Duke’s height overwhelms Winthrop women
A commanding size advantage for 12th-ranked Duke proved too much for Winthrop women’s basketball to overcome as the Blue Devils downed the Eagles 78-50 on Sunday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Winthrop falls to 0-2 as the Eagles start the season against two top-20 teams. Duke set a school record with 16 blocked shots and improved to 2-0. The Blue Devils won their 17th straight home opener and ninth straight under head coach Joanna P. McCallie.
Eagle junior forward and preseason All-Big South selection Erica Williams scored 17 points in the loss. She became the 18th player in Winthrop women’s basketball history to join the 1,000 club when she connected on a mid-range jumper early in the third period.
Duke, which presents a roster with eight players who stand 6-foot-1 or better, held Winthrop to 31 percent shooting. When the Blue Devils weren’t blocking shots they used their superior height advantage to challenge most Winthrop field goal attempts. Duke also had a commanding rebounding average, winning the battle of the boards 51-36.
Winthrop did give the Blue Devils problems with its aggressive zone as the Eagles forced Duke into 23 turnovers.
Duke got out to an early 11-2 lead thanks to Rebecca Greenwell who connected on two of her five 3-pointers. She finished the game with 17 points. Winthrop settled down after spotting the Blue Devils the early 9-point lead trailed by 10 points after the first quarter at 27-17 after sophomore guard Jimecheia banks connected on a 25-foot three-pointer at the buzzer.
Sophomore center Ezinne Mbamalu was a force in the second quarter as she came off the bench to score eight straight points to draw the Eagles to within three points at 32-29 with 3:30 left before halftime. After Williams connected on a jumper to make it a 34-31 game at the 2:41 mark, Winthrop missed its last five shots of the quarter and trailed 41-31 at intermission.
Winthrop kept the game within reach in the opening five minutes of the third quarter and trailed by 11 at 49-38 when Williams connected on a 3-pointer from the deep left corner with 5:16 on the clock.
But a Duke steal that led to a layup and free throw by Kyra Lambert made it a 52-38 Blue Devil advantage and Winthrop’s hopes for an upset disappeared. Duke went on to close out the third quarter with a 17-point lead at 61-44.
In addition to Williams’ 17 points, Mbamalu also reached double figures for Winthrop, finishing with 10 points before fouling out. Freshman center Arianne Whitaker led the Eagles in the rebounding department with nine while scoring eight points. Duke was led by sophomore Azura Stevens who recorded a double-double with 18 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Winthrop will travel to Akron, Ohio next weekend where it will face the host Akron Zips in the Akron Invitational at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, before tangling with Ohio University at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
This story was originally published November 16, 2015 at 12:21 PM with the headline "Duke’s height overwhelms Winthrop women."