Seventh-seeded Duke University women's basketball defeats Georgia Tech, making it through ACC Tournament opener unscathed.

GREENSBORO, N.C.—My jacket rustled.

In the postseason opener, the seventh-seeded Blue Devils defeated 10th-seeded Georgia Tech 70-58 in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Thursday night at Greensboro Coliseum. Head coach Carla Lawson's defense was at its most effective, holding the Yellow Jackets to 37.7 percent from the field and 25 percent from beyond the arc. Freshman guard and No. 6 ACC Player of the Year Oluchi Onanwa led the way with 15 points, and senior center Kennedy Brown added 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

After a Georgia Tech run put pressure on Duke's neck in the second quarter, the Yellow Jackets regained momentum with two threes from Ashron Jackson. For the next two minutes, both teams traded missed shots and layups, fighting to gain any sort of offensive advantage. Finally, Onanwa's steal gave Duke a run in transition and Jackson made an easy layup. After another missed Georgia Tech 3-pointer, Jackson made another one from downtown. Her 11 points in the second quarter helped the Blue Devils open up an 8-0 run.

Duke then brought out the bugger, and Raygan Richardson's shot hit every inch of the rim. On the next possession, Taina Mair swung an open three-ball, then Camila Mmsbo used the momentum to cut, absorb her contact and score. And one chance. The Blue Devils, who added four steals and one block in the first half, entered the locker room with a 38-26 advantage, a lead they never relinquished.

After halftime, Duke mounted an attack through Brown. On the first possession, Brown and Jackson teamed up to create an easy layup on a roll to center field. The Derby, Kan., native used his size advantage to force defenders back, shimmy and land a reversal baby hook. Brown then battled through contact for a tough bucket and completed another baby hook a few possessions later. The senior, who sat on the bench after hitting his head on the floor with 4:56 left in the third, contributed eight points with a perfect shot.

The Blue Devils continued to grow in transition, taking advantage of Georgia Tech's speed. One notable example was when Richardson deftly blocked Ines Noguero's three-point shot attempt and then found Onanwa in flight. The freshman slowed down and evaded defenders in the paint for Euros to calmly score the bucket. Richardson forced another turnover, and Mzbo took advantage of a low mismatch for a nice and-one. In another shutout from Onanwa's elite defense, Aisha Wone Aranazu's errant shot put the Blue Devils up by 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Early in the first half, we saw a bit more of a close game. The Blue Devils got the ball inside from the opening tip to Brown, who dished to a cutting-in Jadyn Donovan who faded from just outside the paint for a quick two-shot. But Duke's young team showed nervous energy after that, committing three turnovers in the first five minutes. Donovan had two of them, including a Noguero strip that led to Kayla Blackshear's bucket. However, the Blue Devil defense remained strong as Maher denied Tony Morgan's drives.

Donovan's layup out of a timeout seemed to seal it for the Blue Devils, but the Blue Devils began a ferocious sprint in transition to turn defensive stops into offensive buckets. Donovan found a flying Oluchi Okanawa on a fast break and made an easy layup. After a quick stop, Raegan Richardson made two masterful buckets: a glass-kissed transition layup and a catch-and-shoot from an inbounds play at the baseline. ACC All-Freshman First Team member Okanawa's 3-point shot found the back of the net, completing an 11-0 run to end the quarter. The Yellow Jackets did not score until 4:34 of the first period, giving the Blue Devils a nine-point lead.