed in the ACC Tournament in 23 out of the last 26 appearances.
    •    Celeste Taylor has scored double-digits in three out of the last four games and averaged 10.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.5 assists.  She has hit a 3-pointer in three straight games and is coming off draining 3-of-5 at UNC to conclude the regular season.
    •    Over the last four games, the Blue Devils have hit 16-of-81 three-pointers for a 19.8 percentage. Duke has also been outrebounded by a 7.8 margin over the last six games.  The Blue Devils own a 1-5 ledger over the last six games and have averaged 55.5 points.  
    •    Duke's post duo of Jade Williams and Onome Akinbode-James have shared time down low and have been productive this season.  They have averaged a combined 10.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.8 assists, while hitting 54.2 percent from the floor.
    •    Miela Goodchild has hit only 3-of-16 treys (18.8%) and averaged only 4.0 points the last five contests.
    •    Jade Williams and Onome Akinbode-James are two of only 13 Blue Devils to reach the 100-block mark over their careers.
     •    Over the last seven games, the Blue Devils have averaged 18.9 points a game in the fourth quarter.  The only problem is that Duke has allowed 19.4 points in the fourth as well.
    •    Shayeann Day-Wilson has struggled shooting over the last six games hitting only 19-of-72 field goals and 2-of-21 from downtown.  She has averaged 9.5 points, 3.5 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals in those six games.  She went a stretch where she missed 0-of-13 from downtown in four games.    
    •    Celeste Taylor leads the Blue Devils with 11 charges taken. She had a season-best three against Florida State on Feb. 10.
    •    Senior Jade Williams has hit 43-of-72 field goals for a 59.7 percentage since returning from Christmas break.
    •    Since Elizabeth Balogun scored 22 and 27 points against Virginia Tech and Notre Dame, respectively, she has averaged only 5.7 points, hit 33.6 percent from the field and 16.1 percent from downtown. She was held scoreless for the first time this season at Virginia on Feb. 17. She has notched 10+ points three times in those 16 games.
    •    Senior Onome Akinbode-James has pulled down five or more rebounds in 12 out of the last 16 games.
    •    Duke totaled an 8-7 record at home this season, which is the most losses in Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1991-92.  The Blue Devils had a 7-7 ledger that season.
    •    On the road at Clemson, Vanessa de Jesus matched a career high with eight assists and was a huge spark in leading the Blue Devils to the 64-61 victory.  It was the most she has collected against an ACC opponent.  
    •    Duke features six different Blue Devils that have led the squad in scoring at least one game -- Lexi Gordon (5), Miela Goodchild (5), Celeste Taylor (3), Shayeann Day-Wilson (9), Elizabeth Balogun (5) and Onome Akinbode-James (1).  
    •    The Blue Devils currently have four different players who have scored 20+ points in a game this season -- Celeste Taylor, Lexi Gordon (2), Elizabeth Balogun (2) and Shayeann Day-Wilson (3).
    •    In the 32 games under Kara Lawson since arriving, Duke has scored 70+ points in 15 of the 32 contests. The Blue Devils have won every game in which they have scored 70 points.  The games at Miami and home versus Virginia marked the first wins without scoring 70+ points.
    •    Elizabeth Balogun stepped on the court in 2021-22 with Duke marking the third different ACC squad she has played for.  She is the first women's basketball player in ACC history to play for three different teams in the league (Louisville, Georgia Tech).
    •    Blue Devil senior Elizabeth Balogun represented her home country of Nigeria in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.  She appeared in all three contests for the Nigerians and played with former Duke standout Oderah Chidom with Nigeria.
    •    Duke features three graduate students in 2021-22 that are all attending the Duke Fuqua School of Business -- Amaya Finklea-Guity, Jade Williams and Lexi Gordon.
    •    Kara Lawson's playing career has her in elite company as she is one of only three NCAA Division I women's basketball coaches to play in a NCAA Final Four, win an Olympic Gold Medal and win a WNBA Championship (Lindsay Whalen of Minnesota and Cynthia Cooper-Dyke of Texas Southern).
    •    Junior transfer Jordyn Oliver will miss the 2021-22 season, after suffering an achilles injury over the summer.  
    •    Follow @DukeWBB and @KaraLawson20 on Twitter to get the latest updates on Duke women's basketball.  Also, "Like"  Duke Women's Basketball on Facebook to get the latest videos, pictures and more.  DWB is on Instagram at dukewbb, while Kara Lawson is at KaraLawson.

