Fil-American sophomore Vanessa de Jesus joined four other teammates in lifting the Duke Blue Devils women’s basketball team to a 95-39 smothering of the Winthrop Eagles in the opening game of their 2021-22 US NCAA Division I campaign.
De Jesus finished with seven points and tallied a team-high eight assists as the Blue Devils finished the game with five players in double figures Tuesday evening at the Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Transferee cager Lexi Gordon banged in a game-high 17 points, while senior Imani Lewis added 16 points in their debut game. Junior Celeste Taylor and sophomore Nyah Green each notched 11 points, while Miela Goodchild chipped in 10.
With their opening triumph in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Blue Devils have posted 17 wins out of their last 18 inaugural games.
“I told the team after the game, there’s always things that you’re pleased with, and we understand there’s things you can improve on, so we’ll look at the tape to see what specifically to improve on,” said coach Kara Lawson in a dispatch sent to the Manila Standard.
Duke took charge early, with De Jesus capping a 5-0 run with a layup, with Gordon’s jumper in the last 4:30 of the first period setting them up for a six-point edge, 12-6.
Working on stingy defense, Duke then forced 14 turnovers through the first 20 minutes and held Winthrop to just 22-percent shooting as it went on to control the match, 44-16, at halftime.
After three quarters, the Blue Devils were ahead with a 40-point lead, 68-28.
Duke will next have a road game against the Dayton Flyers on Friday night.