Duke Cruises Past Charlotte 78-59

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DURHAM, N.C. -- Behind a balanced Blue Devil scoring attack, the No. 3 Duke University women's basketball team improved to 8-0 with a 78-59 victory over the Charlotte 49ers (1-4) in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday.

All 14 players for Duke played in the game and 13 scored, led by senior Georgia Schweitzer (12 points) and sophomore Sheana Mosch (11 points).

Both teams struggled shooting from the field in the first half and committed a combined 24 turnovers as Duke led 31-23 at the break. The second half was a different story as the Blue Devils came out on fire as they went on a 13-0 run to start the half. By the 10:00 mark in the second period, Duke jumped out to a commanding 59-29 lead by forcing 12 turnovers in 10 minutes.

Duke's sensational freshman, Alana Beard, once again dazzled the Cameron Crazies as she scored eight points, dished out a career-high eight assists, had five steals, blocked two shots, and was 3-5 from the field in only 18 minutes of action. Beard has been selected ACC Rookie of the Week the last two weeks.

Sophomore LaNedra Brown came off the bench and played excellent scoring eight points, while senior Rochelle Parent added eight points, four rebounds, one block, and five steals. The Blue Devils shot 55% from the field for the game. It is the fourth game in which Duke has shot better than 50% from the field.

For Charlotte, Alicia Abernathy led all scorers with 17 points and Tonika Smith hit 10-14 from the line and finished with 12 points. Duke forced 30 turnovers by Charlotte.

Wednesday's game for the Blue Devils marks the last home game until December 30, when Duke will host national power Iowa State at 7:00 PM. Next up for the Blue Devils is George Mason on Sunday at 2:00 PM in Fairfax, Va.