Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus UCLA on March 29, 2026 , Loss , 58, to, 70
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Final
Women's Basketball
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Duke Receives No. 1 Seed In Berkeley Region; Will Face Austin Peay
3/16/2009 9:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
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DURHAM, N.C. ? The sixth-ranked Duke women's basketball team received its 15th straight NCAA Tournament selection on Monday. The Blue Devils (26-5) were seeded No. 1 in the Berkeley Region and will play 16th-seeded Austin Peay (17-15) in the first round on Sunday, March 22, 2009 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. The game will be televised live on ESPN and will tip at approximately 2:30 p.m.
The Governors from Austin Peay won their sixth Ohio Valley Conference crown all-time, and the first since 2004, with a 69-65 double-overtime victory over Eastern Illinois on March 7, 2009. Austin Peay will be making its sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The Clarksville, Tenn., based squad finished tied for fifth in the regular season standings with a 10-8 record. Austin Peay is led by April Thomas (13.4 points, 9.0 rebounds), Ashley Herring (12.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 48 three-pointers made), Nicole Jamen (11.2 points, 6.5 rebounds) and Whitney Hanley (8.9 points, 40 treys) on the year. Carrie Daniels is in her third year as the head coach of the Governors.
The winner of the Duke/Austin Peay game will advance to face the winner of the No. 8 seed Middle Tennessee State versus No. 9 seed Michigan State. The contest will be played on Tuesday, March 24. Middle Tennessee State will face Michigan State at 12:00 p.m., on Sunday, March 22.
Middle Tennessee State owns a 28-5 overall record and received the automatic invitational by winning the Sun Belt Tournament Championship with a 74-54 victory in the title game against UALR. Junior Alysha Clark leads the nation in scoring at 27.3 ppg and the Blue Raiders will be making their 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Head Coach Rick Insell is in his fourth season at Middle Tennessee State. The Blue Raiders are ranked 25th in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll.
Michigan State received an at-large invitation after posting a 20-10 overall record under Head Coach Suzy Merchant. The Spartans will be making their ninth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and have been led by Aisha Jefferson (11.1 points and 5.0 rebounds) and Allyssa DeHaan (10.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.1 blocks).
Michigan State will be the host of the subregional. Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie will return to the place where she spent seven years as head coach from 2000-01 through 2006-07, prior to arriving at Duke. McCallie registered a 149-75 overall record, 69-45 Big Ten ledger and took the Spartans to the NCAA Tournament five straight years from 2003-07. Michigan State advanced to the national championship game in 2005 under McCallie and Coach P was awarded National Coach of the Year the same year.
Duke (26-5), which received an at-large selection, is coming off falling in the ACC Championship on Sunday, March 8 to fourth-ranked Maryland in overtime, 92-89. The Blue Devils registered seven wins over the RPI top 25 and 11 wins over the top 50. Duke also notched eight wins against ranked opponents and registered key victories against second-ranked Stanford, fourth-ranked Maryland, 11th-ranked North Carolina, 13th-ranked Florida State, 19th-ranked Tennessee and two wins against 25th-ranked Virginia.
On the season, Duke has been led by senior Chante Black, who was recently named ACC Defensive Player of the Year and first team All-ACC. She is also a Naismith, John R. Wooden and State Farm Wade Trophy candidate for National Player of the Year as she is averaging 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.1 blocks, 1.5 steals and 1.5 assists on the year.
Blue Devil sophomore Jasmine Thomas (10.2 points, 3.7 assists), senior Abby Waner (9.8 points, 53 treys), Joy Cheek (8.4 points, 4.6 rebounds), sophomore Karima Christmas (7.3 points, 3.9 rebounds), senior Carrem Gay (6.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, junior Bridgette Mitchell (4.6 points, nine straight starts), sophomore Krystal Thomas (4.3 points, 4.0 rebounds) and junior Keturah Jackson (3.2 points, 2.9 rebounds) all have been key contributors on the year for Duke.
Duke received a No. 1 seed for the seventh time in school history. The Blue Devils have advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 each of the last 11 years and reached the NCAA Final Four in 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2006. As a conference, the ACC received six bids in 2009 -- Duke, North Carolina, Maryland, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Virginia.
The Blue Devils and Governors will meet for the first time in school history. Duke owns a 3-1 overall record against teams from the Ohio Valley Conference. It marks the second straight year the Blue Devils will face a member of the Ohio Valley Conference in the NCAA Tournament first round, as Duke downed Murray State, 78-57, in College Park, Md., last season.
Duke is one of only three teams, along with the Tennessee and Connecticut, to have advanced to the Sweet 16 the last 11 consecutive years. Duke owns seven No. 1 seeds since 2001, which leads all schools, while Tennessee (6) and Connecticut (6) are tied for second.
Tickets are available in the Michigan State ticket office and can be purchased by visiting www.msuspartans.com or by calling 1-800-GOSTATE. Tickets are $40 for adults, $20 for youth/seniors/MSU Students/Groups 15+ and are for two sessions on Sunday and one session on Tuesday for a total of three games. Single-session tickets are $25 for the general public.
For the seventh consecutive year, the ESPN networks will combine to present all 63 games from the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship. During the first two rounds, ESPN and ESPN2 will present the 48 games within 12 telecast windows in a whip-around format with home market protection. ESPN360.com will offer complete game telecasts of all 63 games, while ESPNU will offer select ESPN and ESPN2 early-round games in their entirety. The final 15 games (regional semifinals on) will have national telecast windows on ESPN or ESPN2. The complete schedule will be announced on a later date.
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Duke Quotes From The NCAA Selection Show Party
Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie:
On getting started:
“We were so strong down the stretch, and when you look at last five game's stats, it tells a beautiful story. We will continue to work really hard and focus on that. ... For us, it's about us and what we want to accomplish and do. We finally have an opponent and that's all I'm concerned about.”
On getting a one seed:
“I think it's wonderful that the whole body of work was evaluated. It wasn't political. They look at the teams we've beaten, our RPI, all components there. It's nice to say we earned it and have folks recognize what the team has done.”
Senior Chante Black:
On getting started and facing familiar foes:
“We're really excited and anxious to get started. There are a lot of feelings there ? in the same bracket as [Coach Joanne P. McCallie's former team] Michigan State, and then Texas [team coached by former Duke coach Gail Goestenkors]. There's a lot of emotion but it's good emotion. We're excited.”
On where the team stands at this point:
“We just want to keep doing what we're doing, which is concentrating on defense, focusing on rebounding and making sure we continue to be a defensive-minded team. Our main focus is defensive pressure.”
On playing in front of hostile crowds in the tournament:
“Any time we might play an opponent at their court, it's a very hostile environment. You never have a crowd on Duke's side, so it's definitely fun at the end of a game when the buzzer goes off and it's on our side.”
Senior Abby Waner:
On how the seeding shook out:
“There's going to be drama, and wins and losses on the other side of bracket and above us, but that has no bearing on us until we play those teams.”
On not getting the Raleigh regional:
“It would be nice to have our fans there and to play on a home court, but either way the fans aren't on the court. It's five of our players and that's really all that matters.”
On hostile playing environments:
“If we could talk about teams or fans that don't exactly like Duke, it doesn't really narrow the field down at all. Playing in hostile environments is nothing we're not used to. When you come to Duke and have that across your jersey, you're asking to not be all that well-liked across the country and that's fine. It's fun to see Michigan, Texas, and even Tennessee [where assistant coach Al Brown coached]. The women's basketball world is a small world.”
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