Duke women leave no doubt in resounding ACC Women’s Tournament win over Clemson
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- Duke beat Clemson, 60-46, in second meeting of the season.
- Toby Fournier scored 17, grabbed 10 rebounds and had three blocks
- Clemson committed 21 turnovers, including 11 in the first half.
Duke forward Toby Fournier walked off the court at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C. on Feb. 22 with tears in her eyes. Fournier did not close in fast enough on the final play and gave up the go-ahead basket as Clemson pulled off the upset and snapped the Blue Devils’ 17-game winning steak.
Twelve days later, Fournier was a catalyst for Duke as the Blue Devils downed the Tigers, 60-46, in the teams’ ACC Women’s Tournament quarterfinal in Duluth, Georgia. With the win, Duke advances to the ACC semifinals for the second straight season, where it will face the winner of the N.C. State-Notre Dame game at noon on Saturday.
“We know how connected we can be and the energy that we can bring to the game,” Fournier said after the win. “I think in the last matchup against Clemson, we didn’t bring our full potential. I think for this game, we just felt a lot more energy coming into the game and knowing what we needed to do to be better.”
In their regular season contest, the Blue Devils (22-8) led the Tigers (21-12) for the majority of the game, but could never pull away. That wasn’t an issue Friday. Duke jumped out to an early first-quarter lead, but the second quarter put the Blue Devils in the driver’s seat. They outscored the Tigers, 18-5, in the second and held a 38-19 halftime lead.
Duke used a 10-0 run between the end of the first half and the start of the second to extend its double-digit lead to 25 points.
“Duke is the conference regular season champ for a reason,” Clemson head coach Shawn Poppie said. “We had our hands full coming into the day.”
The Blue Devils’ offensive efficiency dropped substantially after the break. Both teams only scored single digits in the third quarter. Clemson used an 8-0 fourth-quarter run to make a late comeback attempt and drew within 13 points, but Duke’s first-half lead and defensive effort lifted the team to victory.
“Happy to be advancing. That’s the name of the game in postseason,” Duke head coach and ACC Coach of the Year Kara Lawson said. “I thought we started the game with a great deal of energy both ends. I thought, defensively, in that second quarter, we were really disruptive. We made it challenging for them to get quality looks at the basket. We, offensively, struggled a little bit there in the second half, but our defense held steady.”
Much of Duke’s success came from its size in the frontcourt — Fournier and Delaney Thomas led the scoring effort.
Fournier scored 17 points on 7 of 16 shooting, including a pair of 3s, while Thomas notched 14 points and six rebounds. Fournier added 10 rebounds — she picked up her ninth double-double of the season — three blocks and two steals. She was an All-ACC First Team honoree and the Player of the Year runner-up. Forward Jordan Wood didn’t score, but contributed four blocks.
Taina Mair was the most successful at the guard position. She scored 11 points and pulled down eight boards.
Clemson struggled with Duke’s pressure. The Tigers finished with 21 turnovers — eleven in the first half, four of which were shot clock violations. The Tigers entered the game committing 12.6 turnovers per game this season, and only coughed up possession 12 times in the teams’ regular-season meeting.
The turnovers and ability to score before Clemson’s defense set helped Duke build its advantage.
“When we could keep them in the half court, which we did most of the second half, we were in the ball game,” Poppie said. “I thought early in the game, they got out in transition and scored on us where it wasn’t a half court game. Then, on the flip side is they had some kids make shots.”
The Blue Devils’ defense also shut down passing lanes, which hindered the Tigers’ ball movement. Clemson recorded seven assists on 18 made field goals.
Duke, meanwhile, took advantage. The team shot 46.7% from the field and 55.6% from 3-point range in the first half. It held Clemson to 36.4% field goal shooting and 33.3% on perimeter attempts.
The Blue Devils finished the game shooting 38.7% overall and 29.4% from 3.
Mia Moore, Clemson’s All-ACC second team guard, led the Tigers with 17 points. Taylor Johnson-Matthews was the only other Tiger in double figures, with 12 points.
While Duke’s ACC Tournament run continues — and the Blue Devils are an NCAA Tournament lock — Clemson will return to South Carolina and await its NCAA Tournament fate. The Tigers are seeking their first appearance since the 2001-02 season.
“I think we can compete with anybody in the country,” Poppie said. “I think there’s no doubt when you give us now, whatever this is going to be, 10, 12 days of rest to get all the way healthy, we’ll be a team that is very, very hard to beat in the tournament.”
This story was originally published March 6, 2026 at 1:19 PM with the headline "Duke women leave no doubt in resounding ACC Women’s Tournament win over Clemson."
