NO. 11 DUKE 69, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 42: Jasmine Thomas scored 12 points to lead a balanced offense and No. 11 Duke won easily in its home opener, routing Georgia Southern 69-42 on Thursday night.
The Blue Devils (2-1) dropped from No. 6 to No. 11 in the poll this week on the heels of a 95-77 loss at Texas A&M on Sunday.
Bridgette Mitchell, Keturah Jackson and Krystal Thomas had 11 points each for Duke. Joy Cheek added 10.
J'Lisia Ogburn led Georgia Southern (1-1) with 11 points.
The Eagles took a 6-5 lead on Jamie Navarro's 3-pointer with 17:35 left in the first half before the pressing Blue Devils responded with a big run. Cheek scored all her points during the 14-0 spurt.
"We have to continue to be relentless about getting paint points, more offensive rebounds, more put backs, and more attack in the paint," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said.
"Just because somebody plays the zone doesn't mean that you have to fire. Our percentage from three-point range was terrible, and we shouldn't have shot so many. Just move the ball and do something different."
The Blue Devils led 35-17 at halftime and took their biggest lead, 58-26, on Jackson's follow with 12:30 remaining.
Duke outshot GSU 43.5 percent to 34 percent and outrebounded the Eagles 46-22.
All five starters for Duke scored in double-digits.
"It's always good when everyone contributes," said Thomas. "That's something we know the team is capable of is having people put numbers on the board. It's not something we emphasize, it's something we expect."
TOP 25: Samantha Prahalis had 14 points and 12 assists, and No. 3 Ohio State scored the first 17 points to roll past West Virginia 92-69 in the semifinals of the Preseason WNIT. ... Becca Tobin scored 14 points and No. 14 Arizona State held Yale scoreless for more than 9 minutes in the first half en route to an 82-46 victory. ... Freshman guard Jasmine James scored 25 points and Ashley Houts added 21 for No. 16 Georgia in a 74-57 win over Chattanooga. ... Ashley Barlow scored 18 points and hit a tiebreaking free throw with 10 seconds left, lifting No. 5 Notre Dame to a 68-67 victory over No. 21 Michigan State.
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