CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM/DURHAM Duke begins its 16th straight appearance in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday afternoon, and Joanne P. McCallie’s Blue Devils have one benefit they’ll have for the first time since 2004.
They’re starting the tournament on their home floor.
Duke (26-5), which is ranked No. 6 nationally, has the No. 2 seed in the Memphis Region and will take on No. 15 seed Hampton (20-11) in a 2:30 p.m. game at Cameron.
It’s the second game of a doubleheader, as No. 7 seed LSU (20-9) will face No. 10 seed Hartford (27-4) in the noon game, with the winners squaring off at 7 p.m. Monday night.
Plenty of tickets are available.
Duke isn’t the only Triangle ACC team playing its first-round game Saturday, as No. 10 seed UNC (19-11) will take on No. 7 seed and nationally No. 18-ranked Gonzaga (27-4) in the Sacramento Regional in Seattle at 10:30 p.m. The No. 10 seed is the Tar Heels’ lowest NCAA seed ever.
No. 9 seed N.C. State (20-13) will play its first-round game on Sunday night against No. 8 seed UCLA (24-8) in Minneapolis in the first round of the Kansas City Regional.
Duke and Hampton have one thing in common that the other teams at Cameron don’t, and it’s not because they’re blue-clad teams from well-regarded private schools in neighboring states.
They both won their conference tournaments - in locations about half an hour apart, as the Blue Devils won the ACC in Greensboro and the Pirates won the MEAC in Winston-Salem.
“We’re obviously really proud to host this wonderful NCAA Tournament, and we’re grateful to a lot of people at Duke that made this possible,” said McCallie, whose team last season played its NCAA games at Michigan State where she was the former coach and lost to the Spartans in the second round. “That’s just a great thing for Duke, and it’s really reflective of the long tradition and history here.”
The Blue Devils will be taking on a Pirate club in its first season under David Six, who began the campaign as interim head coach and has earned a three-year contract.
Hampton is 0-3 in first-round NCAA games at the Division I level, but won the NCAA Division II title in 1988.
“This is hallowed ground in terms of basketball, Cameron Indoor Stadium,” said Six, one of whose assistants is former N.C. Central point guard and assistant coach Annitra Cole. “Everybody’s heard about it or seen it on TV. But at the end of the day the court’s 94 feet, the baskets are 10 feet off the ground. So that’s what I’ve told my young ladies, and we’re ready to go. I just think that we can’t get caught up. We’re happy to be here; don’t get me wrong. We celebrated that we’re here, but now that we’re here we want to stay. It’s like getting into a party and then getting put out. We want to dance a little while, so let’s try that.”
Duke, of course, would like to believe it can go a long way in the tournament.
“I just think we have to be focused, stick to our game, and play the way that’s made us successful,” senior forward Joy Cheek (pictured) said. “Play defense and make the hustle plays. In the tournament everyone has played 30-plus games, so every game is not going to be pretty - it’s the team that wants it more. And we have to want it more that our opponent each game. So if we want to make a deep run in the tournament - which I think we’re more than capable of doing - we have to go out and play like every game is our last game.” Continue reading »
Eleven ACC women’s basketball teams played their final game before the post-season tournaments at some point during the ACC Tournament last week.
Duke has, of course, clinched an NCAA bid as the conference’s regular-season champion and three other teams - Florida State, Virginia and Georgia Tech - seem to be resting easy about their spot on the board when the NCAA Tournament bracket comes out tomorrow night.
Nearly half a dozen more may or may not be on a “bubble.” Only one has something left to add to the argument.
That’s UNC, which for the second straight year will play a home game on the same day as the ACC men’s tournament final.
Last season it was against South Dakota, and although the Coyotes gave the Tar Heels a good scare at the Smith Center UNC didn’t have to win.
It does today. Sylvia Hatchell’s club is going to be a really big favorite in its 3:30 home contest against N.C. Central in the Eagles’ final game of the season, but the Tar Heels absolutely have to emerge victorious to avoid giving any naysayers on the selection committee a lot of fodder.
Cetera DeGraffenreid (pictured) is the Tar Heels’ assist leader, and has been their best player over the last few weeks. Continue reading »
GREENSBORO COLISEUM Anyone who bought book tickets to the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament a few months ago could not have predicted she or he would be watching this.
It’s the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game on Thursday afternoon and two of the three recent powers, UNC and Maryland, are playing for a chance to play top-seeded Duke in the same 3 p.m. time slot on Friday.
