Duke Looks For 14th Straight Win Saturday Versus Boston U.

Duke Game Notes
Boston U. (8-4) vs. #3/3 Duke (13-0) ? Blue Sky Classic Championship ? Dec. 30, 2006

? No. 3/3 Duke (13-0) will take on Boston University (8-4) in the championship of the Blue Sky Classic on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 7:00 p.m. The contest will be played at the Leede Arena in Hanover, N.H. Duke is coming off a 77-40 victory over host Dartmouth on Friday, while Boston University posted a 77-74 win over Dayton. Dayton and Dartmouth will face each other at 5:00 p.m. in the consolation. Duke's game will be aired live on the Duke Radio Network with Steve Barnes (play-by-play) and Missy Anderson (color) calling the action.

? The Blue Devils have been stricken with an illness to the team and were without the services of freshman Joy Cheek against Dartmouth. Head Coach Gail Goestenkors and Carrem Gay each missed shoot around prior to the game Big Green game but both were able to coach and play. Cheek is expected to see action on Saturday.

? Duke has won 60 straight games against unranked opponents, has won 31 consecutive contests versus non-conference teams and has won 34 straight games in the month of December.

? Duke and Boston University have met only one time in school history, which came on Jan. 2, 1988 as the Blue Devils won 73-58 in Durham, N.C. Duke owns a 2-0 record against teams in the America East-- Boston University (1-0) and New Hampshire (1-0).

? In 13 games this season, Duke has held opponents to 21.5 points a game in the first half. Texas and Pittsburgh each scored 27 points in the first stanza marking the most points scored against the Blue Devils in the first half.

? After struggling shooting from the field over the last five contests as the Blue Devils hit only 41.5 percent of their field goals, Duke shot 51.8 percent against Dartmouth. This marked the fifth time this season Duke has shot over the 50.0 percent plateau and the first time since Dec. 4 at Rutgers.

? Over the last three games, Duke has hit 62 of 73 free throws for an 84.9 percentage. The Blue Devils are coming off hitting 15 of 15 free throws against Dartmouth. Overall, Duke has hit 30 straight free throws dating back to the Pittsburgh game on Dec. 21.

? The Blue Devils are coming off scoring 48 points and hitting 59.4 percent of their field goals in the first half against Dartmouth-- both season highs.

? Duke remains one of five undefeated teams in NCAA Division I: Connecticut (10-0), Duke (13-0), Louisville (13-0), Maryland (14-0), and North Carolina (14-0). The Blue Devils have defeated four undefeated teams so far this season: Northeastern (0-0), Marist (1-0), Penn State (4-0), Vanderbilt (8-0) and Pittsburgh (12-0).

? For the ninth time this season, Duke held its opponent to under 30.0 percent shooting on Friday as Dartmouth was limited to 29.2 percent from the field. The Blue Devils are now holding opponents to 28.8 percent shooting on the year.

? Senior Lindsey Harding became the second Duke player to reach the 1,000 point and 500 assists marks in a career with her 12 points and three assists against Dartmouth. Harding now owns 1,002 points and 501 assists over her career. She became the 20th player in Duke history to notch 1,000 points. Harding's 501 assists ranks 22nd on the ACC career charts and four away from moving into 19th place on the ACC charts.

? Senior Alison Bales moved into 16th place on the NCAA all-time blocks chart with her four swats against Dartmouth on Friday. She now owns 345 and needs 10 more blocks to move into 15th place.

? Junior Emily Waner is coming off a career-high 12 points against Dartmouth as she hit 4-of-8 field goals and 2-of-4 three-pointers on the night. Waner has now hit at least one three-pointer in eight straight contests. With Waner scoring double-figures on Friday, all 10 players on Duke's roster that has played have scored double-digits this season in at least one game.

? Duke improved to 13-0 to start the season for the third time under Head Coach Gail Goestenkors and the third time overall in Duke history. The best start in school history is 20-0, which happened in 2002-03 and 2005-06.

? Duke will next open ACC action on Jan. 3 at home against Miami at 7:00 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium.