Jan. 3, 2008

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Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Chante Black did not miss a shot in scoring 17 points, and No. 12 Duke rolled past North Carolina Central, 82-29, Thursday night.

Black went 7-for-7 from the field and 3-for-3 at the line as Duke (11-3) won its sixth straight overall and its 22nd in a row at home.

Duke's Wanisha Smith had 14 points and seven assists, while Joy Cheek, Abby Waner and reserve Karima Christmas each added 10 points.

Jori Nwachukwu and LaVonna Hailey each scored eight points to lead North Carolina Central (2-15), playing in its first season as a NCAA Division I team.

The Blue Devils were helped by North Carolina Central's 31 turnovers, 21 in the first half, and Duke's 51-26 edge in rebounding. Cheek and Smith each had eight rebounds.

Duke led 36-13 at halftime. North Carolina Central scored the fewest points of any Duke opponent this season.

Black hit five shots from the field and had 11 points in the first half.

After hitting just 15 of 39 shots in the first half, Duke made 19 of its last 36 shots to end up with a 45.3 shooting percentage.

North Carolina Central went scoreless in the last 4:59 of the first half, and Duke closed with a 12-0 run.

Duke used a 30-2 run over a 9:55 span in the second half to blow the game open.

Duke claimed a 4-3 lead in the series with its crosstown non-conference rival.

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THE HERALD-SUN

Devils dominate matchup with the Eagles

By Mike Potter : mpotter@heraldsun.com

Jan 4, 2008

Durham -- It was historic, but it was not competitive.

In stretches, it was pretty entertaining.

But Duke's height and overall talent proved too much for N.C. Central in their women's basketball matchup Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Chante Black led the way with 17 points on a perfect shooting night, leading the Blue Devils in an 82-29 romp over the Eagles.

It was the two Durham universities' first meeting in women's basketball since 1984, the win giving the No. 12 Blue Devils (11-3) a 4-3 advantage in the all-time series.

NCCU, which has taken on a couple of huge challenges against ACC teams in its first season as a member of NCAA Division I, dropped to 2-15 on the season.

Black went 7-for-7 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line in leading five Duke players in double figures. Wanisha Smith added a season-high 14 points with eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals, while Abby Waner, Joy Cheek and Karima Christmas added 10 points apiece.

"It was a good game for us for a lot of reasons," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "I felt like we kept our focus pretty well. ... Offensively we were much better in the second half. We shouldn't have missed 10 or 12 layups, but we definitely did a lot better in the second half.

"I did like Wanisha's game in particular. There's so many things she can do on the floor, and she was able to do them tonight."

Jori Nwachukwu, who played just 22 minutes after injuring her ankle early in the game, and point guard LaVonna Hailey led the Eagles with eight points each. Nwachukwu pulled down seven rebounds.

"We did a good job of accomplishing some of the things we wanted to accomplish," Robinson said. "But one of the things that has hurt us has been turnovers.

"A game like tonight helps [NCCU players] to know what it's like to play on the Division I level."

Duke dominated every statistic, outshooting the Eagles 45.3 to 29.2 percent from the floor. The Blue Devils had 51 rebounds -- 25 of them on the offensive end -- to NCCU's 26, and the Eagles committed 31 turnovers to 15 for Duke.

The 29 points were the lowest allowed by the Blue Devils this season and the lowest score for the Eagles, three less than what NCCU had scored in its 109-32 season-opening loss at UNC.

"We just wanted to pick up our energy and come out with excitement and an attacking mindset," said the 6-5 Black, who towered over the Eagles' best post player, the 5-10 Nwachukwu. "We struggled a lot in the first half with finishing ... I always want to finish and tonight they all fell."

Duke led 36-13 at halftime behind 11 points from Black. The Blue Devils shot 38.5 percent from the floor over the first half to 30.0 for NCCU, and was outrebounding the Eagles 24-13 at the break. And the Eagles committed 21 turnovers in the first period to 11 for Duke.

"I just wanted to play because it's always been a dream to play on Duke's court," Hailey said. "I had to take full advantage of it."

Duke led 4-2 after the Eagles' Latoya Bennett hit a jumper with 16:53 left in the half, then scored the next nine points ending on a Keturah Jackson layup at 13:45.

The Blue Devils were up 17-3 before the Eagles went on a 10-7 run, with Nwachukwu's follow at the 5:00 mark cutting the lead to 24-13.

"My ankle was sore," said Nwachukwu, who had hit the floor with the injury in the opening minute. "But when you work through the game you kind of forget the pain that you're going through."

The Eagles didn't score again in the first half. Duke continued that domination through the first 10 minutes of the second to build a 69-19 lead.

Both coaches seemed to want to make the series an annual event.

"For me, locally, it's important for women's basketball," McCallie said. "I always say that with some hesitation because I don't know what the schedule is in terms of what fits in, but I think it's very important to bring women's basketball to the highest level in this area and to make it be known. I think it can be a good thing for the community so I support it."

Robinson agreed.

"This is a great opportunity for us and North Carolina Central to be able to come over and play in Cameron Indoor Stadium against Duke," the Eagles coach said.

Later she added with a smile, "We'd love to have them come over to our place. We'll work on that."

NOTES -- Attendance was announced at 5,512. ... Duke's next game is on Friday night at Miami. The Blue Devils' next home game is on Jan. 11 against Florida State, and will be shown live on Fox Sports Net. ... NCCU's next game is against High Point, on Saturday at 7. The Eagles then travel to Duquesne on Monday night before returning to McLendon-McDougald Gym on Wednesday at 6:30 against Norfolk State. The Norfolk State contest will be the Eagles' first home game against a Division I team as a member of Division I.