Blue Devils Travel To San Antonio For Final Four

March 26, 2002

Game 35 - Oklahoma

#2/2 Oklahoma (31-3, 14-2 Big 12)
Versus
#3/3 Duke (31-3, 16-0 ACC)
The Alamodome * San Antonio, Texas
NCAA Final Four * Mar. 29, 2002 * 7:00 PM (EST)

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Blue Devils Travel To San Antonio For Final Four...

The third-ranked Duke women's basketball team (31-3, 16-0 ACC) will be making its second NCAA Final Four appearance this weekend in San Antonio, Texas, as the Blue Devils will battle second-ranked Oklahoma (31-3, 14-2 Big 12) on Friday at 7:00 PM (EST) on ESPN.

Duke will be playing in the first game followed by first-ranked Connecticut (37-0) versus sixth-ranked Tennessee (29-4) at 9:00 PM (EST). Duke, Connecticut and Oklahoma are all number one seeds, while Tennessee is seeded second.

The Blue Devils own the second longest Division I win streak standing at 22, behind Connecticut (37). Duke has won 28 out of its last 29 contests and is currently ranked third in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.

Noting The Blue Devils...

Krista Gingrich became the first women's player from a North Carolina school to advance to two Final Four's in a career ... Duke has posted a school-record 31 victories ... Last time the Blue Devils advanced to the Final Four, Duke was seeded third in the East Region ... Duke is 8-1 this season against ranked opponents ... the Blue Devils are 20-0 this season when holding opponents to under 40 percent shooting ... Iciss Tillis leads ACC post players in assists (92) ... Sheana Mosch needs 12 more points for 1,000 ... Tillis, Alana Beard and Monique Currie have totaled 23 double-doubles ... the Blue Devils are second in the nation in scoring offense (84.1) ...Duke has shot 50 percent or better in 15 games this season.

NCAA Tournament Tidbits...

* The Basics...Duke is making its second ever Final Four appearance and its ninth overall NCAA Tournament appearance. The Blue Devils are making their eighth consecutive trip and it marks the second consecutive year Duke has received a number one seed in the tournament. The Blue Devils have entered the NCAA field eight times under head coach Gail Goestenkors. The Blue Devils played in the postseason on two other occasions, making it to the Women's NIT in 1986 and the NCAA Tournament in 1987.

Duke now owns an all-time record of 20-8 in NCAA Tournament play, and is 21-10 in all postseason play. This year marks the seventh time Duke has served as the host for the first/second rounds of the NCAA Tournament, as the Blue Devils hosted a subregional in the Mideast Region in 1996, a subregional in the 1998 & 2001 West Region, a subregional in the 1999 & 2000 East Region and hosted Manhattan College in the first round of the 1987 NCAA Tournament.

* The History...Each time Duke has been in the NCAA Tournament, it has won at least one game. The Blue Devils have advanced to at least the Sweet 16 the past five consecutive years. Duke advanced to the "Elite Eight" in 1998 and the National Championship game in 1999. Prior to the 1998 season, Duke had developed a pattern, winning its first round game and then losing in the second round. The Blue Devils own a 13-3 record in their last 16 NCAA Tournament games.

* The Coach...The head coach behind Duke's success in the NCAA Tournament is Gail Goestenkors, the 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2002 ACC Coach of the Year, 1999 Victor Award as the National Coach of the Year and the 2000 Basketball Times National Coach of the Year.

In just her 10th season, she has more NCAA Tournament appearances to her credit (eight) than any other Duke coach. Goestenkors has 19 NCAA wins in those eight appearances, again, the most for one coach in the school history.

* The Seedings...The last seven seasons, Duke has been no lower than a No. 5 seed and for the second time in school history, Duke is a No. 1 seed in 2002.

* The Experience...Of the eight Blue Devils, six own NCAA Tournament experience. Senior Krista Gingrich is the only remaining member of the 1999 Final Four squad which advanced to the championship game. Junior's Sheana Mosch and Michele Matyasovsky have been on teams advancing to the final 16 in 2000 & 2001, while sophomores Alana Beard, Vicki Krapohl and Iciss Tillis advanced to the final 16 in 2001 as freshmen.

On The Air...

The NCAA Final Four will be televised on ESPN with Mike Patrick (play-by-play) and Ann Meyers (color) calling the action. Michele Tafoya and Nancy Lieberman will be working the sidelines, while Robin Roberts, Vera Jones and Nel Fortner will be on site in the studio.

