Duke bounces back, tops Southern
CHICAGO (AP) — Abby Waner scored 24 points and No. 6 Duke responded to its first loss of the season with a dominating 93-53 win over Southern in the consolation game of the DePaul Invitational on Saturday.
Southern guard Tenesha Brown left the game in the second half with an apparent head injury. She was carried off the floor and left the arena on a stretcher. She scored 10 points in the game.
The Blue Devils (3-1) struggled through most of Friday's loss to Hartford before a late rally in the final five minutes.
On Saturday, Duke took control right away.
The Blue Devils scored the first 12 points of the game and kept cruising, leading 50-18 at halftime. Duke finished 32 of 65 from the field and added 25 free throws.
Chante Black and Joy Cheek each scored 15 points for Duke, which used a swarming defense to harass Southern into 29 turnovers. The Blue Devils limited Southern to 15 of 53 shooting while holding a 48-33 rebounding advantage.
The Jaguars (1-3) struggled to break through the Blue Devils' press and lost their third straight game.
Duke finished the game on a 20-7 run.
Cheek's layup five minutes into the first half gave Duke a 12-0 lead. After Carneta Henderson hit a layup to put Southern on the board with 14:15 remaining, the Blue Devils scored 11 straight points, capped by consecutive baskets from Shay Shelby to take a 23-2 lead.