UNC was favored to win the regular-season championship back before we learned star forward Jessica Breland was going to miss the season battling Hodgkin’s disease. And while the Terps were rebuilding, most figured they’d finish in the top half of the league.
But it hasn’t worked out that way as they battled their way through a very balanced league, and there’s a chance today’s loser may not earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
UNC helped its case plenty with its 64-54 win over the Blue Devils on Saturday, but still can’t be quite sure. And Maryland might still need a signature victory.
Apparently the Terps get it, taking a big lead and holding on for an 83-77 victory and another shot at the Blue Devils.
Today it’s obvious that the Terps, who lost the regular-season meeting at UNC 75-64 on Jan. 17, are just more ready to play.
Maryland comes out of the game looking as if it has been shot out of the proverbial cannon.
The Tar Heels’ only lead is 2-0 before the Terps score the next 12 points, taking the 10-point lead on a Dara Taylor jumper. The lead gets as high as 16, at 24-8 on a three-point play from Tianna Hawkins at 12:19, before the Tar Heels’ offense wakes up.
Maryland has a 41-31 pad at the break.
The Tar Heels get to within four twice with under six minutes left, but the lead goes back to 10 on a Lynetta Kizer layup at 3:14 and a Jackie Nared free throw at 2:13.
A frantic rally ensues, with the Tar Heels slicing the lead to 79-77 on a layup from Cetera DeGraffenreid (pictured) with 12 seconds left. Continue reading »
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 »
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 »
It’s the final day of ACC women’s basketball before the tournament starts in Greensboro four days from now.
All three Triangle teams are, well, in the Triangle on a very big day for all involved.
It has been a long time since UNC has still been fighting for an NCAA berth in late February, but that’s the case for a Tar Heel team that has lost seven of its last eight games.
The Tar Heels will host No. 6 Duke today at 3 p.m. at Carmichael Arena in a game to be shown live nationally on the Fox Sports cable channels, and an upset of the Blue Devils on Senior Day might be just what Sylvia Hatchell’s club needs to nail down a bid.
That won’t be an easy task, as Duke routed the Tar Heels 79-51 on Feb. 8 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. In its third season under Joanne P. McCallie (pictured), the Blue Devils have already clinched an ACC regular season championship and want to keep making the case for a No. 1 seed going into the NCAA Tournament.
Today will be the final home game before the tournament for Tar Heel seniors Trinity Bursey and Martina Wood.
An hour before that one starts N.C. State, which has been one of the surprises of the ACC in its first season under Kellie Harper, will look for an upset over visiting No. 22 Georgia Tech in the Senior Day game for Nikitta Gartrell, Lucy Ellison, Sharnise Beal and Inga Muciniece.
State’s only home ACC loss this season has been to UNC.
There are six games on today’s ACC slate, and the only seeds already set for the tournament are Duke at No. 1 and Florida State at No. 2. Georgia Tech is also guaranteed a bye into the quarterfinals. Continue reading »
CARMICHAEL ARENA/CHAPEL HILL UNC hasn’t had a women’s basketball season typical of its recent tradition.
But Tar Heel coach Sylvia Hatchell (pictured) said there’s no reason the redemption can’t start tonight.
Tonight at 6:30, the Tar Heels will be on the road looking to complete a season sweep of a Georgia Tech team ranked No. 22 in the country. It’s the opener of a TV doubleheader on Fox Sports South, which will conclude with No. 6 Duke hosting No. 21 Virginia at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 8:30.
The Duke game is one of two women’s contests in Durham tonight, as N.C. Central hosts Longwood on the Eagles’ Senior Night. Duke alumna Wanisha Smith is an assistant coach for Longwood.
Hatchell’s Tar Heels were the media’s preseason picks to win the ACC regular-season title, albeit before All-America candidate Jessica Breland was determined to be out for the season with lymphoma. Breland is almost ready to play, but will take a redshirt and do her senior season in 2010-11.
And the last time UNC played Georgia Tech - that in the Tar Heels’ conference opener - it was 13-1 after the 89-78 victory. Now Hatchell’s club is 17-9, 5-7 in conference play and scratching to try to wrap up an at-large NCAA berth. Continue reading »
It’s been a disappointing season for Sylvia Hatchell and the UNC women’s basketball team. Perennially among the nation’s elite, they’ve dropped out of the top 25 and currently suffer the indignity of a losing conference record.
