Liston scores 17, No. 5 Duke women beat Va. Tech

DURHAM, N.C. – Tricia Liston scored 17 points to help No. 5 Duke beat Virginia Tech 67-45 on Wednesday night.

Chelsea Gray added 15 points as the Blue Devils (22-3) improved to 13-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play for the fifth time in program history.

Liston made two 3-pointers and a steal during a 14-2 run in the second half as Duke pulled away for its 29th consecutive home win against conference foes.

Elizabeth Williams added 12 points and Haley Peters had 11 for the Blue Devils.

Aerial Wilson scored 15 of her 19 points in the first half to lead Virginia Tech (7-19, 3-10). The Hokies suffered their 10th loss in the last 11 games and their 17th consecutive defeat against Duke.

Virginia Tech went scoreless for the final 5:30 of the game as the Blue Devils closed with an 11-0 run.

Wilson started the game 4 of 6 from the floor, including 3 for 3 on 3-pointers, but was 4 for 21 the rest of the way. She scored her team's first 11 points, helping the Hokies run out to a 13-9 lead less than six minutes into the game.

Duke answered with a 14-3 run, led by a 3-pointer from Liston to take control of the game.

The Blue Devils led 35-26 at halftime after making 14 of 20 free throws. Duke attempted at least one free throw after each of Virginia Tech's 11 fouls in the half, but the Hokies had no attempts on Duke's five fouls.

Duke starting forward Richa Jackson left the game midway through the first half with an injury to her left knee and did not return.

Jackson fell to the floor under Duke's offensive basket as she was fouled by Virginia Tech's Alyssa Fenyn with 9:21 to play in the first half. Jackson remained on the floor for a few minutes, clutching her knee as coach Joanne P. McCallie and trainers attended to her.

Two members of Duke's training staff helped Jackson limp toward the locker room as she struggled to put any weight on her injured leg. Jackson is scheduled for an MRI exam Thursday, a Duke spokesman said.

Jackson came into the game averaging 9.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

The Blue Devils already were without starting point guard Chloe Wells and reserve post player Amber Henson, who have both been out since late December. Wells is not enrolled for the spring semester due to a violation of university policy, and Henson had season-ending knee surgery.

Both teams wore pink to raise awareness for breast cancer. The Blue Devils sported pink trim on their white uniforms and wore pink headbands and pink shoelaces. The Hokies wore pink warmup shirts to go with pink shoes, socks and headbands.