Graduate student Jade Williams struck in the final minute to carry the Duke Lady Blue Devils to a 74-71 beating of the University of Alabama Crimson Tides, Sunday afternoon in the Maggie Dixon Classic, at Ed and Rae Schollmeier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Williams knocked in two layups in the last 30 seconds and scored all 14 of her season-high points in the second half to help lead Duke to its fourth straight victory to open the 2021-22 campaign.
Junior Celeste Taylor also added a season-high 21 points, while graduate student Lexi Gordon chipped in 11 points in her return to her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas.
Taylor paced the Blue Devils with 13 points, while Day-Wilson and Filipino-American sophomore Vanessa de Jesus added seven and six points, respectively.
With 30 seconds remaining, Williams grabbed an offensive rebound and put back the layup to give Duke a 70-69 lead.
Alabama’s Megan Abrams came back with a layup of her own to give the Crimson Tide the 71-70 advantage with 18 seconds left on the clock.
After Duke called a timeout, Taylor found Williams for a layup with six seconds remaining to put the Blue Devils ahead for good, 72-71.
The Duke defense clamped down on Alabama at the end, forcing Abrams to miss a layup.
Freshman Shayeann Day-Wilson added 11 points, three assists and two rebounds for the Blue Devils.
Taylor hit 9-of-14 field goals and 3-of-5 from the three-point area.