Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus South Dakota State on December 18, 2025 at 7 p.m.
/
7 p.m.
Women's Basketball
vs South Dakota State
Blue Devils & Boilermakers To Tangle On Saturday at 4:30 PM
12/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2004
Game 11 - Purdue
#3/3 Duke (9-1) vs. #20/18 Purdue (6-2)
December 18, 2004 • 4:30 PM
Indianapolis, Ind. • Conseco Field House (18,345)
Game Notes in PDF Format
Media Information Duke Hits The Road For Two Contests...
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Series Record: Purdue leads 3-2
Duke Head Coach: Gail Goestenkors
Career Record: 310-89 (13th Year)
Purdue Head Coach: Kristy Curry
Career Record: 142-33 (6th Year)
Radio: None
Television: None
Online Gametracker: None
Tickets: 1-800-49-SPORT
Rankings: DU- 3rd in AP; 3rd ESPN/USA Today
Purdue- 20th in AP; 18th ESPN/USA Today
The third-ranked Duke Blue Devils (9-1) will hit the road this weekend for two contests prior to heading home for the holidays. The Blue Devils will compete in the Boilermaker BlockBuster on Saturday with a 4:30 p.m. tilt against Purdue (6-2) and then will travel to Muncie, Ind., to play Ball State on Dec. 20 at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday's contest will be part of a doubleheader with Purdue's men as they will take on Evansville at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday. The doubleheader will be played at the Conseco Field House in Indianapolis, Ind. Noting The Blue Devils...
Since falling to Notre Dame, Duke has won seven games in a row ... Alison Bales has blocked more shots (41) than Duke's opponents (29) ... Jessica Foley is writing a diary for www.GoDuke.com and www.espn.com ... the Blue Devils were down to a roster of eight players in the Notre Dame, Penn State and Jacksonville State contests ... Monique Currie has been named one of the top-five wing players in the nation by ESPN.com ... the Blue Devils boast a roster of nine eligible players as junior Lindsey Harding is suspended indefinitely and Emily Waner has to sit out this season after transferring from Colorado.
A Look At Purdue...
Purdue enters Saturday's contest with a 6-2 record and winner of its last two. Erin Lawless (15.8 points) and Katie Gearlds (11.4 points) lead the Boilermakers so far this season.
The Boilermakers returned only one starter off last year's 29-4 squad that advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. Head Coach Kristy Curry is in her sixth year and owns a record of 142-33 record.
The Series With Purdue...
Purdue leads the overall series 3-2, but Duke won the last meeting, 93-63, in the Jimmy V Women's Basketball Classic last season.
Prior to the game last year, the two squads had not met since the 1999 NCAA Championship game when Purdue won 62-45 in San Jose, Calif. Other games came on Dec. 28, 1991, as Purdue won 74-58 in the Boilermaker Classic; on Dec. 2, 1990 in the Duke Dial Soap Classic as Purdue won 69-58 and on Dec. 30, 1987, as Duke won 76-71 in the Tip-Off Classic in San Jose, Calif. Current Blue Devil head coach Gail Goestenkors was an assistant coach at Purdue during the matchups in 1991, 1990 and 1987.
The Injury Report... Sophomore Caitlin Howe did not play in the Jacksonville State contest on Wednesday, but is expected to return on Saturday against Purdue. In her first two collegiate contests, freshman Chante Black has had two injuries, but has come back to play in the last two games. Against Davidson she suffered 11 stitches in her forehead and then against South Florida she turned her right ankle. The ankle injury forced her to miss the Notre Dame and Penn State contests.
The Last Time Out...
Freshman Wanisha Smith scored a career-high 22 points to lead six players in double figures and help third-ranked Duke roll over Jacksonville State 99-36 Wednesday night.
Monique Currie added 17 points and Mistie Williams 11 for Duke (9-1), which won its seventh straight game. Among the reserves, Chante Black had 16 points, Laura Kurz 13 and Wynter Whitely 10. Duke's bench outscored the reserves for the Gamecocks (1-4) 39-21.
