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Duke To Face Rhode Island On Wednesday In Auburn Christmas Tournament
12/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 28, 2004
Game 13 - Rhode Island
#2/3 Duke (11-1) vs. Rhode Island (2-7)
December 29, 2004 • 4:00 PM
Auburn, Ala. • Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum
Game Notes in PDF Format
MEDIA INFORMATION
Series Record: First Meeting
Duke Heads To Auburn For Tournament...
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Duke Head Coach: Gail Goestenkors
Career Record: 313-89 (13th Year)
Rhode Island Head Coach: Tom Garrick
Career Record: 13-17 (2nd Year)
Radio: WDNC-AM 620
Steve Barnes (pxp), Missy Anderson (color)
Television: None
Online Gametracker: None
Rankings: DU- 2nd in AP; 3rd ESPN/USA Today
After an eight-day layoff for the Christmas holiday, the second-ranked Duke women's basketball team (11-1) will travel to Auburn, Ala., for the Auburn Christmas Tournament on Dec. 29, 31.
The Blue Devils will go up against Rhode Island (2-7) on Dec. 29 and then battle Auburn (8-2) on Dec. 31 with both games being played at the Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum at 4:00 p.m. (EST).
Duke is currently on a nine-game winning streak and in the middle of a four-game road swing.
Noting The Blue Devils...
Since falling to Notre Dame, Duke has won nine games in a row ... Duke is coming off an ACC-record 16 blocks against Ball State ... Alison Bales has blocked more shots (52) than Duke's opponents (39) ... she had a career-high eight blocks against Ball State ... Duke has made more free throws (196) than its opponents have attempted (184) ... 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.
A Look At Rhode Island...
Rhode Island enters the tournament with a 2-7 record and has lost its last five contests. Head Coach Tom Garrick is in his second year with Rams and owns a 13-17 overall record.
The Rams are led by Peta Kneen (16.3 points, 4.4 rebounds) on the year. Kneen has hit a team-best 19 three-pointers. Safi Mjidi (13.4 points) and Tanya Rhodes (13.4 points, 8.2 rebounds) are also averaging double-figure points.
The Series With Rhode Island...
This will mark the first meeting between Rhode Island and Duke.
A Look At Auburn...
Auburn (8-2) is currently on an eight-game winning streak since opening the season with two straight losses. The Tigers are led by Natasha Bracket (16.1 points, 5.5 rebounds) and Louise Emeagi (10.9 points, 7.9 rebounds). Head Coach Nell Fortner is in her first season with Auburn.
Prior to playing Duke on Dec. 31, Auburn will battle Rhode Island on Dec. 30 at 4:00 p.m.
The Series With Auburn...
Duke and Auburn will meet for the second time in school history. The Blue Devils are coming off a 66-57 victory over 25th-ranked Auburn in the championship game of the Duke Women's Basketball Classic last season in Durham.
In the game, Alana Beard led all scorers with 27 points, while Monique Currie added 14 points and 10 rebounds. Duke forced Auburn to commit 25 turnovers and held the Tigers to 36.5 shooting from the field.
The Last Time Out...
Mistie Williams finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds and the third-ranked Blue Devils closed the first half on an amazing 35-1 run as they overpowered Ball State 81-31.
Duke's ninth straight win again came in impressive fashion. The Blue Devils nearly doubled their average victory margin during the streak (26.8), outrebounded Ball State 54-40, and played suffocating defense.
For a school-record eighth time this season, Duke (11-1) held an opponent to less than 30.0 percent shooting. Ball State (3-6) finished at 19.2 percent. The Blue Devils created 25 turnovers, forced poor shots all night and set an ACC record with 16 blocks.
Katie Endress, the Cardinals' top scorer at 16.4, was shut out on 0-of-8 shooting. The Blue Devils responded with 31 straight points, a stretch that didn't end until a Cardinal basket with 17:56 left in the game. Duke outscored Ball State 46-6 in the paint, 18-5 on second-chance points and 35-12 off the bench.
