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WBB: Duke Head to ACC Tournament As #3 Seed

Mar 5, 2008

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Blue Devils Head To ACC Tournament As The No. 3 Seed...

As the No. 3 seed, the 12th-ranked Duke women’s basketball team (21-8, 10-4 ACC) will travel to Greensboro, N.C., to compete in the ACC Tournament from March 6-9 at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Blue Devils will face the winner of the No. 6 seed Florida State (17-12, 7-7) versus No. 11 seed Wake Forest (15-14, 2-12) contest on Friday, March 7 at 8:00 p.m. Wake Forest and Florida State will face each other at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday. If the Blue Devils win the opening round contest they would next play on Saturday, March 8 at 3:30 p.m., in the semifinals.

The game can be heard on the Duke Radio Network on WDNC AM 620 with Steve Barnes (PxP) and Missy Anderson (Color) calling the action and live on ACC Select at duke.accselect.com. Duke is ranked No. 12 in the Associated Press and No. 11 USA Today/ESPN Coaches Polls.

The Blue Devils In the ACC Tournament...

ACC Tournament time had never been good to Duke until the year 2000 came around. Duke posted its first tournament crown as the Blue Devils downed FSU, Georgia Tech and UNC in 2000 and then won four more titles in 2001, ‘02, ‘03 and ‘04. The Blue Devils are seeded No. 3 for the second time in school history as Duke was also a No. 3 seed in 1986. Duke lost 72-71 to sixth-seeded Wake Forest in the contest that was played in Fayetteville, N.C. No women’s ACC team besides Duke has ever won five consecutive ACC Tournament titles and only one ACC men’s team has won five in a row-- Duke from 1999-2003.

Duke has posted a 2-1 record in its history of the ACC Tournament against No. 6 seeds and has never faced a No. 11 seed.

Duke Playing in Greensboro...

With the ACC Tournament moving to Greensboro in 2000, Duke’s luck in the postseason changed greatly as the Blue Devils won 17 consecutive games to claim the ACC Tournament crowns from 2000-04 before losing to North Carolina in the championship in 2005. Duke has recorded a 21-4 ledger playing at the Greensboro Coliseum. It has been nicknamed Duke’s “Home Away From Home.”

The first two victories came in 1999 in the NCAA East Regional against Old Dominion and Tennessee. The victories advanced Duke to its first NCAA Final Four and National Championship game appearance. In ACC Tournament games, the Blue Devils have posted a 19-3 overall record in Greensboro.

McCallie In Tournament Play...

In her 15 years as a head coach prior to arriving at Duke, Joanne P. McCallie has produced a 24-9 record in league tournament action. She totaled an 8-1 mark in the North Atlantic Conference Tournament with two titles, a 10-2 record along with two titles in the America East Tournament and a 6-6 mark with one title in the Big Ten Tournament.

A Look At Wake Forest...

Wake Forest enters the weekend with a 15-14 overall and 2-12 league mark. On the season, WFU has been led by Corinne Groves (11.4 points, 7.4 rebounds), Alex Tchangoue (11.4 points, 6.8 rebounds), Christen Brown (6.6 points, 43 treys) and Camille Collier (8.2 points, 36 treys). Since the Blue Devils downed the Demon Deacons on Feb. 10, 71-36, Wake Forest has played only three games against N.C. State, Miami and Virginia Tech.

The Series With Wake Forest...

Duke leads the overall series 49-18 against the Demon Deacons. The Blue Devils have won the past 31 games in a row dating back to the 1993-94 season. In games played in the ACC Tournament, Duke owns a 6-2 record against the Demon Deacons. The last loss against Wake Forest came on March 5, 1993 in the ACC Tournament (70-69).

Blue Devil Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie has faced Wake Forest two times over her 16-year coaching career. The only other meetings came on Dec. 29, 1996 in the Big 4 Classic in Greensboro, N.C., as her Maine squad fell, 69-62, and earlier this season at Duke with a 71-36 victory.

A Look At Florida State...

Florida State enters the postseason with a 17-12 overall and 7-7 league mark, while coming off falling to Clemson in the regular season finale, 72-70. The Seminoles are led by Tanae Davis-Cain (14.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 38 treys), Mara Freshour (12.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 55 treys), Jacinta Monroe (10.4 points, 6.0 rebounds) and Shante Williams (10.0 points, 108 assists).

The Series With Florida State...

Duke and Florida State have met 34 times in school history with the Blue Devils leading the overall series, 27-7. Winner of 11 out of the last 12 games in the series, Duke has also won 26 out of the last 28 contests against the Seminoles.

In the ACC Tournament, Duke owns a 4-0 mark against Florida State with the Blue Devils registering victories in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002. In those four meetings, the Blue Devils registered a 23.0 average margin of victory.

Blue Devil Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie has faced Florida State one time in her 16-year coaching career as she guided Duke to a 70-38 victory earlier this season.

Storylines/Trends...

• Duke has won 13 straight opening round games in the ACC Tournament and has advanced to at least the semifinals every year since 1995. The Blue Devils have won 19 out of the last 22 contests in the ACC Tournament. • The Blue Devils have won five ACC Championships over the last eight years and have advanced to the ACC title game a total of eight times. Duke has a record of 8-5 in the semifinals and 5-3 in championship games. In each of the last two years, the Blue Devils have fallen in the semifinals to Maryland and N.C. State, respectively.

