Vanderbilt wasn't intimidated by Cameron Indoor Stadium, and the Commodores weren't intimidated by the No. 2 team in the country.
They just weren't big enough or quick enough or experienced enough to beat Duke, although they made the Blue Devils wait until the final 10 minutes to prove it.
Senior guards Jasmine Lister had 23 points and Christina Foggie 18 in Vanderbilt's 88-69 loss Thursday night.
Tricia Liston scored 18 points while tying her career high of six 3-pointers and Alexis Jones added a season-high 17 points, leading six players in double figures for the 4-0 Blue Devils.
''I don't know what the big difference was (in Duke's defense) later in the game,'' said Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb, whose team fell to 3-2 with its second straight loss. ''They played the same zone and were the same size in the first half. They spread out more and made us pass around.''
Chelsea Gray had 14 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists for Duke, which got 13 points from Elizabeth Williams and 11 each from Haley Peters and Chloe Wells.
''We got to our game in the second half,'' Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. ''In the first half we weren't quite in our game, and that happens. Vanderbilt played a different defense than we've faced all year and they did a good job with it, because they're well-coached and we had to kind of adjust to that.
''The quick triggers (of Lister and Foggie) make them unique. (But) we've got to know how to dictate 40 minutes and really play our game regardless of what anyone else is doing.''
It was the second straight win over an SEC team for Duke, which drubbed visiting Alabama 92-57 on Sunday. Duke leads the series with Vanderbilt 5-2.
Duke shot 51.7 percent to the Commodores' 48.2, won the rebound battle 32-29 and committed 19 turnovers to Vanderbilt's 28.
''The overall effort gives us hope that we are an elite basketball team,'' said Lister, who was 9 for 13 from the floor including four 3-pointers. ''Sticking with them and only down by two at the end of the first half. I think we have to take that and keep moving forward and learn from the second half.''
Duke has won 41 of its last 43 home games against non-conference opponents - with both losses to Connecticut.
Peters hit two free throws with 11:16 left in the first half to take the lead for good at 16-15, but took a long time to put the zone-oriented Commodores away.
Peters left the game with an injury to her right knee when she picked up a foul with 3:27 left in the first half, but returned with 14:11 remaining. She played seven minutes in the second half, scoring two points, and is scheduled to have an MRI on the knee on Friday.
Duke led 58-54 before taking control with an 11-0 run that included a pair of 3-pointers from Liston and a three-point play from Gray with 8:28 left.
The Blue Devils shot a season high 62.5 percent in the second half.
