Showing posts tagged “Boston College”
Mike Potter ·
14 Mar 2010, 11:01 PM ·
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ACC champion Duke (27-5) is going to be one of the 64 teams on the board when the NCAA Women’s Tournament field is announced tonight at 7 on ESPN.
N.C. State (20-13) and UNC (19-11) think they’re in, but won’t be sure until they see their names on the board tonight.
The Wolfpack and Tar Heels are two of about eight ACC teams who will be waiting with baited breath, first to make sure they’re in the field and then to see where they’re headed.
Duke and Florida State (26-5) are both hosting first- and second-round games, so it’s a certainty the Seminoles are also going to get an invitation. It would also shock the women’s basketball world if Georgia Tech (23-9) or Virginia (21-9) doesn’t get the thumbs-up.
The Wolfpack, under their first-year coach Kellie Harper, and the Tar Heels, under veteran Sylvia Hatchell, likely sealed their invitations with recent wins.
State had to avenge a regular-season loss by beating Clemson in the first round of the ACC Tournament, and the Wolfpack got that done and added two more wins to boot.
The Tar Heels’ signature victory was over Duke at Carmichael Auditorium on Senior Day - UNC’s final game before the ACC Tournament - but they had to beat N.C. Central on Sunday to avoid seeing the bid slip through their fingers, and they got that done. Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, Duke, N.C. Central, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill, Women's Basketball Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Joanne P. McCallie, Kellie Harper, Maryland Terrapins, Miami Hurricanes, Sylvia Hatchell, Virginia Cavaliers, Wake Forest
Mike Potter ·
7 Mar 2010, 5:50 PM ·
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Duke celebrates its first ACC women's basketball title since 2004. (Photo by Rob Rowe)
GREENSBORO COLISEUM It’s finals day at the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament, and for the ninth time in its 11 seasons in Greensboro there are two North Carolina teams in the championship game.
One of two very different stories is going to be written today.
The most likely one is “Third Time’s the Charm!” That means Duke, which is ranked No. 9 nationally and the tournament’s top seed, beats N.C. State and wins for the first time in Joanne P. McCallie’s three straight trips to the final.
The other is “The Glass Slipper fits!” That means first-year Wolfpack coach Kellie Harper takes her outsized, scrappy sixth-seeded team shakes off its 70-39 loss on Feb. 11 at Cameron Indoor Stadium and pulls off a big upset.
Duke gets McCallie her sixth conference tournament title, including one in the Big Ten at Michigan State and four others at Maine, with a 70-60 victory in front of 9,432 fans.
Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, Duke, N.C. State, Women's Basketball Alex Montgomery, Amber White, Bonae Holston, Boston College, Carolyn Swords, Georgia Tech, Jasmine Thomas, Joanne P. McCallie, Joy Cheek, Karima Christmas, Kellie Harper, Lynetta Kizer, Maine Black Bears, Marissa Kastanek, Maryland Terrapins, Michigan State, Monica Wright, Nikitta Gartrell, Virginia Cavaliers
Mike Potter ·
6 Mar 2010, 8:05 PM ·
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GREENSBORO COLISEUM Somebody wants to write a Cinderella story out of the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament this season, and the candidate is going to come out of this second semifinal game.
Waiting in tomorrow’s 1 p.m. title contest will be No. 8 Duke, which has played in the last two conference finals and knows exactly what the finals are all about.
Those candidates for the glass slipper are No. 6 seed N.C. State, a team common wisdom says is headed for the NCAA Tournament no matter what happens today, and No. 7 seed Boston College, which just needs to keep winning unless it plans to head to one of the two post-season consolation tournaments.
BC is coming off a very big upset over No. 2 seed Florida State, while the Wolfpack is coming off an impressive although probably less shocking conquest of No. 3 seed Virginia.
It’s the 33rd edition of the tournament, and never have No. 6 and No. 7 seeds squared off in the semifinals.
The regular season results don’t offer much predictive help, as the Eagles rolled 83-66 on Jan. 10 in Chestnut Hill and the Wolfpack got revenge 74-63 on Feb. 21 at Reynolds Coliseum.
And as is obvious, it’s a matchup between Eagle size and Wolfpack speed with State holding on to win 63-57. Continue reading »
ACC, Duke, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill Bonae Holston, Boston College, Carolyn Swords, Florida State, Inga Muciniece, Jaclyn Thoman, Kellie Harper, Lucy Ellison, Marissa Kastanek, Nikitta Gartrell, Sylvia Crawley, Virginia Cavaliers
Mike Potter ·
5 Mar 2010, 11:44 PM ·
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GREENSBORO COLISEUM It’s the final game of the second four-game day at the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament, and this promises to be a good one.
No. 24 Virginia (21-8) is definitely headed for the NCAA Tournament in a couple of weeks, while N.C. State (18-12) seems to be in the “probable” category.
Unfortunately with the way the schedule goes in the 12-team conference they ran into each other only once this season, and the result was a 73-60 Cavalier win in Charlottesville on Jan. 27.
And there will be at least one really interesting personnel matchup. Virginia boasts senior Monica Wright, who was the ACC player of the year, and the Wolfpack has high-energy Marissa Kastanek (pictured), the conference’s rookie of the year.