The contest will also be aired live on the Duke Radio Network (WDNC-AM 620/WRBZ-AM 850 with Rick Dayton (play-by-play) and Missy Anderson (color) calling the action.

One of Best Ever...

Alana Beard needs only one more assist to become the first ACC men's or women's player to post over 600 points, 200 rebounds, 150 assists, 100 steals and 20 blocks in a season. She currently has 679 points, 207 rebounds, 149 assists, 113 steals and 24 blocks.

Through other women's sports information contacts sending information back, only two other women's basketball players have ever notched numbers like this-- Sheryl Swoopes in 1991-92 (690 points, 285 rebounds, 152 assists, 110 steals, 32 blocks) and Lynette Woodard in 1978-81 (881 points, 389 rebounds, 177 steals, 165 assists, 35 blocks and in 1980-81 - 758 points, 310 rebounds, 152 steals, 170 assists, 43 blocks). What good company to be a part of...

Going Through Texas...

On its quest to San Antonio, Texas, Duke had to defeat two consecutive teams from Texas to advance to the Elite Eight. The Blue Devils downed TCU (76-66) in the second round and Texas (62-46) in the Sweet 16.

Revenge Once Again...

For the 10th time in the last 10 revenge games, Duke has picked up a victory. The Blue Devils downed South Carolina on Monday, which was a rematch of the Nov. 25, 2001 game where South Carolina came in to Cameron Indoor Stadium and defeated the Blue Devils 87-81 in overtime. The loss for Duke broke its string of nine-consecutive Duke Women's Basketball Classic titles and was the only home loss for Duke this season (15-1).

The 10-0 mark in revenge games dates back to 1999-2000 season.

If Duke was to defeat Oklahoma on Friday, Sunday's game against Tennessee or Connecticut would be a revenge game as the Lady Vols downed Duke on Dec. 27 of this season (89-68) and Connecticut defeated Duke the last time the two teams met in 1999 (104-74).

Common Opponents...

Duke and Oklahoma have faced three common opponents -- Texas, Texas Tech and TCU. Oklahoma went a combined 5-1 against the trio of teams, while Duke went a perfect 3-0. The Blue Devils and Lady Vols have faced four common opponents-- Louisiana Tech, N.C. State, South Carolina and Texas. Tennessee went 3-1 against the four squads, while Duke went a combined 5-1. Duke and Connecticut have faced five common opponents-- North Carolina, Wake Forest, Louisiana Tech, Tennessee and Georgetown. The Huskies went 5-0, while the Blue Devils were 7-1 against those opponents.

Looking Familiar To 1999...

The way the cards have played out in the 2002 NCAA Tournament, everything is shaping up to look like the NCAA Tournament of 1999. The Blue Devils advanced to the Final Four for the first time and appeared in the national championship game in 1999.

In the 1999 tournament, Duke played in the East Region in Greensboro, N.C., and in 2002 the Blue Devils are once again in the East Region and in the state of North Carolina. In 1999, Duke met Tennessee in the regional final, a team the Blue Devils lost to earlier in the season. In 2002, Duke defeated South Carolina in the East Region final, a team the Blue Devils lost to earlier this season. Both South Carolina and Tennessee are also SEC schools.

In The NCAA Tournament...

Duke is tied for the third-best win total in the last four years of the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils are 13-3 and rank behind Connecticut (16-2) and Tennessee (14-3), and are tied with Purdue (13-3).

The Blue Devils are one of only three teams (Tennessee & Connecticut) that have advanced to the Sweet 16 for the last five years.

In The Final Four...

Duke owns an 2-1 record in regional final games. The Blue Devils made their first trip back in 1998 before falling to Arkansas in the West Region (77-72). Then in 1999, Duke defeated Tennessee (69-63) to advance to its first Final Four in San Jose, Calif. In Final Four games, Duke is 1-0 as the Blue Devils defeated Georgia (81-69) in 1999, before falling to Purdue in the National Championship game (62-45).

Assistant Coaches With Experience...

All four Blue Devil coaches on the sideline this weekend have Final Four experience on their resumes. Coach G was the head coach in 1999, Gale Valley and Joanne Boyle were assistant coaches in 1999 and Georgia Schweitzer was a player on the 1999 squad. Schweitzer was the East Region MVP as a sophomore.

Staying Close To Home...

With the Blue Devils heading to San Antonio on Tuesday, Duke will conclude its streak of 52 consecutive days without having to leave the state of North Carolina. The last trip the Blue Devils had to make out of the state was on Feb. 2 at Maryland.

