DURHAM, N.C.- Elizabeth Balogun scored 27 points including a final go-ahead basket with 30 seconds left to rally No. 15 Duke to a 72-70 victory over No. 17 Notre Dame on Sunday.
Miela Goodchild added 13 points and Celeste Taylor and Lexi Gordon 12 each for the Blue Devils (10-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who shot 50% and made 10 of 20 from the arc, seven more 3s than Notre Dame, which scored 54 points in the paint, 30 more than Duke.
Duke’s leading scorer, Shayeann Day-Wilson, who missed the Blue Devils’ 22-point loss to Virginia Tech because of COVID protocols, returned but was 0-for-7 with two points in 12 minutes.
Maya Dodson had 26 points and nine rebounds to lead the Fighting Irish (11-3, 2-1), who had a four-game winning streak snapped. Sonia Citron added 14 points and Olivia Miles 13. The Irish shot 52%.
Trailing since midway through the third quarter, Goodchild gave Duke the lead with 3 1/2 minutes remaining on a 3-pointer. Notre Dame grabbed the lead back twice before Balogun drove to the hoop to tie at 70-all with just over a minute to go. Miles then lost the ball and Balogun took it the length of the court and scored.
Notre Dame missed three shots up in the paint before Duke regained possession with 3.7 seconds left. After a Duke timeout, Miles made a steal on an inbounds pass and flung it to Citron who hurriedly banked it in but well after the final buzzer.
Notre Dame led 40-37 at halftime in a game in which neither team had a double-digit lead.