GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Duke prevented Pitt from repeating recent history on Wednesday and, with a collective sigh of relief, moved on to the second round of the 2022 ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament.

The 10th-seeded Blue Devils held off the 15th-seeded Panthers for a 55-52 win in first-round action at Greensboro Coliseum, surviving and advancing in a game that wasn’t settled until a potential game-tying 3-point try by Pitt’s Destiny Strother missed its mark.

The Panthers, who knocked off No. 10 Notre Dame as the No. 15 seed here two years ago, led by as many as 16 points in the first half and refused to fold, even after the Blue Devils scrapped back to take the lead in the fourth quarter.

But the Panthers were ultimately done-in by a 6-for-17 day from the foul line and clutch shooting by Duke’s Shayeann Day-Wilson and Elizabeth Balogun in the closing minutes.

Day-Wilson, who led all scorers with 22 points, connected on a 15-foot jumper with 1:47 to play to put the Blue Devils in front 50-48. Then, with the Blue Devils clinging to a one-point lead, Day-Wilson knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing to make it 53-49 with 1:10 showing on the clock.

It still wasn’t over. A layup by Liatu King quickly brought the Panthers within 55-53, but Balogun’s 12-foot jumper that just beat the shot clock with 21 seconds left pushed Duke back in front by four. The Blue Devils (17-12) survived the Panthers’ last gasp and will face seventh-seeded Miami (17-11) on Thursday night at 6 p.m.

Pitt (11-19) loser of nine straight games since last winning at Clemson on Jan. 27, knocked the Blue Devils back early by bolting to a 20-9 lead in the game’s first 10 minutes behind seven quick points from Taisha Exanor and another six from Dayshanette Harris. Pitt built the spread to 28-12 at the 5:38 mark of the second quarter before a mini-flurry by the Blue Devils left the score at 31-22 at the halftime break.

Pitt still led by nine at 40-31 following Cynthia Ezeja’s layup with 4:20 remaining, but the Blue Devils closed the period on an 8-0 run. Balogun’s fast-break bucket in the closing seconds of the third quarter brought Duke to within 40-39.

The score stayed frozen there for what seemed a basketball eternity, with neither side scoring for the first 3:23 of the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils’ Onome Akinbode-James finally broke the stalemate with a rebound follow shot at 6:37 that gave Duke its first lead since the game’s opening minutes and set up the exciting finish.

King led Pitt’s scoring with 13 points, and Harris added 11. Celeste Taylor (11 points) joined Day-Wilson in double figures for Duke.

Of note:
- Today’s meeting between the Panthers and Blue Devils was the 14th between the two with Duke leading the all-time series 14-0. Duke won both meetings this season, including a 54-39 decision on the road.
 
­- Duke becomes the third team in ACC Tournament history – joining the Duke 2001 and UNC 2002 squads – to overcome a nine-point halftime deficit.

 - Celeste Taylor’s 3-point basket at the 3:50 mark of the fourth quarter set the mark for seventh all-time made threes in a season in Duke’s program history (193).
 
- Pitt falls to 8-4 overall this season after leading at halftime.
 
- Pitt’s 16-point lead early in the first half was the largest the Panthers held in a defeat this season, topping their previous high of 13 against Syracuse. The nine-point halftime lead also tops their previous high of six against South Dakota.
 
- Duke’s 28 percent field goal percentage in the first quarter tied for its third-lowest of the season.
 
- The Blue Devils defeated Miami 58-49 in the regular-season meeting at Coral Gables on Jan. 18.