Cancun, Mexico - Tenth-ranked Duke got 20 points from Jasmine Thomas and outscored the Western Kentucky University women's basketball team 42-28 in the second half en route to a 70-47 win over the Lady Toppers Thursday afternoon in the Caribbean Challenge at the Moon Palace Resort.

The loss was the first of the season for the Lady Toppers as they fell to 3-1 on the year. Duke improved to 4-1.

"We just didn't respond with the same intensity that we had in the first three games, and what you need to do against the 10th-ranked team in the country," said Lady Topper head coach Mary Taylor Cowles. "Duke is a tremendous ballclub, and what we ran into tonight is a situation where we had to execute our offense and we just didn't do that. Thomas was outstanding for Duke tonight, and we just didn't have an answer for her."

Leading by nine at intermission, the Blue Devils outscored WKU 14-3 in the first six minutes of the half to open up a 20-point lead, and also limited the Lady Toppers to just two field goals in the first nine minutes of the period.

After the run by Duke, WKU was only able to get as close 15 when a Kenzie Rich three made it 42-27, but the Blue Devils quickly stretched the lead back to 20 points. The advantage stretched out to 28 points with 5:29 to play after a pair of Kathleen Scheer free throws, but Lashay Davis knocked down back-to-back threes to cut the deficit down to 60-38 with 4:44 remaining. WKU would get as close as 21 with just over four minutes remaining, but the Blue Devils were able to extend the lead out to 23 at the final buzzer.

After the Lady Toppers got four of the first six points of the contest, Duke used a layup from Keturah Jackson to spark an 11-0 run as the Blue Devils opened up a 13-4 lead after a Thomas layup with 13:42 remaining. Thomas was big for Duke in the first half, scoring 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting, including three three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes.

Trailing 18-7 with 12:12 on the clock, WKU regrouped to go in a 6-0 run of its own, cutting the deficit to 18-13 on a Rich jumper with just over nine minutes on the clock. Duke was able to again stretch the advantage out to 12 points on a Bridgette Mitchell layup, but a Courtney Clifton three - one of three treys for the freshman in the half - cut the Blue Devil lead to 28-19.

For the game, Clifton led the Lady Toppers with 11 points off the bench, while fellow freshman Lashay Davis finished with 10. Allison Vernerey joined Thomas in double figures with 10 point for Duke. The Blue Devils finished the game 23-for-29 at the free-throw line (80 percent), and were 20 for 25 in the second half. WKU was just 7-for-14 at the line in the game, and shot 32.1 percent for the game from the field.

The Lady Toppers will wrap up their stay in the Mexico with a 4 p.m. (CST) contest against Arkansas on Friday.