• Duke broke a streak of 109 straight games with at least one three-pointer in the regular season finale at North Carolina. In the contest, the Blue Devils hit 0-of-12 treys.

• Of Duke’s eight losses on the season, six came at the hands of top-four ranked teams in the national polls -- No. 2 Connecticut, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 2 North Carolina, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Maryland (twice). The Blue Devils have not lost to a team not ranked in the top four since a Dec. 2 loss at Penn State.

• Over the last five games, Chante Black has averaged 16.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, 1.8 steals and 1.2 assists. During that span, Black has hit 54.9 percent from the field.

• Duke has kicked off games with 11 different starting lineups this season. Of the 11 student-athletes on the roster, nine have started at least one game.

• Over the last 10 games, Duke has forced an average of 23.4 turnovers a game and picked up an average of 13.8 steals a contest.

• Over the last seven games, sophomore Joy Cheek has started three games and come off the bench in the four others. Off the bench, Cheek averaged 12.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals, while hitting 57.6 percent of her field goals. In the last three starts, Cheek has averaged 7.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals, while hitting 42.9 percent of her field goals. On the season, Cheek has hit 8-of-9 three-pointers at home in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

• Duke has tied a school record with six players with 10 or more blocks this season-- Chante Black (72), Krystal Thomas (32), Jasmine Thomas (27), Carrem Gay (21), Joy Cheek (11) and Keturah Jackson (11).

• Junior Abby Waner has moved into fourth place on Duke’s all-time three-pointers made list with 161 treys. She needs 10 more three-pointers to tie Vicki Krapohl (171) for third. Her 153 three-pointers attempted this season also ranks tied for seventh on Duke’s single-season list.

• During the last eight games, five different Blue Devils have led Duke in scoring -- Wanisha Smith, Chante Black, Carrem Gay, Abby Waner and Joy Cheek.

• In 13 home games this season, Duke set a new single-season attendance record averaging 6, 764 fans per game. The previous record was in 2003-04 when the Blue Devils averaged 6,237. Duke has averaged over 6,000 fans in three years with the other coming in 2005-06 (6,073).

• Freshman Jasmine Thomas provided a huge lift off the bench in the final home game against Virginia as she posted 12 points, five assists, three steals and three rebounds in 30 minutes. She hit 6-of-10 field goals and made some big defensive stops in the second half as the Blue Devils came back from a nine-point deficit. Thomas had hit 7-of-39 from the field over the last five games prior to the Virginia contest.

• In the four ACC losses, Duke fell to four top-four ranked teams in the nation. Duke allowed an average of 84.0 points, and let opponents hit 46.4 percent from the field and 45.6 percent from three-point land. The Blue Devils were outrebounded by a 6.5 margin in those contests and averaged 66.5 points per game. In the 10 ACC wins, Duke held opponents to 52.5 points per game, while holding the foes to a 33.6 field goal percentage and 27.2 three-point field goal percentage. The Blue Devils also held a 12.0 advantage on the boards.

• With her 113 career starts at Duke, Wanisha Smith ranks sixth on Duke’s list.

• The Blue Devils suffered their eighth loss of the season on March 2 to North Carolina, marking the most losses in a season since the 1997-98 campaign.

• Duke’s bench has outscored its opponents by a 755-386 margin and has outscored the opponents’ bench in all but six contests this season.

• Duke has held a 1129-660 points in the paint advantage in the 29 games this season.

• The Blue Devils have been selected as a host site for the 2010 NCAA Tournament first and second rounds.

Duke Players In The ACC Tournament...

A total of eight current Blue Devils have seen minutes in ACC Tournament play, while three have started at least one contest in tournament action. Wanisha Smith, Carrem Gay and Abby Waner have all started a combined 11 contests.

Waner has averaged 13.5 points, 3.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals in four contests, while being named to the All-ACC Tournament first team in 2007. In two games last year, Waner averaged 20.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists. She hit 11-of-18 three-pointers against Virginia and N.C. State. Her 13 three-pointers made is six shy of matching Duke’s ACC Tournament record 19 treys by Hilary Howard.

Smith scored double-figures in her first three ACC Tournament contests as a freshman and since then has not scored more than nine points. She has averaged 9.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steals in seven games.

Joy Cheek came off the bench last year to collect 10 points and six rebounds against Virginia and eight points and five rebounds versus N.C. State.

Chante Black came off the bench to register double-doubles in her first two ACC Tournament contests. In five career games in the tournament, Black has averaged 7.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots.

Defense Guiding Blue Devils...

At the end of the regular season, Duke ranked third in the ACC and 42nd nationally with a 57.9 scoring defense and second in the ACC and 19th nationally in field goal percentage defense (36.0). For the entire season, the Blue Devils have produced a stellar defense that has forced 22.9 turnovers a contest.

Duke forced 26 North Carolina turnovers last Sunday marking the 23rd time this season a Blue Devil opponent has turned the ball over 20 or more times. Duke has forced 20+ turnovers in 10 straight games, which is the second-longest streak in school history. The longest is 11 consecutive games in 2005-06.