By Bob Sutton

Associated Press

RALEIGH (AP) — Celeste Taylor scored 23 points, including a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, and Duke beat No. 6 North Carolina State 72-58 on Thursday night.

Elizabeth Balogun had 16 points as the Blue Devils picked up the most significant victory in coach Kara Lawson’s three seasons. Shayeann Day-Wilson and Kennedy Brown each scored 10 points.

Duke (12-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) went 9 for 14 on 3-pointers in its seventh straight victory. Reigan Richardson’s 3 stretched the lead to 66-56.

N.C. State had won 19 straight ACC games at Reynolds Coliseum. The last conference school to win on the Wolfpack’s court was Duke on Feb. 24, 2020.

Saniya Rivers had 17 points for N.C. State (11-2, 1-1), which had won seven straight games this season. Jakia Brown-Turner scored 12 points and Aziaha James had 10.

N.C. State trimmed Duke’s 14-point lead to 50-44 by the end of the third quarter.

Taylor’s 3 pushed the Blue Devils in front 59-50 near the midway mark of the fourth.

Duke outscored North Carolina State 24-4 across the final seven minutes of the first half. The Blue Devils were 6 for 9 in the first half on 3-pointers.

BIG PICTURE

Duke: The Blue Devils overcame early shooting woes and had the Wolfpack’s defense off balance by the end because of their perimeter shooting. The Blue Devils were rarely rattled despite a difficult road atmosphere, improving to 5-0 in true road games this season.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack had spans when the offense didn’t flow well and that was costly when trying to keep up with Duke’s timely shooting. N.C. State’s 18 turnovers also prevented a comeback and the full-court press didn’t do much to disrupt the Blue Devils.

WORTH NOTING

N.C. State played its third full game in a row without scoring leader Diamond Johnson (13.9 points per game), who sustained an ankle injury Dec. 11 vs. South Florida. … Duke also beat a top-10 N.C. State team on the road in February 2020 for its last win against the Wolfpack. … The lone losses for both teams this season entering the game came against Connecticut.

UP NEXT

Duke: Hosts Louisville on Sunday.

N.C. State: Sunday at Syracuse.