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WBB: Game Notes - Duke Faces Murray State In NCAA First Round

Mar 19, 2008

Blue Devils Earn 14th Straight NCAA Tournament Selection; Will Play Murray State...

The ninth-ranked Duke women’s basketball team (23-9, 10-4 ACC) received its 14th straight and 15th overall NCAA Tournament invitation on Monday as the No. 3 seed in the Oklahoma City Region. The Blue Devils will take on Ohio Valley Conference champion 14th-seeded Murray State (24-7, 15-5 OV) on Sunday, March 23 in College Park, Md. The game will be played in the Comcast Center and will be aired live on ESPN2 and ESPNU beginning at 7:00 p.m. Calling the action will be Pam Ward (PxP), Nancy Lieberman (Color) and Holly Rowe (Sideline).

Sunday’s contest can also be heard on the Duke Radio Network on WDNC AM 620 with Steve Barnes (PxP) and Missy Anderson (Color).

The winner of the Duke/Murray State game will advance to the second round to face the winner of the sixth-seeded Arizona State versus 11th-seeded Temple game. The second round contest will be played on Tuesday, March 25 at either 7:00 or 9:30 p.m., in College Park, Md.

NCAA Tournament Tidbits...

• The Basics...Duke is making its 14th consecutive and 15th overall trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils have been seeded No. 3 for the second time in school history and the first since 1999, when Duke advanced to the NCAA Championship game. The Blue Devils have 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 37-14 in NCAA Tournament play and is 38-15 in all postseason action. The Blue Devils have hosted NCAA Tournament games eight times out of 15 appearances.

With Duke being sent away from the Research Triangle Park (RTP) area this year, it marks only the third time over the 15 appearances that the Blue Devils have not played in the RTP. Duke hosted first and second round games in Cameron Indoor Stadium from 1998-2002 and in 2004, played at the RBC Center in Raleigh in 2003 and 2007 and was in Chapel Hill in 2005. The only other times the Blue Devils were sent away was in 1995 to Tuscaloosa, Ala., and in 2006 to Norfolk, Va.

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

• 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 10 consecutive years, advanced to the Elite Eight in seven of the last 10 years and to the Final Four three out of the last six seasons.

Duke advanced to the Elite Eight in 1998, the National Championship game in 1999 and 2006, the Final Four in 2002 and 2003, the Elite Eight in 2004 and 2005 the Sweet 16 in 2000, 2001 and 2007. The Blue Devils own a 29-9 record in their last 38 NCAA Tournament games.

• The Coach...Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie will make her 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, including her sixth straight, while producing a 10-11 record. While at Maine, she totaled a 1-6 record that included an upset victory over seventh-seeded Stanford (60-58) in 1999. Her Maine squad was seeded 10th and then fell to Old Dominion on its home court, 72-62, in the second round.

During her time at Michigan State, McCallie guided the Spartans to a 9-5 mark. She led MSU to five straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament and won at least one game in four consecutive years. In 2005, McCallie’s squad had an incredible run through the tournament knocking off Alcorn State, USC, 18th-ranked Vanderbilt, top-ranked Stanford and third-ranked Tennessee before falling to fifth-ranked Baylor in the national championship game. McCallie was awarded National Coach of the Year for her efforts.

As a player, McCallie led Northwestern to the 1987 NCAA Tournament her senior year. The Wildcats traveled to Louisiana Tech and lost, 82-60, in the first round.

• The Seedings...The last 13 seasons, Duke has been no lower than a No. 5 seed and for the second time in school history, Duke is a No. 3 seed in 2008. The Blue Devils have been seeded no lower than third since 1998. Duke’s six No. 1 seeds in school history rank tied for the fourth-most in NCAA Tournament history. Leading the list is Tennessee (19), followed by Louisiana Tech (10), Connecticut (11), Duke (6) and Stanford (6).

• The Experience...Of the 11 Blue Devils, seven have had NCAA Tournament experience prior to 2007-08. Senior Wanisha Smith appeared on the Elite Eight team in 2005, the 2006 NCAA runner-up squad and last year’s NCAA Sweet 16 team.

Junior Abby Waner played in all six games the 2006 tournament and started all three last year, while junior Carrem Gay saw action in the early rounds in 2006. Last year, Gay started all three games and was the only Blue Devil to score double-figures in all three contests. Both Keturah Jackson and Brittany Mitch sat on the bench in the 2006 NCAA Tournament as the two redshirted. Mitch played in all three games last year, while Jackson played in one. Sophomores Bridgette Mitchell and Joy Cheek each appeared in all three games in 2007.

