GREENSBORO COLISEUM Here at the semifinals of the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament, this is the side of the bracket that has gone according to form.
Top-seeded Duke is actually supposed to be here, as is No. 4 seed Georgia Tech. Both of these teams are certainly going to the NCAA Tournament no matter what goes down before sunset tomorrow.
The ninth-ranked Blue Devils got through the expected war with Maryland in the quarterfinals, while almost-ranked Georgia Tech came back to take out morning crowd favorite Wake Forest.
The Blue Devils won the regular-season meeting 64-50 on Feb. 19 at Cameron Indoor Stadium, with the Jackets putting on a respectable performance. Duke has won a ridiculous 30 straight games in the series.
And the streak continues, as the Blue Devils pull away over the past 10 minutes for a 67-55 victory.
There are seven lead changes and four ties in the first half, as the Blue Devils lead 29-25 at the break. Neither team leads by more than five points over the first 33 ½ minutes.
Joy Cheek finally puts the Blue Devils up by seven, at 55-48 on a layup with 6:19 to go.
Sasha Goodlett cuts it to 55-50 on a layup from Metra Walthour at 5:43 left before the Blue Devils pull away.
Duke scores the next eight points - on Jasmine Thomas’ layup from Shay Selby followed by Thomas steal and layup, a jumper from Cheek and another from Keturah Jackson at 2:47 for a 13-point lead.
Tech never again cuts the margin to single digits, and Duke is going to the final for the third straight season. The Blue Devils’ last championship was in 2004.
Karima Christmas (pictured) leads Duke with 15 points including 10-for-13 from the free-throw line, followed by Cheek and Jasmine Thomas with 10 apiece, all of Thomas’ in the second half. Continue reading »
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.
Duke senior guard Keturah Jackson has been named to the five-player All-ACC defensive team in women’s basketball.
Virginia senior Monica Wright was named defensive player of the year on the team, selected by the league’s 12 coaches.
Other members of the team are Clemson’s Lele Hardy, Miami’s Shenise Johnson and Florida State’s Jacinta Monroe.
Jackson, a fifth-year senior and graduate student at Fuqua School of Business, has 70 steals in 29 games and is averaging 5.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists.
CARMICHAEL ARENA/CHAPEL HILL It’s yet another edition of the “Battle of the Blues” between archrivals UNC and Duke, and the Blue Devils will come into the Tar Heels’ refurbished arena as strong favorites.
No. 6 Duke (24-4, 12-1) has already clinched the ACC regular-season championship and will have the No. 1 seed for the tournament in Greensboro beginning on Thursday, while the Tar Heels’ season has bordered on a nightmare.
UNC (17-10, 5-8) was the preseason favorite to win the ACC - at least before it was determined that star forward Jessica Breland would not be able to play as she recovers from Hodgkin’s lymphoma - but comes into the matchup having lost seven of its last eight games and desperately needing to do something to impress the NCAA Selection Committee.
It’s a day of dedication for the arena, even though the first game was played here back on Jan. 6, and Gov. Bev Perdue is among those on hand for a halftime ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Duke had embarrassed the Tar Heels on Feb. 8 in Durham, rolling to a 79-51 victory. But today UNC gets some payback in a 64-54 shocker, and Coach Sylvia Hatchell has a very happy 58th birthday.
The win does not come easily for the home team.
The Tar Heels, who start Trinity Bursey and Martina Wood on Senior Day, get out to an 11-5 advantage on a Krista Gross 3-pointer with 16:16 left in the first half and never trail before the break, taking a 30-26 advantage into the locker room.
Duke shoots 26.8 percent from the floor before the break to UNC’s 39.3, and the Blue Devils really never find the hoop all day.
The Blue Devils make a run and then get a big break leading 42-39 with 13:12 to play, when the elbow of UNC freshman Cierra Robertson-Warren’s connects with the neck of Duke winger Karima Christmas and Robertson-Warren is ejected. It’s the first ejection call in ACC women’s basketball this season.
But the Blue Devils’ performance at the free-throw line foreshadows the conclusion. Before Duke gets the ball back Jasmine Thomas misses two on the ejection, then Christmas misses three, then Keturah Jackson misses the front of a one-and-one.
UNC takes the lead for good on a steal and layup from Cetera DeGraffenreid (pictured) with 10:21 to go, and it seems that she takes over the game from that point. The Tar Heels have to endure the mine field of having their two biggest players foul out - Chay Shegog at 5:02 and Waltiea Rolle at 4:20. Continue reading »
CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM/DURHAM Duke is one win from gaining its first No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament for the first time in three years.
But tonight’s opponent for the No. 6 Blue Devils is not an easy one.
No. 21 Virginia, led by probable ACC player of the year Monica Wright, has 20 wins and is in a bye spot for the tournament, and is certain to get an NCAA bid.
Unfortunately because of the unbalanced ACC schedule, this is the teams’ only meeting of the regular season. And the Blue Devils use a big second half to win 83-65, tying Virginia’s worst defeat of the season for their 17th straight victory in the series.
It’s Senior Night for the Blue Devils, and the final regular-season home game for Joy Cheek (pictured), Keturah Jackson and Bridgette Mitchell. And it’s on regional cable TV.
