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Blue Devils And Lady Frogs To Battle Tuesday
12/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game 7 - TCU
#2/2 Duke (6-0) at TCU (2-4)
Dec. 6, 2005 ? Fort Worth, Texas ? 8:00 PM
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum (7,201)
Blue Devils And Lady Frogs To Battle Tuesday...
After picking up an 84-70 victory at 18th-ranked Texas on Sunday, second-ranked Duke (6-0) will conclude its two-game road trip on Tuesday at TCU (2-4) in Fort Worth, Texas. The game will be aired live on WDNC AM 620 with Steve Barnes (PXP) and Missy Anderson (color) calling the action with a tip time at 8:00 p.m. (EDT).
The Blue Devils are currently ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, while opening the season with a 6-0 ledger. Duke had been ranked No. 1 in the first three Associated Press polls, but Tennessee moved ahead by 13 points in the poll released on Monday.
After returning from Texas, Duke will have 12 days off for exams before hosting Ball State and Colorado State prior to the Christmas holiday.
Noting The Blue Devils...
Over the last five years, Duke has collected a 48-6 record in true road games ... senior Mistie Williams has scored double-figures in four straight games ... point guard Lindsey Harding owns a 3.1 assist/turnover ratio on the season as she has posted 25 assists to only eight turnovers in six games ... Duke trailed for most of the first half at Texas for the first time this season ... after finishing the season with only eight players in 2004-05, the Blue Devils feature a roster of 13 this year ... Duke was ranked No. 1 in the preseason by the Associated Press, Street & Smith's and Lindy's Magazine polls
A Look At TCU...
TCU returns nine letterwinners and three starters off last year's 23-10 squad, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament first round. The Lady Frogs lost All-America Sandora Irvin to graduation, but have been led this season by Natasha Lacy (12.2 points, 9.2 rebounds), Adrianne Ross (11.8 points, 16 steals) and Ashley Davis (11.7 points, 4.0 rebounds). TCU has lost three straight contests to North Carolina (77-54), Oklahoma (77-63) and USC (65-52).
The Series With TCU...
Duke and TCU will meet for only the second time in school history. The Blue Devils won the only other meeting back in the 2002 NCAA Tournament as Duke defeated the Lady Frogs, 76-66, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Durham, N.C. The Blue Devils were led by Alana Beard (26 points) and Monique Currie (20 points).
Duke Versus The Mountain West...
Duke owns an all-time record of 4-0 against teams from the Mountain West-- Brigham Young (1-0), San Diego State (1-0), TCU (1-0) and Utah (1-0).
Time Changes In Texas...
Tuesday's contest at TCU will be played at 8:00 p.m. (EDT) and 7:00 p.m. (CDT).
Duke Versus Texas Teams...
Duke owns an all-time record of 10-2 against teams from Texas-- Stephen F. Austin (2-0), SW Texas State (1-0), TCU (1-0), Texas (2-1), Texas A&M (0-1), Texas-San Antonio (1-0), Texas Tech (2-0) and West Texas State (1-0). The only losses came to Texas A&M back in 1995 in the Preseason NIT at College Station, Texas (83-73), and to Texas on Nov. 16, 2003, in the season opener.
Currie Plays Like National Player of the Year...
In Duke's first contest against a ranked opponent on Sunday at Texas, Blue Devil senior National Player of the year Candidate-- Monique Currie -- showed why she is listed among the best women's basketball players in the nation with her game-high 23 points on 9-of-9 free throws. A Washington, D.C., product, Currie played a season-high 35 minutes and had a season-high 23 points to go along with five rebounds, two assists, two steals and only one turnover.
On the year, Currie is averaging 15.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals in only 25.7 minutes a game. She is hitting 50.0 percent of her field goals, 50.0 percent from downtown and 78.9 percent from the free throw line.
Currie is in her fifth year with the Blue Devils after graduating in May with a degree in Public Policy and African-American Studies. She is obtaining her graduate degree in the school of Humanities at Duke.
Season Highs/Lows...
In the Texas contest on Sunday, the Blue Devils had many season-highs and lows. Listed below are a breakdown--
? Monique Currie played a season-high 35 minutes and tallied a season-high 23 points.
? Duke allowed a season-high 70 points, 55.6 field goal percentage in the first half and 41.9 field goal percentage for the game.
? The Blue Devils had a season-low 12 assists, three blocks and four three-pointers made.
? Mistie Williams tied a season-high with 14 points.
? Alison Bales had a season-high 13 rebounds.
Undefeated Starts...
For the fifth time under Head Coach Gail Goestenkors, the Blue Devils have started the season with a 6-0 record, but the first since 2002-03. The best undefeated start in school history was 20-0 in 2002-03.
Bales Makes Second Start...
After playing well in practice last week, junior Alison Bales was rewarded with her second start of the season over sophomore Chante Black. Bales made the most of her start at Texas with a game and season-high 13 rebounds, nine points, four assists, three blocks and three steals in a season-high 31 minutes.
On the year, Bales is averaging 8.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.2 steals, 1.2 assists and 3.2 blocks. Her 3.2 blocks currently leads the ACC.
Harding Returns Home To Texas...
