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Battle of Durham Set For Dec. 28; Duke Hosts NCCU
12/27/2009 9:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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N.C. Central (1-9) at Duke (9-2)
Monday, Dec. 28, 2009 • 7:00 PM • Durham, N.C. • Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314)
Media Information
Tip-off: 7:00 PM
Live Video: www.GoDuke.com
Radio: Duke ISP Network - 620 The Buzz with Steve Barnes (PBP), Morgan Patrick (Color)
Twitter: DukeWBBSID & CoachPDuke
Facebook: Official Duke Women's Basketball Group
Rankings: Duke (No. 8 - AP, No. 8 - ESPN/USA Today)
Series: Duke leads 4-3
Head Coaches: Duke: Joanne P. McCallie (377-166, 18th Season)
N.C. Central: Joli D. Robinson (198-172, 13th Season)
Battle of Durham Set For Monday, Dec. 28 at Cameron Indoor Stadium...
Coming off a six-day break of games for the Christmas holiday, the eighth-ranked Duke women's basketball team (9-2) will host N.C. Central (1-9) on Monday, Dec. 28 at 7:00 p.m., in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The meeting of the two Durham schools will mark the eighth contest all-time between the two hoop squads. Fans can also hear the Blue Devils on the Duke ISP Radio Network on WDNC AM 620 with Steve Barnes (PXP) and Morgan Patrick (Color) calling the action.
The Blue Devils are currently ranked No. 8 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Division I Coaches Polls, while N.C. Central is unranked. Duke will close out the year of 2009 on Dec. 31 at Temple.
Noting Duke...
At Maine, senior Bridgette Mitchell hit 7-of-9 field goals and scored 16 points ... senior Joy Cheek moved past the 900-point mark against JMU and now owns 917 for her career ... Keturah Jackson played in her 100th career game against James Madison ... Jackson also hit her first three-pointer of the year against JMU ... sophomore Kathleen Scheer broke a streak of eight straight missed three-pointers against JMU as she hit her first attempt ... the Blue Devils hold a 400-160 points in the paint advantage on the year.
A Look At N.C. Central...
N.C. Central enters Monday's contest with a 1-9 overall record, but is coming off its first victory of the season on Dec. 20 against Houston Baptist, 75-60.
The Lady Eagles are led by Joanna Miller (17.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 19 treys), while Latoya Bennett (9.3 points, 5.9 rebounds) and Danielle DeBerry (8.2 points, 4.9 rebounds) are averaging over eight points a game.
The Series With N.C. Central...
Duke and N.C. Central will meet for the eighth time in school history and the second under the direction of Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie. The two squads last met on Jan. 3, 2008 with the Blue Devils winning 82-29.
Prior to the meeting in 2008, the schools had not faced off since Nov. 20, 1984. In the series, N.C. Central won the first three contests in 1976 and 1977 but the Blue Devils have won the past four games.
Duke is 4-2 all-time in Durham against N.C. Central.
McCallie Honored at Maine...
Prior to Duke taking on Maine on Dec. 21, Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie was honored for her eight years she spent with the Black Bears from 1992-2000. She now has her name and years at Maine on a banner that hangs in Alfond Arena forever.
McCallie spent her first eight years as a head coach at Maine and guided the Black Bears to a 167-73 record, six NCAA Tournaments, two America East Tournament and two North Atlantic Championships from 1992-2000.
Coach P also went up against her former player, Cindy Blodgett, who is in her third year as the head coach at Maine. Blodgett was a four-year letterwinner at Maine under McCallie. Blodgett led the NCAA in scoring as a sophomore and junior at Maine under Coach P.
Coach P was also inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in June of 2008 and the University of Maine Athletics Hall of Fame in October of 2009. McCallie attended Brunswick H.S., in Maine and graduated in 1983.
Storylines/Other Blue Devil Notes...
- The Blue Devils are coming off hitting 52.5 percent of their field goals at Maine, which marks the fourth time this season Duke has hit over 50.0 percent from the field.