Alison Bales grabbed 10 rebounds and Williams nine as the Blue Devils dominated the boards 51-36. Shooting 38-for-77, Duke had more field goals than the Gamecocks had points. Reserve Laniece Thomas scored seven points to lead Jacksonville State (1-4), which got no more than four from any of its starters.
Smith had 15 points in the first half, personally outscoring Jacksonville State as Duke led 44-14 at the break. The Blue Devils scored the last 11 points of the first half and first nine of the second. They held the Gamecocks to a single basket for 10:25 of the first half and scoreless for 6:57 of that stretch. Duke scored on 14 of its first 16 possessions of the second half, and opened a 66-17 lead with 14:48 to play. The lead grew to as much as 91-28 with 3:51 left.
Coach G Versus Purdue...
Duke Head Coach Gail Goestenkors will go up against Purdue this weekend for the second time since leaving West Lafayette, Ind., in 1992. From 1986-1992, Goestenkors was an assistant coach with the Boilermakers under the direction of head coaches Lin Dunn and Marsha Reall. Coach G was hired by Marsha Reall, who was the head coach at Purdue in 1986-87. During the six years at Purdue, Goestenkors was a part of 135 victories to only 42 losses. Also, during Coach G's stay at Purdue, the team finished third or better in the league five times, while going 17-1 in 1990-91.
Duke Headed To RCA Dome...
During the trip to Indianapolis, Ind. over the weekend, the Blue Devils will visit the RCA Dome which hosts the 2005 NCAA Final Four on April 3 & 5. The last time Duke made a trip to the site of the Final Four during the season was in 2003 in Atlanta. The Blue Devils ended up advancing to the Final Four that season.
Duke Against Ranked Opponents...
Over the last five years, Duke owns a 33-10 record against ranked opponents. So far this season, the Blue Devils have defeated 16th-ranked Kansas State, 63-51, 23rd-ranked Penn State, 66-58 and fourth-ranked Tennessee, 59-57, but lost 76-65 at 11th-ranked Notre Dame.
Monique Currie has averaged 18.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.8 steals in four contests against ranked foes this season. Alison Bales is averaging 4.8 blocks and Mistie Williams is averaging 14.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks against ranked opponents. On the season, Duke is averaging 75.2 points, but against ranked opponents the Blue Devils are averaging 63.2 a contest.
Laura Kurz Coming On Strong...
After admitting that she was a walking turnover in her first collegiate game, freshman Laura Kurz has made huge progress over the first two months of the season. She has averaged 14.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.3 assists over the last three contests. In those games, Kurz has hit 5-of-12 from downtown and 18-of-29 from the field.
She collected a career-high 20 points against Pacific, then scored 10 against Liberty and then notched 13 points on Wednesday versus Jacksonville State. Kurz looks like a totally different player on the court as she looks confident and has been one of the best shooters on the squad.
On the season, Kurz is averaging 5.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and is hitting 54.5 percent from the field.
Smith Catching Fire...
Over the last two games, freshman Wanisha Smith has caught fire averaging 21.5 points, 3.5 assists, 3.0 steals and 3.5 assists. She scored a career-best 21 points against Liberty on Sunday and then came back to notch a career-best 22 points against Jacksonville State. Smith is scoring inside and outside as she has hit 2-of-5 from downtown during the stretch.
Diaper Dandies...
All three of Duke's freshmen have been giving the Blue Devils key minutes so far this season. Between Chante Black, Laura Kurz and Wanisha Smith, they are averaging 24.3 points, 12.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 3.4 steals and 2.4 blocks. Both Kurz and Smith have scored over 20 points and Black has posted 10 or more rebounds in two contests.
Moving Up The Record Charts...
Sophomore Alison Bales has moved into eighth place on the Duke season charts with 41 blocks this season, while ranking eighth on the career charts with 70. Monique Currie ranks seventh in career free throws made (297) and ninth with 387 attempts. Jessica Foley ranks 10th with 257 three-point field goals attempted.
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballKara Lawson on Bella Flemings
Monday, November 17
Kara Lawson on Taylor Sofilkanich
Sunday, November 16
Kara Lawson on Sanai Green
Thursday, November 13
Kara Lawson on Autumn Fleary
Wednesday, November 12