Duke junior Lindsey Harding returned to the home to the state of Texas this weekend where she was a basketball and track star in high school. Harding, a product of Houston, Texas, attended CY Fair H.S., where she averaged 25.0 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists as a senior under Head Coach Anne Roubique. She also ran track and owns school records in the 200-meter run, 300-meter run, 400-meter run, 300-meter hurdles and high jump.
Experienced Group...
On any given night the Blue Devils could throw out a different starting lineup on the court as Duke returns seven players who have started for the Blue Devils over the last two years. Duke is the only team in NCAA Division I who have five players who started 30 or more games last season. In fact, the Blue Devils return six players who started 30 or more games with the return of Lindsey Harding, who started 33 games in 2003-04.
Overall, Monique Currie (36), Mistie Williams (36), Wanisha Smith (35), Jessica Foley (32) and Alison Bales (33) each are returning starters from a year ago. A total of 27 teams in NCAA Division I returned all five starters from 2004-05.
Senior Class Award Nominees...
The top 30 female candidates for the 2005-06 Bayer Advantage? Senior CLASS award have been released with Duke's Monique Currie and Mistie Williams each selected. The award, now in its fifth year, is presented annually to the nation's senior player-of-the-year for NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball.
From the list of 30 nominees for each gender, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the award in February as the conference season hits its peak. Those ten names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide voting process during the NCAA Tournament in March. Fan balloting will be coupled with results from voting by coaches and media to determine the male and female winner.
Last Time Out...
Monique Currie scored 23 points including a perfect 9-of-9 performance from the line, as the top-ranked Duke women's basketball team (6-0) defeated No. 17 Texas (3-3) 84-70 here Sunday afternoon at the Erwin Center in front of a crowd of 8,394.
Currie played in a Duke season high 35 minutes and hit 7-of-17 from the floor to go with her perfect free throw performance. She added a pair of steals and assists in the game.
Mistie Williams rebounded from a first-half that saw her get in early foul trouble to finish the game with 14 points off of an impressive 5-of-8 mark from the floor. She added five rebounds and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the line.
Lindsey Harding added 13 points in 29 minutes for Duke while Alison Bales and Abby Waner each added nine points and Wanisha Smith eight. Bales led Duke with four assists and three steals and three blocked shots while Waner added three steals and three assists to her performance, as well.
The first half featured six ties as the Longhorns held the lead for most of the period. Texas' big lead of the half came at the 12:39 mark after a 6-1 run gave the Longhorns a 15-9 lead. Lindsey Harding and Wanisha Smith each had three-pointers as Duke regained an early lead at 17-15.
Texas rebounded and scored the game's next five points and then held the lead for the rest of the half until Bales hit a lay-up with just one second remaining.
The Longhorns took a brief lead early in the second half, but it would prove to be their last lead of the game. Texas tied the game at 61 all at the 9:40 mark of the second half before Duke burst open a 7-0 run in the next two minutes. The lead hovered between seven and 10 for most of the rest of the game for Duke before Currie scored the game's final four points in the last minute of play to give Duke a 14 point victory.
Sharp-Shooters...
For the first time in school history, Duke opened the season hitting 50.0 percent of its field goals in each of the first four games before shooting 40.9 percent against Auburn on Nov. 27 and 47.8 at Texas. The Blue Devils are shooting a whopping 54.1 percent from the field and 40.2 percent from three-point land. The season record for best field goal percentage is 49.0 in 2001-02. Nine of the 12 Duke players who have played are shooting over 50.0 percent from the field.
Game Comparison...
In comparing the stats over the first four games of the 2005-06 season versus Penn State, Old Dominion, Fairfield and Arkansas State and the last two contests against Auburn and Texas, there is a big difference:
1st 4 Games Category Last 2 Games
4-0 Record 2-0
101.5 Scoring Offense 76.5
55.8 Scoring Defense 53.5
+45.8 Scoring Margin +23.0
.588 Field Goal Pct. .444
.303 FG Pct. Defense .396
.426 3-Point Pct. .355
.682 Free Throw Pct. .727
28.0 Assists 15.0
46.0 Rebounds 41.0
18.0 Turnovers 19.0
9.8 Blocks 4.5
14.3 Steals 14.5
Emily Waner Makes Duke Debut...
Even though her debut at Duke was pushed back by three games due to a foot injury, sophomore Emily Waner had a very successful start as a Blue Devil last weekend in the Duke Classic. Waner, a native of Highlands Ranch, Colo, played 16 minutes against Arkansas State and scored eight points, had two assists and one steal. She hit 2-of-3 treys in the contest. Waner came back against Auburn and scored three points and had one steal in 12 minutes. Waner played four minutes at Texas finishing with one assist and one steal.
She sat out last season after transferring from the University of Colorado in the summer of 2004. At Colorado as a freshman, Waner started eight of 30 contests and averaged 7.1 points, 1.6 assists, 1.8 rebounds and hit 39.2 percent from three-point.
The Injury Report...
Duke has been saddled with various injuries during the preseason, and the status of freshman Keturah Jackson is doubtful for the TCU game. Jackson suffered a severe ankle sprain in late September and is still recovering. Freshman Brittany Mitch had surgery on her hip Dec. 2 and will miss 3-5 weeks.
Players Mentioned
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