DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Reigan Richardson scored a season-high 14 points and No. 9 Duke turned in another strong defensive performance to beat Miami 50-40 on Sunday.
The Blue Devils (22-3, 12-2) maintained their solo perch atop the Atlantic Coast Conference standings and capped their first week in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 poll since 2017.
Duke led by double figures early in the second quarter and closed the first half with nine straight points to take a 19-point lead. Miami (16-9, 9-5) didn’t get the deficit into single digits until the final 35 seconds and finished nearly 30 points below its scoring average in league play (69.5).
Still, it wasn’t an easy finish for the Blue Devils, who went cold after Richardson’s straightaway midrange jumper for a 49-34 lead with 7:27 left. Duke didn’t manage another field goal the rest of the way and shot 37% for the game.
Duke came in ranked second behind only top-ranked South Carolina in scoring defense (50.7) and seventh nationally in field-goal percentage defense by holding opponents to 34.4%. The Hurricanes shot 31.8% for the game, while the Blue Devils converted 15 turnovers into 15 points.
Jasmyne Roberts scored 12 points to lead the Hurricanes, who have put themselves in contention for an NCAA Tournament bid. But Miami couldn’t get anything going early, managing more turnovers (eight) than field goals (five) with nothing coming easily in the first half.
BIG PICTURE
Miami: The Hurricanes entered having won three straight and nine of 11 dating to the start of January, which had allowed them to dig out from a 7-6 start. Miami’s 5-for-21 shooting in the opening half was too much to overcome. The Hurricanes also managed just four 3s after hitting 11 in Thursday’s win against Florida State, and finished minus-5 on the boards after outrebounding their last five opponents by an average of 12.2 per game.
Duke: The Blue Devils have made a rapid climb to the top of the ACC under third-year coach Kara Lawson, who revamped the roster through the transfer portal. The defense continues to lead the way, though the Blue Devils have shown enough depth to pick up fullcourt and have balanced offensive performances. This time, that meant having only one double-digit scorer until late in the game.
UP NEXT
Miami: Hosts Clemson on Thursday.
Duke: At No. 11 Virginia Tech on Thursday.
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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25