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No. 6 Duke Closes Regular Season at UNC on Sunday
#6/6 Duke (24-4, 12-1 ACC) at North Carolina (17-10, 5-8 ACC)
Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010 at 3:00 PM (FSN)
Chapel Hill, N.C. • Carmichael Arena (8,010)
Media Information
Tip-off: 3:00 PM
TV: Fox Sports Net (Mike Hogewood-PXP, Debbie Antonelli-Color)
Radio: Duke ISP Network - 620 The Buzz with Steve Barnes (PBP), Morgan Patrick (Color)
Online Radio: www.GoDuke.com
Twitter: DukeWBBSID & CoachPDuke
Facebook: Official Duke Women's Basketball Group
Rankings: Duke (No. 6 - AP, No. 6 - ESPN/USA Today)
Series: UNC leads 45-32
Head Coaches: Duke: Joanne P. McCallie (392-168, 18th Season)
North Carolina: Sylvia Hatchell (829-292, 35th Season)
Next up for Duke: ACC Tournament First Round on Friday, March 5
No. 6 Duke Closes Regular Season on the Road at North Carolina on Sunday...
Coming off clinching the ACC Regular Season title on Friday against 21st-ranked Virginia, the sixth-ranked Duke women's basketball team (24-4, 12-1 ACC) will play its second game in under 48 hours on Sunday, Feb. 28 at North Carolina (17-10, 5-8 ACC). The contest will be played at Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The game will be televised live nationally on Fox Sports Net with Mike Hogewood (PXP) and Debbie Antonelli (Color) calling the action. 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) on the air. The radio is also available online at www.GoDuke.com. Duke is currently ranked No. 6 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Division I Coaches Poll.
The title for the Blue Devils was the first ACC Regular Season title under Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie and the ninth in school history.
Duke, who will be the No. 1 seed, will open the ACC Tournament on Friday, March 5 in the quarterfinal round against the winner of the No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed contest. The Blue Devils will be seen on RSN-TV at 3:00 p.m.
The Blue Devils are playing their second straight weekend of a game on Friday and Sunday, while looking to close out the tough two-week stretch with a 4-0 record.
Noting Duke...
Three of the four Duke losses have come on the road this season as the Blue Devils have notched an 8-3 mark in true road contests ... Duke has notched a 133-10 record at Cameron the last 10 years ... during the first 11 games of 2009, Duke only took five charges, but over the last 17 contests the players have taken 21 (Shay Selby - 6, Allison Vernerey - 5, Karima Christmas - 5) ... the Blue Devils are the only team in the ACC to have beaten a ranked non-conference opponent this season (No. 3 OSU and No. 25 JMU) ... the Blue Devils hold a 1008-508 points in the paint advantage on the year ... Duke has been listed in the top 25 of the AP poll for 202 straight weeks, which is the longest current streak in the ACC and third nationally.
A Look At North Carolina...
North Carolina enters the contest on Sunday with a record of 17-10 overall and 5-8 league mark on the year. The Tar Heels are 13-3 overall at home and 3-3 in league action in home contests under Head Coach Sylvia Hatchell. UNC has been led by Italee Lucas (15.8 points, 51 treys), Cetera DeGraffenreid (13.8 points, 3.9 rebounds) and Chay Shegog (8.1 points, 5.8 rebounds).
The Tar Heels have lost six out of the last eight games and two in a row.
The Series With North Carolina...
The Blue Devils and Tar Heels will meet for the 78th time on Sunday with North Carolina leading the overall series 45-32. Duke has won 19 of the last 29 games.
As of late, it has been a series of streaks since 2000 -- Duke won 12 in a row, UNC won five in a row, Duke won two in a row and UNC won four in a row before the Blue Devils won the last two meetings. In games played in Chapel Hill, N.C., the Blue Devils own a 9-24 overall record and have won only one out of the last five contests at UNC.
Blue Devil Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie will face North Carolina for the ninth time over her 18 years as a head coach. McCallie has a 2-6 record against the Tar Heels. She lost two of those contests while as head coach at Maine. McCallie's squad faced North Carolina in the 2000 NCAA Tournament in Santa Barbara, Calif., and fell 62-57 on March 18. The Black Bears also lost, 68-52, on Dec. 28, 1996 on a neutral site. Since joining the Blue Devils, McCallie has notched a 2-4 mark.
Storylines/Other Blue Devil Notes...
- When Duke is the higher-ranked team in the series with UNC, the Blue Devils own a 19-9 record. UNC owns a 19-5 record when it is ranked higher. The higher ranked team has won 38 of 52 games.
- Junior Jasmine Thomas will go up against her former AAU teammate, Chay Shegog. Thomas is from Fairfax, Va., while Shegog is out of Stafford, Va., and they played for the Fairfax Stars.
- Over the last two games, Duke has hit 14 three-pointers (14-of-32 for a 43.8 percentage). In the previous four contests, the Blue Devils had hit a total of 14 treys.
- With one more victory, Duke will register 25 or more wins for the 12th straight season.
- The two top shot-blocking teams in the conference will square off on Sunday in Chapel Hill as North Carolina is first with 5.7 swats a contest, while Duke is second with 5.4.
- Over the last four games, Karima Christmas has averaged 14.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.3 steals, 2.0 assists and 1.0 blocks. She has notched double-digit scoring in three out of the last four contests. Christmas had a career-high 25 points and a career-high four three-pointers made against Maryland on Feb. 21. Christmas had hit only two treys the last 12 games prior to the Terrapin contest.