Key Guard Play...

Last season, Duke's point guard Krista Gingrich and Vicki Krapohl played a combined 239 minutes and hit only 10 three-pointers. Each has been a key member of Duke record-setting team in 2002 as both have played a combined 630 minutes and have hit 97 three-pointers. The long range duo has hit 47 percent of their treys for the season and posted a 1.8 assist/turnover ratio (179 assists/99 turnovers).

Of Duke's eight players, all have hit at least eight 3-pointers with seven of the hitting 10 or more.

Notes From The South Carolina & Texas Contests...

Versus South Carolina -- Alana Beard was selected MVP of the East Region, while Sheana Mosch and Michele Matyasovsky were named East Region All-Tournament ... Duke notched a school-record 31 wins ... posted a season-high nine blocks, including eight in the first half ... Matyasovsky recorded a career-high of four blocks. Versus Texas -- Beard had six steals to break her own single-season record for steals with 108 ... Mosch scored all of her 13 points in the second half, including nine in the final six minutes of the game ... Beard set a single-season record with 260 field goals made ... Duke's 17 steals were the second most in an East Regional game and the fourth most in any regional ... the Blue Devils held Texas to 16 first half points, which was the second-fewest in an East Regional game.

Gingrich in the Postseason...

Duke's lone senior Krista Gingrich is guiding the Blue Devils through the postseason so far. The only remaining member of the 1999 Final Four squad, Gingrich is averaging 7.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists, while hitting 15 of 31 three-point field goals.

Alana Beard, One of the Hottest Players in the Nation...

Sophomore Alana Beard has registered one of the most impressive seasons in Duke women's basketball history and down the stretch has stepped up her game even more. In the last 10 games, Beard has scored 20 or more points in nine games, averaging 23.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 3.0 steals and 0.9 blocks. She has hit 58 percent of her field goals in the stretch. Beard leads the ACC with 17 games with 20 or more points scored and has scored in double-figures in 21 consecutive games. Of the 21 straight contests, Beard has recorded 20 or more points in 13 of those games.

Beard has now scored 679 points this season, which is the second-highest single-season total in school history. She needs 12 to tie the school record of 691 by Chris Moreland in 1985-86. She is only the third player in Duke history to reach the 600-point mark in a season.

Duke vs. The Field...

The Blue Devils faced eight of the 63 other NCAA tournament teams in the 2002 field during the regular season-- Virginia (won all three meetings), Clemson (won both meetings), North Carolina (won all three contests), Texas Tech (won 85-69 at Duke), Louisiana Tech (won 76-64 in Orlando, Fla.), Liberty (won 95-52 at Duke), Tennessee (lost 89-68 in Atlanta, Ga.) and South Carolina (lost 87-81 in overtime at Duke).

In The East Region...

Duke has been placed in the East Region for the third time in the last four years. The last time the Blue Devils were placed in the East Region with a regional site in the state of North Carolina, Duke advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 1999. The site was Greensboro, N.C., and the Blue Devils picked up victories over top-five teams Old Dominion and Tennessee.

A Free Throw Advantage...

In seven postseason games (ACC & NCAA Tournaments), Duke is averaging 27.1 free throws attempted a game. The Blue Devils have gone to the free throw line 190 times and have hit 144 (.758). Their opponents have only gone to the free throw line 82 times (11.7). In the four NCAA Tournament games, Duke has made 69 free throws to its opponents 21 made. For the season, Duke has hit 158 more free throws than its opponents.

Duke In The First Round...

Dating back to the 1998 season, Duke has outscored its first round opponent by a 32.4 clip. This was reinforced against Norfolk State with a 47-point victory. The Blue Devils have increased their margin of victory each of the last five years (25 vs. Middle Tennessee St., 28 vs. Holy Cross, 29 vs. Campbell, 33 vs. Wisconsin-Green Bay, and 47 vs. Norfolk State).

ACC & The Number One Seeds...

Duke joins Virginia as the only ACC schools to be selected as No. 1 seeds in back-to-back seasons as Virginia was selected in 1990 & 1991.

Winning Streak...

Duke has registered a school record with a 22-game winning streak heading into the Final Four. The previous school record was a 15 in 1998-99 as Duke advanced to the NCAA Final Four for the first time in school history. The Blue Devils have also won 24 games in a row against ACC opponents, which is the longest streak in ACC history (previous was 22 by Virginia in the 1992-93 through 1993-94 seasons).

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Blue Devils Travel To San Antonio For Final Four

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