RECAP
DURHAM, N.C. -- Joanne Boyle knows her return to Duke might have been tougher if she hadn't been through an even more emotional game earlier this season.
The first-year Virginia coach, who graduated from Duke in 1985 and was later a Blue Devil assistant for 10 seasons, saw her team put up a solid effort against the No. 7 team in the nation Monday night. But it wasn't good enough for an upset as the Cavaliers fell 77-66 in the ACC opener for both teams.
"I had the emotional piece this year when we played Cal out in Hawaii (losing 59-50 on Nov. 27 to the team Boyle had coached for the previous six seasons)," Boyle said. "It's different walking into a building and coaching against your former players . (but) it was special just to be back in the building and see all the special people here that I know. Duke is just a piece of my heart."
Tricia Liston had 18 points to lead Duke (10-2) while fellow sophomores Haley Peters added 13, Richa Jackson 12 and Chelsea Gray 11 with eight assists.
Ataira Franklin led Virginia (12-3) with 19 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out with 1:49 left, while Ariana Moorer added 18 including 10-for-10 from the free-throw line.
It was Duke's 19th straight win in the series and 31st straight home-court victory.
"Shooting 56 percent against an ACC opponent is pretty outstanding," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "We might have been able to put a lot more points on the board if we didn't turn the ball over so much. But any time you shoot that kind of percentage against a strong team it shows a lot of ball movement."
Duke won despite getting only eight points -- all in the second half -- from leading scorer Elizabeth Williams.
"We were active in our zone and didn't give them a lot of touches," Boyle said. "We were doing a good job of getting loose balls and tips and steals, which we didn't necessarily convert in transition."
The Blue Devils were up 41-37 following Franklin's 3-pointer with 17:40 left, but went on a 10-2 run over the next three minutes.
"I definitely think we worked hard," Franklin said. "We've been a team that scraps and has gotten better and tougher on defense, but we need to be a team that not only plays well in adverse situations but doesn't get into adverse situations."
Duke shot 56.3 percent to 39.3 for the Cavaliers, outrebounding them 31-30 and committing 25 turnovers to Virginia's 21.
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