Durham, NC – Elizabeth Williams recorded a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds, and led No. 5 Duke to a 61-50 win over No. 19 Florida State on Friday.
Williams shot 7-of-17 from the field for the Blue Devils (25-1, 15-0 ACC), who have won nine straight games. Chloe Wells added 15 points off the bench.
Alexa Deluzio scored 16 points, while Natasha Howard registered 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Seminoles (20-6, 10-5), who came into the game off a win against North Carolina.
The first half was a close, low-scoring contest, as the two teams combined for 26 percent shooting and 25 turnovers.
At halftime, Duke had a 20-18 edge.
In the second half, Florida State took an early lead, as a jumper by Deluzio and a pair of layups by Howard gave them a 24-20 advantage.
However, Duke went on a 26-4 run over the next nine minutes and the Blue Devils never looked back. A 3-pointer by Wells and a three-point play by Richa Jackson capped the swing and Duke held a 46-28 lead with 8:49 remaining in regulation.
Duke stretched its lead to as many as 20 points, as a layup by Williams gave the Blue Devils a 52-32 lead with 6:40 left to play.
Florida State tried to come back, with Deluzio making a trey to spark an 11-0 surge. With 3:32 left, the Seminoles cut the deficit to nine, 52-43.
After a layup and a free throw by Williams, Leonor Rodriguez and Morgan Toles combined for five consecutive free throws to move the Seminoles within 55-48 with 1:40 remaining.
However, a free throw by Jackson and a pair of foul shots from Tricia Liston gave Duke a double-digit lead with just over a minute to go.
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