Noting Duke...

Duke is one of two schools to send both its men’s and women’s programs to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last five seasons (North Carolina) ... the Blue Devils are 18-1 this season when playing Tuesday through Saturday, but are 5-8 when playing on Sunday and Monday ... Chante Black leads Duke with 12 old-fashioned three-point plays ... Duke is 19-1 this season when outrebounding its opponent, while producing a 5-8 mark when being outrebounded ... over the last seven games, Abby Waner has dished out an average of 5.0 assists per game ... freshman Jasmine Thomas is coming off registering 14 of her 16 points in the second half of the ACC Championship game against second-ranked North Carolina ... senior Wanisha Smith matched a career high with 22 points against fourth-ranked Maryland in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.

Playing In the Comcast Center...

Duke will play an NCAA Tournament game in College Park, Md., for the first time in school history. Overall, the Blue Devils own a 12-17 record in games played in College Park, but has totaled a 6-1 mark in the Comcast Center. Duke had won six games in a row until an 85-70 loss earlier this season to Maryland on Jan. 14. Of the 29 games played in College Park, all have come against Maryland except for an ACC Tournament contest in 1980 against North Carolina (83-59 loss).

In four games played at the Comcast Center, senior Wanisha Smith has averaged 12.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists, while hitting 6-of-15 three-pointers for a 40.0 percentage. She has registered double-figure scoring in three of the four contests, while totaling 17 and 15 points, respectively, in the last two games.

Consecutive Appearances...

The Blue Devils are one of only seven teams competing in their 14th straight NCAA Tournament-- Tennessee (27), Stanford (21), UConn (20), Old Dominion (17), Purdue (15), Duke (14) and Georgia (14).

Duke’s 10 consecutive NCAA regional appearances, ranks as the third-longest current streak in the NCAA behind Tennessee (26) and Connecticut (14).

Record In March...

Duke owns a 62-22 record in March since 1992-93. The Blue Devils are 54-14 the last 10 years. Overall in the 33 years of women’s basketball, the Blue Devils are 66-36.

McCallie In Tournament Play...

In her 15 years as a head coach prior to arriving at Duke, Joanne P. McCallie has taken 11 teams to the NCAA Tournament and produced a 10-11 record. While at Maine, she totaled a 1-6 record that included an upset victory over seventh-seeded Stanford (60-58( in 1999. Her Maine squad was seeded 10th and then fell to Old Dominion on its home court, 72-62, in the second round.

During her time at Michigan State, McCallie guided the Spartans to a 9-5 mark. She led MSU to five straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament and won at least one game four consecutive years.

In 2005, McCallie’s squad had an incredible run through the tournament knocking off Alcorn State, USC, 18th-ranked Vanderbilt, top-ranked Stanford and third-ranked Tennessee before falling to fifth-ranked Baylor in the national championship game. McCallie was awarded National Coach of the Year for her efforts.

As a player, McCallie led Northwestern to the 1987 NCAA Tournament her senior year. The Wildcats traveled to Louisiana Tech and lost, 82-60, in the first round.

Duke As A No. 3 Seed...

The Blue Devils are a No. 3 seed for the second time in school history and the first since 1999. Duke owns an all-time record of 5-1 when seeded No. 3 as the Blue Devils advanced to the National Championship game before falling to Purdue.

In her 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie has never been a No. 3 seed in the tournament.

Duke owns an overall 72.5 winning percentage in the tournament, which ranks fourth all-time behind Tennessee (98-19, 83.8%), Connecticut (61-14, 81.3%) and Louisiana Tech (65-23, 73.9%). Duke’s 37 wins also ranks seventh. A No. 3 seed has twice won the NCAA Championship as North Carolina (1994) and Tennessee (1997) each registered titles.

Wins In The NCAA Tournament...

Duke has posted the third-best win total in the last nine years of the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils own 30 victories and rank only behind Connecticut (38) and Tennessee (37).

Duke Versus The Field...

Duke has played 12 of the 64 teams selected to play in the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils posted a 10-8 overall mark with seven of the eight losses coming to No. 1 seeds - North Carolina (3), Maryland (2), Connecticut (1) and Tennessee (1). Duke is the only team in the field that has played all four of the No. 1 seeds.

