Durham, NC – Led by double-doubles from Elizabeth Williams and Haley Peters the second-seed Duke Blue Devils rallied from a 13-point deficit at halftime to top the Oklahoma State Cowgirls, 68-59, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Williams finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds and Peters had 15 points to go with 13 boards for Duke (32-2) which takes on sixth-seed Nebraska in the Sweet 16. Tricia Liston and Chloe Wells each tacked on 13 points for the Blue Devils while Alexis Jones had nine points to go with seven assists.
Liz Donohoe tallied 14 points and seven rebounds to pace Oklahoma State (22-11). Brittney Martin put in 13 points, Toni Young grabbed eight boards to go with her 12 points and Tiffany Bias chipped in 11 points and dished out six assists.
Oklahoma State shot well in the first half to take a 34-21 lead at the break. The Cowgirls connected on 46.7 percent of their attempts from the floor and 4- of-10 from 3-point range. Duke managed just nine field goals on 30 percent shooting.
After halftime the Cowgirls lost their rhythm, shooting just 32 percent while having 10 fewer field goal attempts than Duke. Meanwhile the Blue Devils converted on 42.9 percent from the floor and rattled in 14-of-18 from the free-throw line to storm back for the win.
Duke forced 21 turnovers which turned into 22 points. The Blue Devils also had a 40-35 advantage on the boards.
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