Foley, Black Lead Duke Past St. John's, 105-57, In Surf'N Slam Classic

Wednesday, December 28

San Diego

11 p.m.

Duke University

105

St. John's

Foley, Black Lead Duke Past St. John's, 105-57, In Surf'N Slam Classic

12/29/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

By: Duke Sports Information

SAN DIEGO, CALIF.-- (AP) When St. John's tried to take away Duke's inside game, the second-ranked Blue Devils' focused on their outside shooting.

Jessica Foley scored a season-high 14 points, hitting four of Duke's school record-tying 13 3-pointers, in a 102-57 rout of the Red Storm on Wednesday night in the opening round of the Surf and Slam Hoop Classic.

``They decided to try and take away our inside game and played a zone, particularly in the first half, and that left our shooters wide open,'' Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. ``Then in the second half we got our inside game going.''

Chante Black tied a career high with 16 points and eight rebounds for Duke (10-0), which will face San Diego in the championship game Friday night. Monique Currie had 15 points, Mistie Williams and Laura Kurz added 13 apiece and Alison Bales 11.

``They are terrific,'' St. John's coach Kim Barnes Arico said. ``They have an outstanding team. They have no weaknesses, they have great inside people and great guards. They have a fabulous team and a chance to win the national championship.''

The Blue Devils raced out to a 17-2 lead in the first 7 minutes, and shot 57 percent from the field - including 13-for-23 on 3-pointers. The last time Duke made 13 3s was Jan. 17 against Georgia Tech.

``We feel like we have a really deep team,'' Goestenkors said. ``Every game everybody that can play usually gets an opportunity to play. I think we came ready mentally and physically to and getting out to that quick lead (17-2) kind of set the tone.''

Angela Clark led St. John's (9-2) with 17 points.

The Blue Devils came into the game leading the country in seven categories, including scoring offense (95.1), scoring margin (44.4) and field-goal percentage (54.4). They have scored 100 or more points in five games this season.

The Blue Devils shot 6-for-12 on 3s in the first 20 minutes, and centers Bales and Black combined for 19 of their total 27 points in the paint in the second half.

``I had some goals before the game like making multiple moves and just finishing shots and they started to fall for me in the second half,'' said Black, who was 7-for-12 from the floor.

St. John's and Montana State (0-10) will meet in the consolation game on Friday.