Kastanek’s team comes out the winner in a loud battle, as the Wolfpack survives 66-59. Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, N.C. State, Women's Basketball Amber White, Bonae Holston, Boston College, Brittany Strachan, Debbie Ryan, Kellie Harper, Marissa Kastanek, Monica Wright, Virginia Cavaliers
Mike Potter ·
5 Mar 2010, 9:50 PM ·
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GREENSBORO COLISEUM It’s another battle in the “maroon bracket” of the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament as No. 7 seed Boston College, having dispatched Virginia Tech in Thursday’s first round, will take on No. 2 seed Florida State.
Everything is set for a Seminole victory.
They’re ranked No. 8 nationally. They’ve won eight straight games since their visit to Duke. And they’ve never lost to Sylvia Crawley’s Eagles.
On paper, it looks like a very easy win. But don’t forget we’re going to play tonight on wood.
And wood sometimes hurts when you fall on it.
FSU gets an awful break when Jacinta Monroe goes down with a sprained ankle, and BC puts together an inspired team effort to win 67-60.
BC’s twin towers of Carolyn Swords and Stefanie Murphy are in foul trouble from the outset, but the Eagles get through it.
The Seminoles lead 28-24 at halftime, and stretch the lead to 36-29 on a 12-foot jumper from Alexa Deluzio with 16:33 left.
But the Eagles come back with eight straight points, including a three-point play from Ayla Brown (pictured) and a 3-pointer from Jaclyn Thoman to set up a pair of Brown free throws for a 41-39 lead with 10:52 to go. Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, N.C. State, Women's Basketball Alexa Deluzio, Alysha Harvin, Ayla Brown, Boston College, Carolyn Swords, Chasity Clayton, Cierra Bravard, Florida State, Jacinta Monroe, Jasmine Gill, Scott Brown, Stefanie Murphy, Sue Semrau, Sylvia Crawley
Mike Potter ·
5 Mar 2010, 3:53 PM ·
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Duke junior guard Jasmine Thomas has received the annual Kay Yow Award as the Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Thomas is currently averaging 15.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.8 steals. She was earlier named a third-team Academic All-American by ESPN The Magazine.
Thomas is one of four Blue Devils on the squad, which includes grad student Keturah Jackson, senior Bridgette Mitchell and freshman Allison Vernerey.
N.C. State placed two players in senior Brittany Strachan and freshman Marissa Kastanek.
Others named are Boston College senior Ayla Brown and grad student Brittanny Johnson; Maryland freshmen Tianna Hawkins and Diandra Tchatchouang; Virginia Tech senior Lindsay Biggs and freshman Alyssa Fenyn; Florida State junior Christian Hunnicutt; Georgia Tech junior Deja Foster; and Miami freshman Morgan Stroman.
Lindsay
ACC, Duke, N.C. State Allison Vernerey, Alyssa Fenyn, Ayla Brown, Boston College, Bridgette Mitchell, Brittanny Johnson, Brittany Strachan, Christian Hunnicutt, Deja Foster, Diandra Tchatchouang, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Keturah Jackson, Lindsay Biggs, Marissa Kastanek, Maryland Terrapins, Miami Hurricanes, Morgan Stroman, Tianna Hawkins, Virginia Tech
Mike Potter ·
4 Mar 2010, 9:48 PM ·
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GREENSBORO COLISEUM It’s a battle between former Big East rivals Boston College and Virginia Tech in what turns out to be the “maroon” bracket of the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament, since the winner will advance to a Friday night quarterfinal against Florida State.
BC is looking for revenge, since the Hokies won their only regular-season meeting 69-64 on Feb. 21 in Blacksburg.
The Eagles are seeded No. 7 and the Hokies No. 10, but they’re evenly matched at 15-14 each. BC, which on its best day of the season upset Duke, is looking to redeem itself for a shaky regular season with a good post-season run.
The Hokies are just looking for respect.
The Eagles are coached by Sylvia Crawley (pictured), who was the All-America center for UNC’s 1994 NCAA championship team. Her top assistant is Stephanie Lawrence Yelton, who had the assist on Charlotte Smith’s winning 3-pointer in that NCAA title game.
The Hokies’ local connection is Northern Durham alumna Utahya Drye, who will finish her college career this month.
Tonight the Eagles get revenge with a 62-49 win.
BC takes a 13-2 lead on Mickel Picco’s 3-pointer with 14:23 left in the first half before the Hokies make any offensive noise, and never leads by fewer than seven points the rest of the way.
Stefanie Murphy leads the Eagles with 18 points, followed by Brittany Johnson with 10. Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, Women's Basketball Beth Dunkenberger, Boston College, Brittanny Johnson, Charlotte Smith, Florida State, Mickel Picco, Nikki Davis, Stefanie Murphy, Stephanie Lawrence Yelton, Sylvia Crawley, Utahya Drye, Virginia Tech
Mike Potter ·
4 Mar 2010, 12:01 AM ·
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CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM/DURHAM If you look at the ACC women’s basketball season as a whole, it’s hard not to say Duke is a solid favorite to win the conference tournament that starts this morning at Greensboro Coliseum.
