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No. 2 Ohio State women’s basketball will face No. 7 Duke Blue Devils in Second Round
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images
Buckeyes guard Celeste Taylor gets a chance to face her former side on Sunday
After Ohio State women’s basketball defeated the Maine Black Bears on Friday, it was only a matter of a few hours before it knew its next opponent. It was between the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils and No. 10 Richmond Spiders, putting the ACC at-large bid against the A10 champions.
For Buckeye fans, a matchup between Ohio State and Duke would be the popular pick. After all, Scarlet and Gray guard Celeste Taylor played two seasons with the Blue Devils. Even though seeding would say the easier route is through Richmond.
The first half showed that both sides would give the Buckeyes a Second Round battle. Duke led for the first five minutes of the game, building a six-point lead on the Spiders. Guard Reigan Richardson scored seven of the Blue Devils’ first 15 points, but Richmond was shooting lights out from deep.
Passing from the Spiders gave teammates open looks. Forwards Addie Budnik and Maggie Doogan went 4-for-6 from deep, part of an 71.4% shooting performance from beyond the arc for Richmond. For a defensive side like Duke, the combined 49 points between the two sides at the end of the first quarter was a bit of a shock. Duke’s offense in the second quarter was even more shocking.
That’s because the Blue Devils scored only five points the entire second quarter, going 1-for-14 from the field. Doogan and Budnik tacked on three more combined three-pointers, bumping up the Spiders’ numbers from deep up to 80% efficiency.
Richmond took a nine-point lead into halftime, but Duke wouldn’t be down for long.
The Spiders’ three-point shooting fell as the Blue Devils’ overall offense began hitting its stride. Duke did it through rebounding, out rebounding Richmond 15-5 in the third quarter. A couple runs of nine and seven points for the ACC side put the game back in Duke’s favor with a quarter to go.
It set up a tense fourth quarter for the Blue Devils, up two points with 10 minutes to play. Hoping to avoid the second-straight upset in the NCAA Tournament after Duke lost in Cameron Indoor Stadium to the No. 6 Colorado Buffaloes.
Richmond made it easier for the Blue Devils to hold on, committing fouls and continuing to miss their long attempts. The eight first half three-pointers were followed up with none through the first 14 minutes of the second half. Then, an illegal screening foul right before a Duke shot clock violation gave the Blue Devils even more of an opportunity to expand its lead.
Ultimately, Buckeye fans get the matchup they wanted. Duke pulls off the 72-61 victory, with the Blue Devils now set to face Ohio State on Sunday. As of publishing, a tipoff time is still to be determined.
The Buckeyes have two games against the Blue Devils in its program history, losing both. However, both came in the regular season, in the now-defunct ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The two sides haven’t faced off since the 2017/18 season.
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ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images
Buckeyes guard Celeste Taylor gets a chance to face her former side on Sunday
After Ohio State women’s basketball defeated the Maine Black Bears on Friday, it was only a matter of a few hours before it knew its next opponent. It was between the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils and No. 10 Richmond Spiders, putting the ACC at-large bid against the A10 champions.
For Buckeye fans, a matchup between Ohio State and Duke would be the popular pick. After all, Scarlet and Gray guard Celeste Taylor played two seasons with the Blue Devils. Even though seeding would say the easier route is through Richmond.
The first half showed that both sides would give the Buckeyes a Second Round battle. Duke led for the first five minutes of the game, building a six-point lead on the Spiders. Guard Reigan Richardson scored seven of the Blue Devils’ first 15 points, but Richmond was shooting lights out from deep.
Passing from the Spiders gave teammates open looks. Forwards Addie Budnik and Maggie Doogan went 4-for-6 from deep, part of an 71.4% shooting performance from beyond the arc for Richmond. For a defensive side like Duke, the combined 49 points between the two sides at the end of the first quarter was a bit of a shock. Duke’s offense in the second quarter was even more shocking.
That’s because the Blue Devils scored only five points the entire second quarter, going 1-for-14 from the field. Doogan and Budnik tacked on three more combined three-pointers, bumping up the Spiders’ numbers from deep up to 80% efficiency.
Richmond took a nine-point lead into halftime, but Duke wouldn’t be down for long.
The Spiders’ three-point shooting fell as the Blue Devils’ overall offense began hitting its stride. Duke did it through rebounding, out rebounding Richmond 15-5 in the third quarter. A couple runs of nine and seven points for the ACC side put the game back in Duke’s favor with a quarter to go.
It set up a tense fourth quarter for the Blue Devils, up two points with 10 minutes to play. Hoping to avoid the second-straight upset in the NCAA Tournament after Duke lost in Cameron Indoor Stadium to the No. 6 Colorado Buffaloes.
Richmond made it easier for the Blue Devils to hold on, committing fouls and continuing to miss their long attempts. The eight first half three-pointers were followed up with none through the first 14 minutes of the second half. Then, an illegal screening foul right before a Duke shot clock violation gave the Blue Devils even more of an opportunity to expand its lead.
Ultimately, Buckeye fans get the matchup they wanted. Duke pulls off the 72-61 victory, with the Blue Devils now set to face Ohio State on Sunday. As of publishing, a tipoff time is still to be determined.
The Buckeyes have two games against the Blue Devils in its program history, losing both. However, both came in the regular season, in the now-defunct ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The two sides haven’t faced off since the 2017/18 season.
Continue reading...