They’ll play at home again, as Duke will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament on March 20 and 22. Continue reading »
CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM/DURHAM It’s one more battle to see which blue-clad women’s basketball team is the best in the Triangle - at least for one night.
And both homestanding No. 8 Duke (18-4, 6-1 ACC) and visiting No. 18 UNC (16-5, 4-3) are in a bit of a bad mood.
The Blue Devils’ chances to run the table in the ACC ended on Thursday, when they got slapped in the face with a 61-57 loss at up-and-down Boston College.
Meanwhile the Tar Heels, who once upon a time were favored to win the conference’s regular-season title, have lost two straight including an 80-69 defeat on Thursday night at Miami that may have made the Hurricanes’ season. We’ll see.
It’s the first time they’ve played each other this millennium when both were coming off a loss.
Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie lost her first six meetings with UNC before the Blue Devils won 81-79 last March 1 on Senior Day at Cameron.
The cameras are in the house for ESPN2’s Big Monday. And Duke gives them a show, putting six players in double figures in a 79-51 rout. Continue reading »
NCCU's Danielle Deberry dribbles up the court against Duke. (Photo by Rob Rowe)
CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM/DURHAM It doesn’t have any fancier name this time than “The Battle of Durham,” and indeed it is that.
No. 8 Duke is hosting N.C. Central in a women’s basketball game, and the winner will be able to claim it’s the best team in the city until they meet again. Duke is going to be a prohibitive favorite.
This happens to be the sport in which the Blue Devils and Eagles, who are in Year 3 of their five-year transition to championship competition in NCAA Division I, have squared off the most. It’s the eighth meeting in the series and Duke leads by a mere 4 games to 3.
To be fair, all but the Blue Devils’ 82-29 win two seasons ago were contested before any of the current players on either team was born.
The teams have played one common opponent this season and each came out victorious. Duke beat Houston Baptist 104-35 in its season opener on the Huskies’ home court, while NCCU beat Houston Baptist 75-60 in the consolation game of South Florida’s Tournament eight days ago.
The Eagles come in with a personnel handicap, as leading scorer and freshman guard Joanna Miller is out of the lineup - although in street clothes on the bench - for one game for an unspecified violation of team rules. And the result isn’t surprising, as the Blue Devils control every aspect of the game in a 117-28 victory. Continue reading »
Duke's Krystal Thomas pushes her way past James Madison's Jalissa Taylor. (Photo by Rob Rowe)
CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM/DURHAM Duke hits its home court on a nasty December evening, getting a bit more of a challenge than was apparent when the schedule was released.
Tonight’s opponent is James Madison, which comes in ranked No. 24 with a 7-0 record and two wins over ACC teams.
The No. 7 Blue Devils are looking to bounce back from a tough go at No. 2 Stanford three nights earlier.
JMU has one bona fide superstar in guard Dawn Evans, who comes in averaging 26.5 points per game including a 38-point performance in a two-point road victory over Virginia. Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie compares her to former Maryland guard Kristi Toliver, who not only ran a national championship team but could create her own long 3-pointer and hit it.
Duke overcomes a big game from Evans as well as some poor free-throw shooting, holding on for a 79-65 victory. Continue reading »
Duke's Jasmine Thomas shoots a jumper in the victory over the Buckeyes. (Photo by Rob Rowe)
CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM/DURHAM Duke faces its toughest challenge so far this women’s basketball season tonight as part of an aptly-named event.
The No. 11 Blue Devils (5-1) are hosting No. 3 Ohio State (8-0) on the second night of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, an event in which the ACC won two of the three games the night before with the road team winning all three.
This is effectively the No. 1 seed game, as Ohio State has won the last five Big Ten regular-season championships.
And there are about 300 very active Buckeye fans in the house, on a night when Duke is hoping to draw 6,000 for its first really big home game of the campaign and first meeting with OSU. Duke has won 17 straight home games.
The Blue Devil mascot’s headband says “The Buck Stops Here,” and that’s exactly what’s about to happen as Duke gets the surprisingly easy 83-67 upset and the ACC wins the Challenge for the third time in as many tries. Continue reading »
Blue Devil Joy Cheek goes for a layup in Duke's Thursday night victory; Cheek, along with the rest of the starters, scored in double figures against Georgia Southern. (Photo by Rob Rowe)
CAMERON INDOOR STADIUM/DURHAM Duke comes into its women’s basketball home opener against Georgia Southern with a little chip on its shoulder.
The Blue Devils (1-1) were No. 6 in the Associated Press’ preseason poll, but are now in the No. 11 spot after a 95-77 loss at Texas A&M on Sunday.
It’s going to be a contest of strategies tonight, as the Blue Devils want to press and Georgia Southern likes a 2-3 zone.
To no surprise, the Blue Devils win it 69-42, improving to 2-1 while GSU is 1-1.
The Eagles make some noise early, going up 5-4 on a 3-pointer from Jamie Navarro with 17:37 left in the first half. But then Joy Cheek goes to work for Duke, scoring all of her 10 points on the night as the Blue Devils respond with a 14-0 run.
Duke leads 35-17 at halftime and never looks back. The largest lead is 58-26 on a follow shot from Keturah Jackson with 12:30 left in the game.
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.
GREENSBORO COLISEUM Here at the semifinals of the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament, this is the side of the bracket that has gone according to form.
