In a night dedicated to the memory of the iconic Pat Summitt, the Duke women's basketball team's  performance would have made the legendary coach proud. The unranked Blue Devils put on a defensive show, dismantling No. 23 Florida State with an emphatic 42-point upset. The scoreline read a resounding 88-46 by the final buzzer, a testament to what head coach Kara Lawson deemed their most complete game yet.

The Blue Devils were coming off a hard loss against NC State from Sunday, and faced a Florida State team hungry to rebound from its own setbacks. But as the game unfolded, it became clear that Duke would dictate the evening.

“It was one of our most complete performances of the season, maybe our most complete. I said that a little bit ago when we played Georgia Tech, but I think this was just a more well rounded performance overall,” Lawson said, as reported by Caleb Dudley of The Duke Chronicle.

Lawson, a former standout under Summitt at Tennessee, has put into practice her mentor's high standards for her program, especially on the defensive end.

“Our foundational principles in this program are built on what coach Summitt taught me … and so how we play, how we run things, what our standards are, all comes from coach (Summitt), so it's nice to honor her memory,” Lawson said. “And I don't think, I know, she would have been very pleased with this defensive performance in the rebounding performance tonight.”

That defense shined, as Florida State's high-energy offense was silenced, managing only 46 points, a figure nearly halved from their season average.

Senior center Kennedy Brown's interior defense amassed a school-record four blocks in the first quarter alone. Her dominance pushed the Seminoles to rely on perimeter shooting, which played into Duke's hands.

Sophomore Ashlon Jackson, coming off a challenging previous game, hit a morale-boosting buzzer-beater from three-quarters court at the end of the first. Despite a momentary comeback from Florida State in the second quarter, Duke's 11-point run post-timeout squashed any hope for the visitors, as the home team built an 18-point lead by halftime.

The intensity didn't wane after the break. Freshman Oluchi Okananwa overcame a scoreless first half to end with eight points and a significant 13 rebounds. The Blue Devils' relentless pressure didn't let up, as they extended their lead to 64-40 by the end of the third.

In the final quarter, the team refused to dial back despite the widening margin. The result was a quarter where Florida State only managed six points.

“I'm just so proud of my young team that they just stayed focused and confident in what we're doing, which they've done all year, they've never wavered and that makes me feel really good,” Kara Lawson said. “Because that's a show of resilience and that's such an essential quality in a team, in a player, in life is that you have the ability to bounce back, and so that's probably what I'm most proud of in this one. Even though there's obviously a lot to be excited about.”