DURHAM, N.C. (AP) – Tricia Liston broke a record and helped break open a game with one shot.
It was that kind of day for Duke.
Liston scored 23 points and became Duke’s all-time leader in career 3-pointers as the No. 3 Blue Devils beat Pittsburgh 111-67 on Sunday.
Elizabeth Williams added 20 points for the Blue Devils (20-1, 7-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who shot a season-best 60 percent from the floor and never trailed.
Haley Peters had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Duke. Amber Henson added a career-high 13 points, Oderah Chidom had 12 and Alexis Jones had 11 for the Blue Devils.
“There have been games when we felt not very deep,” Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “Today, we felt like the deepest team in America. Everybody was doing what they can do.”
Liston led the way, making 8 of 10 shots from the floor and 3 of 4 3-point attempts.
Her record-breaking 223rd 3-pointer came on a jumper from the left wing with 13:24 left in the first half. The shot gave the Blue Devils a 20-12 lead and started a 15-2 run that helped them take control of the game.
Liston’s record previously was held by Abby Waner.
“It’s kind of irrelevant when you’re playing,” Liston said. “But off the court, it’s a great accomplishment and something I’m very proud of. But I try not to think about it too much when I’m playing, if at all.”
Brianna Kiesel scored 19 points to lead the Panthers (9-11, 1-5), who shot 30 percent. Asia Logan added 17 points and Loliya Briggs had 12 points for Pittsburgh.
“Duke is very talented,” Pittsburgh coach Suzie McConnell-Serio said. “If you try to take away an inside presence, they kill you from outside. They’re just so balanced and have so many weapons. It was a tough matchup for us across the board. We were undersized, overmatched.”
Duke reached 20 wins for the 17th consecutive season, the third longest active streak in the country. The Blue Devils also extended their ACC-record home winning streak against conference foes to 42 games and posted their 130th consecutive home victory against unranked opponents.
Duke led 55-29 after a first half that featured plenty of highlights in addition to Liston’s record-breaking 3-pointer.
After Pittsburgh cut Duke’s lead to 34-22 lead with eight minutes remaining, the Blue Devils delivered a 17-2 spurt to pull away.
Jones had the crowd oohing, aahing and roaring in the span of a few seconds with a series of behind-the-back dribbles followed by a no-look feed to Williams for a layup. Later during the run, Henson made the first 3-pointer of her career.
Duke made 17 of its first 22 field goal attempts en route to shooting 66 percent from the floor in the first half.
The Panthers, meanwhile, were just 8 for 37 as they struggled to hit perimeter shots against Duke’s zone. Pittsburgh came up with 12 offensive rebounds in the first half, but those extra opportunities yielded only seven points.
“Our players have the green light to take a shot,” McConnell-Serio said. “They’re all capable of hitting it. I’ve seen it. We just didn’t hit enough of them.”
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