Protecting The Ball...
After turning the ball over 20 or more times in four of Duke's first seven games, the Blue Devils have been protecting the ball much better as of late. Duke is coming off a Ball State contest where it notched a season-low seven turnovers. Over the last five games, the Blue Devils are averaging only 13.2 turnovers a game. Duke averaged 20.0 turnovers over the first seven games.
Block Party...
So far this season, Duke is averaging 9.3 blocks per contest and has registered 111 in only 12 games. In the last contest, the Blue Devils collected an ACC-record 16 blocked shots against Ball State. Sophomore Alison Bales is leading the Duke charge with a 4.3 per game average, while Chante Black is averaging 2.3 and Mistie Williams totaling 1.3. Bales has 52 blocks on the season, which is more than every team in the ACC except for Clemson, who is tied with 52.
The Blue Devils are coming off collecting a school-record 231 blocks last season for a average of 6.8. In 12 games, Duke has blocked nine or more shots eight times and 10 or more six times, including 10 or more in five of the last eight contests. The NCAA record for blocks in a season is 250 by Connecticut in 1995 (7.1 per game) and the single season record for blocks per game was by Jackson State in 2003 (8.3).
Shooting Free Throws...
Monique Currie is living up to her reputation this season with her excellent ability to drive to the basket and get tot he free throw line. Currie has made more free throws (62) than any ACC player has attempted. The next closest is Duke freshman Wanisha Smith, who has attempted 50. Currie's 78.5 free throw percentage currently ranks 10th in the ACC.
Currie Nears Triple-Double...
Junior Monique Currie missed a triple-double against 18th-ranked Purdue by three assists as she finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. The seven assists was a season-high for the National Player of the Year candidate.
Rebounding Advantage...
After getting outrebounded in two of the first four contests, Duke has responded by outrebounding its opponents the last eight games in a row. On the season, the Blue Devils are outrebounding opponents by a 10.8 clip. The Blue Devils also boast four players averaging 6.6 rebounds or better-- Mistie Williams (8.8), Chante Black (7.7), Monique Currie (7.6) and Alison Bales (6.6). No other Duke team has ever had four players average over 6.6 rebounds in a season.
Williams Picks Up Career-High...
Even though she took only six shots from the field against 18th-ranked Purdue, junior Mistie Williams made her presence felt on the boards pulling down a career-high 14 rebounds. Over the last two contests, Williams has grabbed 24 rebounds and posted a double-double. She owns four double-doubles on the season, which ranks tied for first in the ACC and her 8.8 rebounds a game is second in the ACC.
On The Nine-Game Winning Streak...
Duke has won its last nine straight games and here are some highlights during the stretch--
• Held opponents to 26.0 percent shooting from the field
• Outrebounding opponents by 11.4
• Holding opponents to 43.1 points per game, while Duke is averaging 76.3
• Monique Currie is averaging 18.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.3 steals
• Won games by an average margin of 33.2 points
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. Over the first seven games of her collegiate career, Kurz averaged 2.1 points, 1.9 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 0.3 steals. Over the last five games, she has averaged 12.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 0.8 assists. In those games, Kurz has hit 7-of-15 from downtown and 27-of-42 (64.3 percent) from the field.
She collected a career-high 20 points against Pacific and has scored double-figures in four of the last five contests. 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 6.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and is hitting 58.3 percent from the field.
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 24.6 points, 13.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 3.6 steals and 2.5 blocks. Both Kurz and Smith have scored over 20 points and Black has posted 10 or more rebounds in three contests. Over the last five games, the freshmen have scored 33.6 points a contest.
Moving Up The Record Charts...
Sophomore Alison Bales has moved into third place on the Duke season charts with 52 blocks this season, while ranking sixth on the career charts with 81. Monique Currie ranks sixth in career free throws made (305) and ninth with 397 attempts. Jessica Foley ranks 10th with 265 three-point field goals attempted.
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