Thomas leads Duke to 87-70 win at Florida State

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Jasmine Thomas scored 22 points to lead third-ranked Duke to an 87-70 victory at No. 21 Florida State on Friday night.

The Blue Devils (16-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) got 15 points each from freshmen Haley Peters and Tricia Liston, while Chelsea Gray added 13.

Courtney Ward scored a game-high 25 points and Alexa Deluzio added 17 for Florida State, which closed within three points with 12:28 left only to see Duke quickly regain command.

Duke took the lead at 18-16 on Thomas' 3-pointer that ignited a 25-8 run, culminating with a 3-pointer from Liston that put the Blue Devils ahead 40-24.

Florida State (14-1, 2-1) cut Duke's lead to 40-30 at halftime on Ward's desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Another Ward 3-pointer trimmed Duke's lead to 56-51 with 13:13 left, and Bravard followed 40 seconds later with a layup as the Seminoles got within three at 56-53. But Thomas again kicked off another run, this one a 20-7 Blue Devils spurt that decided the game.

Thomas, a 5-9 senior, narrowly missed a triple-double with nine rebounds and eight assists — both game highs. She also had three steals.

Nine players scored for the Blue Devils in the opening half as their bench players outscored Florida State 15-0. Duke capitalized on 14 first half Florida State turnovers for 21 points, while the Seminoles managed just three on Duke's miscues.

Duke shot 52.3 percent for the game and won the rebound battle 40-34. Florida State shot 40 percent and its 19 turnovers contributed to 29 Duke points.

Freshman Natasha Howard had 14 points and Cierra Bravard 12 for the Seminoles, who got all but two of its points from four players.

The Duke women did something its male counterparts failed to do two nights ago in Tallahassee, when Mike Krzyzewski's top-ranked team lost its perfect season in a 66-61 loss to the Seminoles.