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7 p.m.
Women's Basketball
vs Countdown to Craziness
Tuesday, December 18
Durham, N.C.
7:00 p.m.
Duke University
95
vs
61
Utah Valley
Waner's 19 Points, 10 Steals Lead Duke Past Utah Valley, 95-61
12/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Abby Waner wound up in the record book because Duke put the pressure on outmanned Utah Valley.
Waner scored 19 points and tied an Atlantic Coast Conference record with 10 steals in the 14th-ranked Blue Devils' 95-61 rout of Utah Valley on Tuesday night.
"(Coach Joanne P. McCallie) has talked a lot about defense leading into offense," Waner said. "Offensively, I was struggling lately, so my focus turned to defense. I think it picked up a lot tonight."
Reserve Carrem Gay scored a season-high 20 points, Joy Cheek scored 13 of her 15 points during the decisive first half and Chante Black also had 15 points for Duke (8-3).
The Blue Devils forced 39 turnovers, scored 49 points off those miscues and never trailed in cruising to their third straight victory.
"Obviously, Duke has tremendous talent, and if they're more talented than us, maybe that's not our fault, but if they work harder than we do, that's something we have control over," Utah Valley coach Cathy Nixon said.
Waner led the way during Duke's 22-4 run that opened the second half, scoring nine points and capping it with a 3-pointer from the deep left wing that made it 66-32 with about 13 minutes remaining.
Waner, who finished three assists shy of the third triple-double in school history, became the 11th player in ACC history with 10 steals, a feat most recently achieved by Miami's Maurita Reed against Wake Forest in February 2007. She surpassed the school mark of nine steals that was reached by two players, most recently Missy Anderson against Drake in 1992.
"Many times she's synonymous with offense because she's such a terrific shooter, but in this case, 10 steals is a remarkable accomplishment," McCallie said.
The Blue Devils' current winning streak follows an early season three-game slide that was the proud program's worst since 1997.
They got well at undermanned Utah Valley's expense, setting a season-high in scoring, leading by 37 points and meeting little resistance in their 25th straight nonconference victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Robyn Fairbanks scored 17 points on 8-of-23 shooting, and set an arena record with 20 rebounds to lead Utah Valley (9-3). The Wolverines, who didn't start a player taller than 6-foot-1, are in the fifth year of their six-year transition from junior college to Division I.
"Defensively, I thought she was very good against some tough, athletic kids," Nixon said.
Wanisha Smith returned to the starting lineup for Duke and scored three points on 1-of-9 shooting after missing four games with a broken bone in her right (shooting) hand.
"She had some measure of frustration getting her timing, but she gave us excellent leadership," McCallie said.
Players Mentioned
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