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Clash of Top-10 Teams In Atlanta Thursday
12/22/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2001
Game 12 - Tennessee
#2/2 Tennessee (8-0) vs. #9/9 Duke (9-2)
Phillips Arena * Atlanta, Ga.
12:30 PM * Fox Sports Net * WDNC-AM 620
Game Notes in PDF Format
Clash of Top-10 Teams In Atlanta Thursday...
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The ninth-ranked Duke Blue Devils (9-2) will travel to Atlanta, Ga. for a key non-conference matchup against the second-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols (8-0) on Thursday, Dec. 27 at 12:30 PM. The game is part of the ACC/SEC Shootout and will be played at the Phillips Arena (20, 000). It will be televised by Fox Sports Net South, Fox Sports Net Southwest and the Sunshine Network. Georgia and Georgia Tech will battle in the second game of the doubleheader at 3:00 PM.
Beth Mowins will be calling the play-by-play with Debbie Antonelli doing the color and Mike Hogewood will be the tournament host for Fox Sports Net. The contest can also be heard on the Duke Radio Network WDNC-AM 620 with Steve Barnes and Missy Anderson calling the action.
The Blue Devils have won six consecutive games and during the streak Duke is shooting 53 percent and averaging 86.8 points.
Duke is currently ranked ninth and Tennessee second in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
Probable Duke Starters...
No. Name Ht. Yr. Pos. PPG RPG APG
31 Wynter Whitley 6-2 Fr. F/C 8.5 4.8 1.2
33 Iciss Tillis 6-4 So. F/C 14.0 8.2 2.2
3 Sheana Mosch 5-10 Jr. G 12.2 4.5 1.7
20 Alana Beard 5-11 So. G 17.9 6.0 6.7
12 Vicki Krapohl 5-5 So. G 4.5 1.8 1.9
Reserves...
No. Name Ht. Yr. Pos. PPG RPG APG
25 Monique Currie 6-0 Fr. F/G 14.5 5.5 1.6
41 Michele Matyasovsky 6-1 Jr. F 5.3 3.1 1.2
21 Krista Gingrich 5-9 Sr. G 5.0 1.5 2.0
A Look at Tennessee...
Tennessee is currently 8-0 and ranked second nationally in both polls. The Lady Vols have knocked off four nationally ranked opponents and are outscoring opponents by 24.0 points. Senior Michelle Snow (14.8 pts., 6.4 rbs.), junior Kara Lawson (14.5 pts., 5.5 rbs.) and junior Gwen Jackson (12.3 pts., 8.3 rbs.) lead the Lady Vols. Tennessee currently has 11 players averaging 12.3 minutes or greater.
The Series With Tennessee...
Duke and Tennessee will meet for the third time in the history of the two programs. Both of the previous contests came in 1998-99. The first game was on Dec. 6, 1998 in the Disney Honda Elite Four as third-ranked Tennessee won 74-60 over the 16th-ranked Blue Devils. Duke would get revenge later that season in Greensboro, N.C. during the NCAA East Regional as the 10th-ranked Blue Devils downed second-ranked Tennessee, 69-63. The victory for Duke gave the Blue Devils their first trip to the NCAA Final Four and broke Tennessee's streak of two consecutive NCAA Championships.
Final Four Squad...
Senior Krista Gingrich is the lone member of the 2001-02 Blue Devils who played on the squad which defeated Tennessee and Georgia to advance to the National Championship game in 1998-99.
Gingrich played in the first meeting of the season between Duke and Tennessee playing 12 minutes and scoring two points, but didn't see action in the East Regional contest.
Georgia Schweitzer, a temporary assistant coach for the 2001-02 season, was a key member of the Blue Devils during the 1998-99 season as a freshman. The Columbus, Ohio native scored a game-high 22 points and was named East Region MVP as she led Duke to the victory over the Lady Vols.
Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors and assistant coaches Gale Valley and Joanne Boyle were also on the bench for the history-making contests.
Another Honor...
Head coach Gail Goestenkors became the all-time winningest coach at Duke on Dec. 16 in the 90-58 victory over UNC Greensboro. She moved ahead of Debbie Leonard, which recorded a 213-189 record in 15 years at Duke.
Coach G has notched a 215-80 record in 10 seasons. Goestenkors became the third-quickest ACC coach to notch 200 victories last season in just 277 games (Kay Yow - 257, Chris Weller - 262).
Against Ranked Opponents...
The last time Duke has faced a team ranked second nationally was on March 22, 1999 against second-ranked Tennessee in the NCAA East Regionals. Duke won 69-63. Overall, head coach Gail Goestenkors is 39-44 against ranked opponents since taking over at Duke in 1992-93. Coach G has won 10 of the last 12 contests against ranked opponents. Goestenkors has won the last five consecutive games against teams ranked in the top 10 nationally.
Its Wynter Time...
Not very often at Duke does a freshman come in and start her first 11 collegiate contests, but Wynter Whitley has proven the theory wrong. Whitley, a 6-2 forward/center, is the strongest player on the squad and has been a big boost for the Blue Devils as an inside force. The Tennessee game will be her first collegiate contest played in her hometown of Atlanta.
On the season, Whitley is averaging 8.5 pts., 4.8 rbs., 1.2 steals and 1.2 assists in 11 games. In her last five games, the Atlanta, Ga. native is averaging 10.0 pts., 6.2 rbs. and hitting 50 percent of her field goals.
In the ACC rankings, Whitley is fourth in free throw percentage (.789).
Matchup of Top Guards...
In the preseason, ESPN analyst Beth Mowins ranked the top 2-guards in the nation. Two of the five she mentioned were Duke's Alana Beard and Tennessee's Kara Lawson. Mowins also ranked the top backcourts listing Duke and Tennessee's in the top five. The guard play for both squads will be key to the outcome on Thursday.
From Downtown...
After starting the season with only five 3-pointers made in the first three games, Duke has been on fire the last four contests hitting 34 of 58 (.586). Last game, the Blue Devils missed the school record by one after posting 11 made against Liberty. As a team, Duke ranks third in the ACC in 3-point field goal percentage (.385).
All eight players on the Duke roster have hit at least one 3-pointer this season.
Duke vs. The SEC...
The Blue Devils own an overall record of 11-7 against SEC opponents-- Georgia (1-0), Tennessee (1-1), Vanderbilt (2-1), South Carolina (0-1), Miss. State (1-0), Arkansas (1-1), Florida (2-1), Alabama (0-1), LSU (1-1) and Kentucky (2-0).
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