The No. 1 seed Blue Devils are ranked No. 6 nationally and finished three games ahead of anybody except Florida State, a team they destroyed 73-43 during the regular season.
But the problem for the Blue Devils is their bracket.
Joanne P. McCallie’s club has a bye today, then will play on Friday at 3 against the winner of today’s 3 p.m. first-round game between UNC and Maryland, the two teams that probably love to beat Duke the most and the two that have combined to win the last five tournaments in Greensboro.
In fact, whichever team that comes out of that group and into the semifinals will be the only team that has ever won the event during its 10-year run in the Gate City.
“That’s OK,” McCallie (pictured) said during a semi-regular press luncheon on Wednesday in the press room at Cameron. “It’s a little bit strange to see both Maryland and North Carolina in an 8-9 game. If you look at the numbers it’s weird. Why are they in an 8-9 game? Obviously they’re very good teams. But from our standpoint it’s anybody, anyplace, anywhere. So we just get ready to go, kind of thing. Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, Duke, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill, Women's Basketball Amber White, Beth Dunkenberger, Bonae Holston, Boston College, Brooke Thomas, Bruttany Waters, Carolyn Swords, Cetera DeGraffenreid, Clemson, Cristy McKinney, Dara Taylor, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Italee Lucas, Jaclyn Thoman, Joanne P. McCallie, Katie Meier, Kellie Harper, Keyrra Gillespie, Laura Broomfield, Lele Hardy, Lindsey Biggs, Lynetta Kizer, Maryland Terrapins, Miami Hurricanes, Mike Petersen, Nikki Davis, Riquna Williams, Secily Ray, Shenise Johnson, Sylvia Crawley, Sylvia Hatchell, Utahya Drye, Virginia Cavaliers, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Mike Potter ·
1 Mar 2010, 5:08 PM ·
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Duke junior guard Jasmine Thomas is the only Triangle player named to the first unit of the All-ACC women’s basketball team announced by commissioner John Swofford.
UNC’s Italee Lucas was named to the second team and teammate Cetera DeGraffenreid the third, while the Blue Devils’ Joy Cheek was also selected to the third team.
N.C. State sophomore Bonae Holston received honorable mention as did Virginia Tech’s Utahya Drye, who played her high school ball at Northern Durham.
Joining Thomas (pictured) on the first team are Virginia senior Monica Wright - who has received a post-season honor from the conference all four seasons - along with Boston College’s Carolyn Swords, Florida State’s Jacinta Monroe and Miami’s Shenise Johnson.
The ACC also announced its sixth player of the year named by the coaches. It is Georgia Tech’s Alex Montgomery, who was also third-team all-conference.
The conference also announced its weekly honorees, with Florida State’s Courtney Ward - who was second-team all-conference - player of the week and Maryland’s Diandra Tchatchouang rookie of the week. Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, Duke, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill, Women's Basketball Alex Montgomery, Bonae Holston, Boston College, Brigitte Ardossi, Brittany Waters, Carolyn Swords, Cetera DeGraffenreid, Clemson, Courtney Ward, Diandra Tchatchouang, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Italee Lucas, Jacinta Monroe, Jasmine Thomas, John Swofford, Joy Cheek, Lele Hardy, Lori Bjork, Lynetta Kizer, Maryland Terrapins, Miami Hurricanes, Monica Wright, Riquna Williams, Secily Ray, Shenise Johnson, Stefanie Murphy, Utahya Drye, Virginia Cavaliers, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Mike Potter ·
28 Feb 2010, 11:00 PM ·
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Seedings and pairings are out for the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament and one thing is for sure.
There will be three teams in the semifinals that have never won the tournament during its 10-year run in Greensboro.
Maryland is the defending champion, UNC won four in a row before that and Duke five in a row before that.
And they’re all in the same group of three, only one of which can advance to Saturday’s semifinals this time.
The top-seeded Blue Devils (24-5), who have lost in the finals each of the last two seasons, will play in the quarterfinals on Friday at 3 p.m. The opponent will be the winner of Thursday’s 3 p.m. contest between No. 8 seed UNC (18-10) and No. 9 seed Maryland (18-11).
The matchup between the Tar Heels and Terps will be the second of four games on Thursday.
The tournament tips off at 11 a.m., with No. 5 seed Wake Forest (17-12) taking on No. 12 seed Miami (17-12), with that winner advancing to Friday’s 11 a.m. quarterfinal against No. 4 seed Georgia Tech (22-8).
Thursday’s 6 p.m. contest will have No. 7 seed Boston College (15-14) taking on No. 10 seed Virginia Tech (15-14), with that winner taking on No. 2 seed Florida State (26-4) in the same time slot on Friday.
The nightcappers on Thursday at 8 are No. 6 seed N.C. State (17-12) and No. 11 seed Clemson (13-17), with the winner advancing to Friday’s 8 p.m. nightcap against No. 3 seed Virginia (21-8).
The semifinals are at 1 and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, with the title game on Sunday at 1.
ACC, Duke, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland Terrapins, Miami Hurricanes, Virginia Cavaliers, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