- After not scoring more than 10 points over the last 11 games, senior Joy Cheek has notched 17 points and 13 points, respectively, in the last two contests. She has hit 5-of-7 treys the last three games and had hit only two from downtown the last 10 contests. Cheek has hit 20-of-38 field goals the last four games (52.6%). During the last two games, Cheek has averaged 15.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks, while hitting 11-of-21 field goals.
- Krystal Thomas has come up big for the Blue Devils over the last three games during the second half of action. She has averaged 9.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and hit 10-of-15 field goals for a 66.7 percentage in the second half against Georgia Tech, Maryland and Virginia. Thomas did not score in the first half against all three teams and scored all 27 points in the second stanza.
- Six different Blue Devils have registered 20+ points in a game this season, which leads the ACC. Allison Vernerey, Jasmine Thomas, Krystal Thomas, Bridgette Mitchell, Joy Cheek and Bridgette Mitchell have all scored 20 or more points this year in a game. Both Georgia Tech and Maryland are second with five different players.
- Junior Jasmine Thomas moved into a tie for 10th place on Duke's all-time steals list with 180 for her career, while Keturah Jackson is five away from 10th place as well.
- Over her first three years at Duke, senior Bridgette Mitchell registered eight double-figure scoring games, while this year the 6'0 wing has collected 10 games with double-digit scoring.
- Sophomore guard Chelsea Hopkins has missed the last three contests with soreness in her left knee. She is listed as day-to-day.
- In her three years at Duke, junior Jasmine Thomas has increased her field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, free throw percentage and scoring each year.
- Senior Keturah Jackson has a career high with eight three-pointers made in a single season. Over her four years, she has hit 12 treys and had drained only five her first three years. 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.
- Duke has moved into the fifth slot in the latest RPI by Jeff Sagarin -- Connecticut (108.05), Stanford (101.56), Nebraska (100.22), Tennessee (98.08), Duke (94.78) and Notre Dame (94.77). The next closest ACC school is Florida State at No. 12 (90.34).
- Junior Krystal Thomas has moved into eighth place on Duke's all-time blocked shots list with 121. She is nine blocked shots shy of seventh place all-time on the Blue Devil charts.
- To show how tough Duke's schedule has been this year, the Blue Devils went up against eight undefeated teams this season -- Connecticut (17-0), 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).
- The final Coach P Radio Show of 2009-10 will take place on Tuesday, March 16 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...
Duke dominated nearly every stat category during a 79-51 rout of No. 18 North Carolina on Feb. 8, 2010. While six players scored in double figures, the usual stars took a back seat to some unfamiliar faces.
Bridgette Mitchell and Keturah Jackson scored 12 points apiece, Krystal Thomas had 11 and three players each added 10 for the first-place Blue Devils (19-4, 7-1). They never trailed and built a 52-28 rebounding advantage - 35-12 in the second half - to avoid their first ACC losing streak in a decade.
She'la White and Laura Broomfield had 10 points each to lead the slumping Tar Heels (16-6, 4-4) -- they had 25 turnovers, shot 24 percent in the second half and managed just two field goals over a stretch of roughly 11 minutes in which this one got out of hand.
When North Carolina pulled to 11 midway through the second half and threatened to make things competitive down the stretch, Duke responded with an overwhelming run.
Jackson hit a three with less than 12 minutes left and Krystal Thomas had baskets on consecutive trips downcourt to start the late 27-8 run that pushed the Blue Devils' lead to 30. Mitchell's free throw with 5:39 remaining made it 67-47, and Kathleen Scheer's layup with 27 seconds left made it 79-49.
Allison Vernerey, Shay Selby and Jasmine Thomas had 10 points apiece for the Blue Devils.
Duke Players Vs. North Carolina...
Over the last two games, senior Bridgette Mitchell has averaged 12.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 assists against UNC. She has notched 12 points and 13 points the last two contests, while hitting 10-of-19 field goals.
Senior Joy Cheek has never scored double-figure points against UNC over her four years, but has one double-digit rebounding game, which came as a freshman. She has averaged 6.3 points and 5.8 rebounds in eight games.
Jasmine Thomas has registered 10 or more points the last four games against the Tar Heels. In those four games, she has averaged 13.8 points, 2.0 steals, 2.8 assists and 4.0 rebounds.
Freshman Allison Vernerey made her first career start against UNC in the last meeting and notched 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks in 28 minutes. Sophomore Shay Selby added 10 points in the last meeting as she hit two treys in 10 minutes.
Carlyle Cup Update...
Duke and North Carolina will meet on Sunday for one point in the Carlyle Cup, which is a year-long competition between the Blue Devils and Tar Heels and is sponsored by Carlyle & Co. Currently, UNC leads 9.0-5.5.
Blue Devils Clinch the ACC Regular Season Crown...
With its victory on Friday against Virginia, Duke claimed its ninth ACC Regular Season title in school history and the first under the direction of Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie.
Duke has registered ACC Regular Season titles in 2009-10, 2006-07, 2004-05, 2003-04, 2002-03, 2001-02, 2000-01, 1998-99 and 1997-98.
Coach P has now collected seven conference regular season titles over her career -- one at Duke (2009-10), five at Maine (1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99) and one at Michigan State (2004-05).
Thomas Heating Up Again...
In three out of the last four games, junior Jasmine Thomas has registered 20 or more points scored. During that four-game stretch, she has average 17.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.8 steals.
With two more assists, Thomas will become just the 10th player in Duke history to register 1,000 career points and 300 assists. She currently owns 1,028 points and 298 assists.