In dissecting Duke’s 2007-08 schedule, five teams on the Blue Devil slate won their conference tournaments to receive an invitation to the NCAA Tournament -- Purdue (Big Ten), Bucknell (Patriot), Tennessee (Southeastern), Connecticut (Big East) and North Carolina (ACC).

Starting Off The Right Way...

Duke has averaged 81.6 points in its 14 first round NCAA Tournament games, while producing a 14-0 record in those contests. Over the last seven years, the Blue Devils have averaged 88.1 points, including 103 versus Northwestern State in 2004.

A Look At Murray State...

Murray State will be making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament under first year Head Coach Jody Adams. The Racers earned the automatic bid by knocking off Eastern Illinois, 69-58, to claim Murray State’s inaugural Ohio Valley Conference title on March 8. The Racers have been led by Ashley Hayes (18.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, Amber Guffey (18.0 points, 71 treys), Alaina Lee (11.4 points, 3.8 rebounds) and Shaleea Petty (10.2 points, 4.2 assists.).

Murray State is one of the top free throw shooting teams in the nation with an 80.9 percentage, which ranks third. The Racers are also 49th in three-point field goals per game (6.2) and 25th in three-point field goal percentage (36.5).

The Series With Murray State...

This will be the first meeting between Duke and Murray State. Blue Devil Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie has never faced Murray State in her 16 years.

Duke Vs. The Ohio Valley Conference...

Duke owns a 2-1 overall record against teams in the Ohio Valley Conference -- Eastern Kentucky (1-1) and Jacksonville State (1-0).

Storylines/Trends...

• Two Blue Devils grew up in or near Maryland -- Wanisha Smith (Upper Marlboro, Md.) and Brittany Mitch (McLean, Va.). Smith’s family lives about 15 minutes and Mitch’s family grew up about 30 minutes away from College Park, Md., before relocating to Raleigh, N.C. over the summer.

• After hitting 0-of-12 three-pointers at UNC in the regular season finale, Duke hit 14-of-46 three-pointers (30.4%) in the ACC Tournament. Four different Blue Devils nailed at least one three-pointer.

• Chante Black played in her 100th career game on in the ACC Championship against North Carolina.

• The Blue Devils have won seven out of their last 10 games with the losses coming to second-ranked UNC (twice) and fourth-ranked Maryland.

• Senior Wanisha Smith currently has 1,220 career points to rank 17th on Duke’s scoring chart. She needs eight points to move into 16th place and 15 points to move into 15th on the Blue Devil scoring list (Carey Kauffman - 1,228 and Ali Day - 1,235).

• Of Duke’s nine losses on the season, seven came at the hands of top-four ranked teams in the national polls -- No. 2 Connecticut, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 2 North Carolina (twice), 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.

• 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.

• Junior Abby Waner has moved into fourth place on Duke’s all-time three-pointers made list with 164 treys. She needs seven more three-pointers to tie Vicki Krapohl (171) for third. Her 171 three-pointers attempted this season also ranks third on Duke’s single-season list. The record is 191 by Jessica Foley.

• During the last 11 games, six different Blue Devils have led Duke in scoring -- Wanisha Smith, Chante Black, Carrem Gay, Jasmine Thomas, Abby Waner and Joy Cheek.

• Duke has tied a school record with six players with 10 or more blocks this season-- Chante Black (75), Krystal Thomas (35), Jasmine Thomas (30), Carrem Gay (22), Joy Cheek (11) and Keturah Jackson (11).

• In the four ACC regular season 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 116 career starts at Duke, Wanisha Smith ranks fifth on Duke’s list.

• The Blue Devils suffered their ninth loss of the season on March 9 to second-ranked North Carolina, marking the most losses in a season since the 1996-97 campaign.

• Chante Black has registered 20+ scoring in three out of the last six games. Over her career, she has scored 20 or more points on four occasions and all have been this season. She posted 22 points against Virginia on 2/24, 20 versus Virginia Tech on 2/22 and 20 on 3/7 against Florida State. Earlier this year, she totaled a then career-high 21 points at Penn State on Dec. 2.

• 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).

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

• Duke broke a streak of 109 straight games with at least one three-pointer in the regular season finale at North Carolina. The Blue Devils carried over their three-point shooting struggles in the first round of the ACC Tournament against Florida State missing their first seven attempts and finally broke a 19-straight misses streak at the 8:09 mark of the second half against the Seminoles. Abby Waner broke the streak of 19, which included 10 consecutive for herself over the two previous games.