Last Meeting...
    Duke got both Celeste Taylor and head coach Kara Lawson back at Pitt and registered a 54-39 road dub over Pittsburgh at the Petersen Event Center.
     Lexi Gordon and Shayeann Day-Wilson finished the game in double-figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively, to lead the way for the Blue Devils. Miela Goodchild grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds and Day-Wilson dished out six assists.
     Duke got off to a good start and built an eight-point lead early in the first. Onome Akinbode-James logged the first four points for the visitors and Gordon followed with the next four. Day-Wilson made a strong drive to the cup and kissed her shot off the glass for a 10-2 lead at the media timeout. A pair of free throws would be the only other Pitt points of the frame as the Blue Devils held the Panthers without a field goal for the final five minutes. On the offensive end, Akinbode-James added another bucket in the paint and Gordon drained her second triple of the period with 46 seconds remaining to give Duke an 11-point apex heading into the second.
     Duke held the Panthers to four points through the opening 10 minutes of play on 7.7 percent shooting (1-of-13). Pitt's point total is tied for the fewest points allowed by Duke in a first quarter all-time, while the field goal percentage ranks as the second-lowest allowed in the period.
     Vanessa de Jesus nailed a short jumper to open the second quarter scoring, however, the Blue Devils endured a five-minute scoring drought before Taylor cashed in a triple from the far-left corner to push the lead to a dozen. Pittsburgh responded with a 10-3 run to cut the deficit to 23-18, but Elizabeth Balogun crashed the offensive glass then converted an old fashioned three-point play to push the advantage back to eight heading into the break.
     Gordon nailed three triples and tallied 10 points in the first half while Goodchild snagged seven boards. Day-Wilson led the assist efforts with four helpers.
     Five players scored for the Blue Devils in the third, paced by de Jesus (4) and Goodchild (3). Duke led 39-29 at the end of three as its defense continued to shine. The Blue Devils closed the quarter holding the Panthers without a field goal for 2:47 and 1-of-10 shooting overall.
     After Gordon and Taylor converted on hard drives to the rim, an 8-0 run ballooned the Duke lead to 19 – A pair of trifectas from Day-Wilson and one from Goodchild, along with another layup from Taylor pushed Duke ahead, 54-35.

Different Starting Lineups...
    In comparing NCAA Tournament bubble teams, Duke ranks tied for second among different starting lineups this season.  At one point during league action, Duke had at least one player out due to injury, health & safety protocols or other reasons.    
    Florida State leads with 11, while Duke and Mississippi State are tied for second with 10.  

NCAA Bubble Teams - Different Starting Lineups
12    Florida State
10    Duke, Mississippi State
8    Oregon State, Kentucky, Missouri State
7    Northwestern
6    Villanova
5    Rhode Island
4    Gonzaga
3    Marquette, Tulane, Miami, Boston College,
    DePaul

NCAA Bubble Teams
Different Starting Lineups in League Play
9    Duke
7    Florida State
5    Mississippi State
4    Villanova, Northwestern, Kentucky, Missouri St.
3    Oregon State
2    Rhode Island, Gonzaga, DePaul

    In ACC games, the Blue Devils featured seven different starting lineups in the first 10 league games due to injuries and health and safety protocols.  No Duke player has started each of the ACC games.   
    Duke had the same starting lineup for the first 10 games this season.  Eight different players have started at least one game this season.  The Blue Devils have totaled 10 different lineups on the season.
    In comparing the ACC, Pitt and Duke are tied for the most different starting lineups in league play with nine.

From Downtown...
    Duke is currently averaging 6.8 made three-pointers on the season, which currently ranks fourth in the ACC.  
    If the season ended today, the 6.8 average would rank first in the Duke record book.  The previous highest average of 3-pointers made per game in a full season was 6.3 in 2017-18.  Duke averaged 7.25 in 2020-21, but only played four games.

Duke Record
Average 3-Pointers Made in a Season
1.    6.80    2021-22
2.    6.33    2017-18
3.    6.05    2005-06
4.    5.91    1998-99
5.    5.82    1999-2000
    5.81    1995-96
7.    5.7    2018-19
8.    5.68    2001-02
9.    5.53    1997-98
10.    5.52    2010-11