- Junior Jasmine Thomas had a career-high eight steals at Maine. Thomas has also totaled 15 assists the last two games.
- Duke has gone up against seven teams who were undefeated going into the contest with the Blue Devils this season -- Ohio State (8-0), James Madison (7-0), Stanford (7-0), Western Kentucky (3-0), Georgia Southern (1-0), Houston Baptist (0-0) and Texas A&M (0-0).
- Over her 18 years as a head coach, Joanne P. McCallie owns a record of 1-0 all-time against N.C. Central.
- Junior Jasmine Thomas has hit 20 three-pointers in only 11 games this season. As a freshman, she hit 24 in 35 games and as a sophomore she hit 28 in 30 games.
- Duke has won 34 straight home games in the month of December. The last loss came on Dec. 20, 1997 against UCLA, 93-83.
- Duke has registered 33 wins out of its last 34 games at home against non-conference foes. Over the last eight years, the Blue Devils have posted a 60-4 overall record against non-conference opponents in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The losses came against Tennessee (2), Connecticut and South Carolina.
- Junior Krystal Thomas has moved into ninth place on Duke's all-time blocked shots list with 91. She is five shots shy of eighth place all-time on the Blue Devil charts.
- In three years at Duke, Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie has notched four victories against top-five ranked teams -- #3/3 Ohio State in 2009-10, #3/4 Stanford in 2008-09, while knocking off #4/3 Rutgers and #5/4 Maryland in 2007-08.
- The Coach P Radio Show will next take place on Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 6:00 p.m. The show will be stationed at Satisfaction Restaurant in Durham at Brightleaf Square. Make sure you get there early to secure a seat.
What Happened Last Time We Met...
No. 12 Duke defeated N.C. Central, 82-29, on Jan. 3 in Cameron Indoor Stadium as the Blue Devils won their sixth straight game overall and their 22nd straight home contest to improve to 11-3 on the year.
Chante Black led all scorers as she hit all seven of her shots from the field and went 3-for-3 at the line to finish with 17 points. Black also had five rebounds, three blocks, one assist and one turnover on the evening.
Duke led 36-13 at halftime, marking the fewest first-half points of any Blue Devil opponent this season. Black hit five shots from the field and had 11 points in the first half.
North Carolina Central went scoreless in the last 4:59 of the first half, and Duke closed with a 12-0 run. Duke used a 30-2 run over a 9:55 span in the second half to blow the game open.
After hitting just 15 of its first 39 shots, Duke made 19 of its last 36 to end up with a 45.3 shooting percentage.
N.C. Central's 14-for-48 shooting and Duke's 51-26 edge in rebounding led to the Eagles' lowest-scoring game of the season.
Jori Nwachuka and Lavonna Hailey each scored eight points to lead North Carolina Central.
Wanisha Smith had a season-high 14 points and seven assists for the Blue Devils, while Joy Cheek, Abby Waner and reserve Karima Christmas each added 10 points. It was the second time this year that five Blue Devils hit double-digit scoring.
Cheek Catches Fire...
Senior Joy Cheek caught fire against 24th-ranked James Madison on Dec. 19 as she totaled a career-high 21 points, had seven rebounds, one steal and one assist in only 25 minutes.
At Maine prior to the Christmas holiday, Cheek totaled 14 points, seven rebounds, three steals, one block and one assist.
Over the last two games, Cheek is averaging 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 assists, while hitting 48.3 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from downtown.
Cheek has registered double-figure scoring in seven contests, while four of those seven games have been played at home.
Over the last five games, Cheek has hit 3-of-5 from downtown.
Christmas Playing Strong...
Over the last five contests, Karima Christmas has averaged 12.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 1.6 assists. Christmas has started two straight games and posted double-figure scoring in four out of the last five games.
She has totaled a season-high 16 points in two out of the last three games against Maine and Stanford.
Christmas is averaging 8.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.8 steals on the year.
Players Mentioned
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