Things didn’t get better on Sunday; they lost by a 73-64 margin to cross-town rival N.C. State and its first-year coach, Kellie Harper. N.C. State now sports a .500 conference record (6-6) to go with its overall record of 16-11. With this loss, the Tar Heels drop to 5-7 in the ACC, and 17-9 overall.
Fortunately for all concerned, there was a more important cause: The game was a part of the WBCA “Pink Zone” games to raise awareness about the Kay Yow/WBCA cancer fund, a nonprofit created to raise money to support the search for a cure to breast cancer. Each team warmed up in pink tees with the fund’s logo and UNC played in special pink uniforms. Fans were even encouraged to attend the game wearing pink.
For N.C. State, Bonae Holston and Marissa Kastanek led the effort, with 20 and 17 points, respectively. Kastanek, a freshman guard, carries the distinction of being the last recruit of the late Yow, who died last Jan. 24 of breast cancer. Cetera DeGraffenreid and Italee Lucas were the dominant performers for UNC, scoring 22 and 15 points, respectively. The box score is here.
Triangle Offense photographer Arianna Hoffmann attended the game and took these images.
It’s the penultimate weekend in ACC women’s basketball, and there are two big rivalry games in the Triangle today.
The one that isn’t sold out is on TV.
UNC will host N.C. State for the 90th time in its annual PinkZone game at refurbished Carmichael Arena. Tickets are not available for the 2 p.m. contest, which will be one of two sellouts in the building this season along with Duke’s visit a week from today.
Italee Lucas (pictured) is the Tar Heels’ leading scorer, and poured in a career-high 33 points in their 81-69 victory in the teams’ first meeting Jan. 25 in Raleigh.
First-place Duke, meanwhile, will host heated rival Maryland at 1 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium, looking to move to within one win of clinching the ACC regular-season title. The No. 8 Blue Devils’ game with the Terps will be shown on Fox Sports South. Duke won the teams’ first meeting of the season 58-57 in College Park.
Where anyone else will finish is very much up for grabs. UNC and NCSU are in a four-way tie for sixth in the conference, just one game behind fourth-place Georgia Tech which currently holds the final prospective first-round bye in the conference tournament. Continue reading »
JOEL COLISEUM/WINSTON-SALEM UNC hasn’t been in this position in 10 years in women’s basketball.
But tonight, the Tar Heels (16-8, 4-6 ACC) are trying to break a five-game losing streak.
It’s the only meeting of the regular season against a decent Wake Forest team (15-10, 6-5) which doesn’t like Carolina Blue very much and would love to continue the misery.
Sylvia Hatchell’s club has won six straight in the series and is in dire need of a win tonight. And the Tar Heels survive, trailing most of the game before escaping with a 65-59 overtime win.
The Deacons come out much faster, as Secily Ray is simply on fire. Wake leads by as much as 30-14 on her 3-pointer with 10:20 left in the first half, holding on for a 33-25 advantage at the break after Italee Lucas’ 3-pointer for the Tar Heels in the closing seconds.
Wake shoots 40 percent in the first half to UNC’s 37.0.
It’s still 39-29 following a Ray free throw with 13:51 left before the Tar Heel offense wakes up.
Cetera DeGraffenreid (pictured) hits a 3-pointer at 13:23, beginning an 11-1 run during which she hits nine points and ties it on a pair of free throws with 7:54 to go. Continue reading »
Kyle on "UNC holds off pesky NCCU with big second half, awaits selection committee": Mike Potter does Triangle sports fans a wonderful service by providing a unique perspective of events that may not otherwise receive media coverage. Thanks Mike for all you have done and continue to do in your outstanding career as a journalist and an ambassador for the Triangle.
caniacgirl on "Peters and pipes pickpocket a peck of prickly Penguins": I absolutely love the headline! Games like this one definitely reignite the little bit of playoff hope I have left in me. It should be an interesting few weeks that's for sure.
Greg Nccu Student on "Miller leads NCCU to 11th victory": There are a lot of Rumors on Campus about Joanna Miller leaving NCCU next year. Please Coach Robinson, We need to keep this player from gong to another College.
CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM/DURHAM Duke begins its 16th straight appearance in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday afternoon, and Joanne P. McCallie’s Blue Devils have one benefit they’ll have for the first time since 2004.