In The Rankings...

Duke is currently ranked No. 9 in the latest Associated Press and No. 10 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll released on Monday. With the ranking in the AP poll, the Blue Devils finished in the top 10 for the 10th straight season.

Defense Guiding Blue Devils...

Duke’s key component in 2007-08 has been its terrific defense as the Blue Devils have held 11 opponents to under 50 points and five under 40 points this season.

In the ACC stats, the Blue Devils rank second in field goal percentage defense (36.3) and third in scoring defense (59.2), while in the NCAA stats Duke ranks 22nd in field goal percentage defense and 59th in scoring defense (59.2).

For the entire season, the Blue Devils have produced a stellar defense that has forced 22.4 turnovers a contest. From late January through early March, Duke forced 10-straight opponents to 20+ turnovers, which was the second-longest streak in school history. Overall, 22 opponents have turned the ball over 20 or more times.

Comeback Crew...

Duke has struggled out of the gate in games all through the season and has had to come from behind in 21 of the 32 contests.

In the 23 wins in 2007-08, the Blue Devils have come from five points or more behind in 11 victories. Duke has even come from seven or more down against six opponents this season -- Maryland (down 10), Rutgers (9), Purdue (9), Clemson (8), Denver (8) and Florida State (7).

Here is a listing of the 21 games this season Duke has trailed early in with the most recent games listed first -- North Carolina (down 24-16, 10:22), Maryland (down 16-6, 13:58), Florida State (down 13-6, 15:51), North Carolina (down 20-8, 12:44), Virginia Tech (down 6-4, 17:27), Maryland (down 15-7, 15:19), Clemson (down 12-4, 15:25), Boston College (down 9-4, 14:38), North Carolina (down 13-6, 16:15), Virginia Tech (down 12-7, 14:39), N.C. State (down 7-2, 16:24), Maryland (down 17-4, 14:21), Houston (down 11-6 at 15:15), Pittsburgh (down 10-4 at 15:46), Rutgers (down 11-2 at 15:32), Penn State (down 17-10 at 12:47), Vanderbilt (down 7-4 at 15:45), Connecticut (down 13-4 at 14:01), Temple (down 10-7 at 11:29), Purdue (down 9-0 at 13:16) and Denver (down 12-4 at 12:41).

Duke Players In The NCAA Tournament...

The Blue Devils return three players from last year who started each of the three NCAA Tournament contests for Duke -- Wanisha Smith, Abby Waner and Carrem Gay.

Gay was the only Blue Devil to register double-figure scoring in all three contests last year as she averaged 11.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals, while hitting 71.4 percent of her field goals. Overall, she has appeared in six career NCAA Tourney games.

Smith has started all 13 NCAA Tournament games she has played in over her career, while averaging 5.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals.

After missing all of last season, Chante Black will return to the lineup in the NCAA Tournament after sitting on the bench last year. In her 10 career appearances, Black has averaged 5.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks.

Waner has averaged 10.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.7 steals in nine career games. She averaged 13.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.3 steals in three games last year.

Point Guard By Committee...

Since losing four-year starting point guard and National Player of the Year Lindsey Harding to graduation last year, the Blue Devils have gone with a point guard by committee in 2007-08. Duke has used five different players at the point this season -- Brittany Mitch, Wanisha Smith, Jasmine Thomas, Abby Waner and Emily Waner.

Of the four remaining guards listed above (Emily will not play in the postseason), none are true point guards and as of late both Thomas and Abby Waner have been playing the bulk of the point slot. Mitch, Smith, Thomas and Abby Waner have totaled 282 assists to 246 turnovers for a 1.2 assist/turnover ratio.

Turning The Cheek...

In the three games of the ACC Tournament, Joy Cheek was huge for the Blue Devils as she averaged 12.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals in three games started. She hit 14-of-25 field goals for a 56.0 percentage and 2-of-4 from downtown. Her 16 points against fourth-ranked Maryland marked the first time this season she has scored double-figures against a ranked opponent. For her efforts, she was named to the second team All-ACC Tournament squad.

As a sophomore, Cheek has expanded her range as she has hit 11-of-26 treys for a 42.3 percentage. She has hit six of her 11 three-pointers in the months of February and March (6-of-12, 50.0%).