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Women?s Basketball Game Notes: vs. Pitt, Dec. 8, 12 PM
12/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Duke Heads To New York For Maggie Dixon Classic...
Coming off a victory against third-ranked Rutgers on Thursday, 15th-ranked Duke will travel to New York, N.Y., to compete in the second annual Maggie Dixon Classic on Saturday, Dec. 8 in Madison Square Garden. The Blue Devils (6-3) will take on Pittsburgh (6-2) at 12:00 p.m., followed by Army versus Rutgers at 2:00 p.m.
The game will be aired live on the Duke Radio Network with Steve Barnes (PxP) and Missy Anderson (Color) calling the action. Due to the conflict with the Duke men's game, the women's basketball radio will be heard live on the internet at www.GoDuke.com.
The Blue Devils are currently ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press and No. 15 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Polls.
A Look At Pittsburgh...
Pitt enters the contest on Saturday with a 6-2 overall record and are winners of three in a row with wins over Harvard, Marshall and Ohio. The Panthers have been led by Shavonte Zellous (17.8 points, 5.3 rebounds), Marcedes Walker (15.0 points, 9.5 rebounds), Xenia Stewart (8.7 points, 4.6 rebounds) and Jania Sims (8.3 points, 3.0 rebounds) so far on the season. Through eight games, Pitt is outrebounding opponents by a 10.1 clip. Head Coach Agnus Berenato is in her 24th year and owns a 354-321 record.
Pitt senior Mallorie Winn played at Georgia Tech before transferring to the Panthers. She faced Duke two times and had her best game on Jan. 8, 2004 in Atlanta, Ga., with nine points, three rebounds and one assist. On Feb. 13, 2003, Winn totaled three points, three rebounds and two turnovers in 22 minutes.
The Series With Pittsburgh...
Duke and Pittsburgh will meet for the second time in school history and the second time in the last two years. The two squads faced off last season in the Caribbean Classic with the Blue Devils taking home the 72-51 victory.
Duke Versus The BIG EAST...
The Blue Devils own a 28-16 record against teams from the BIG EAST-- Cincinnati (0-1), Connecticut (3-4), DePaul (1-1), Georgetown (4-0), Louisville (1-1), Marquette (2-0), Notre Dame (1-4), Providence (1-1), Rutgers (3-2), St. John's (1-0), Seton Hall (4-2), South Florida (2-0), Syracuse (1-0), Villanova (1-0) and West Virginia (2-0).
Duke has already faced three BIG EAST opponents this season -- South Florida, Connecticut and Rutgers. The Blue Devils will face their second straight BIG EAST foe on Saturday.
Smith & Stewart Reunite...
After playing on the same high school squad -- Riverdale Baptist -- for two years, Duke senior Wanisha Smith and Pitt junior Xenia Stewart will square off for the second time in the college ranks this weekend. In last season's contest in Cancun, Mexico, Stewart scored 10 points in the loss, while Smith added 11 points, three assists and four rebounds. Due to injury though, Smith is questionable for the game on Saturday. The teammates led Riverdale Baptist to the National Christian League Championship in 2003 and 2004.
Maggie Dixon Classic...
Duke, Rutgers, Army and Pittsburgh will play in the Maggie Dixon Classic on Saturday, Dec. 8 in Madison Square Garden. It marks the second annual classic as the inaugural Maggie Dixon classic was held at West Point last season - a men's and women's doubleheader. Pitt's men's team beat Western Michigan and Ohio State routed Army. The highlight was a ceremony between games in which Maggie Dixon's parents, sister Julie Dixon-Silva and Jamie Dixon were presented with a ring commemorating the 2005-06 Patriot League championship.
It is the first women's doubleheader at the Madison Square Garden since 1981, when Rutgers, Louisiana Tech, Old Dominion and Cheyney State took part.
Maggie Dixon died April 6, 2006 of arrhythmia, probably caused by an enlarged heart. Her death came three weeks after her first season as a head coach, a performance that won the admiration of the academy and all of college basketball.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to participate in this year's Maggie Dixon Classic,” said Duke Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie. “Maggie set such a high standard in all that she did and we are so pleased to honor her by competing in such a fine event. Women's basketball is greatly enriched by Maggie's legacy and this event allows all the participants to salute a respected and admired colleague.”
A portion of the proceeds from the tournament will go to C.A.R.E. (Cardiac Arrhythmias Research and Education Foundation, Inc.). C.A.R.E. will also offer free heart screening for any child or teenager attending the Classic limited to the first 500 applicants.
Williams Remembers Maggie Dixon...
Blue Devil Assistant Coach Samantha Williams has fond memories of Maggie Dixon as the two were assistant coaches together at DePaul during the 2004-05 campaign and also worked with her at DePaul camps the years before. The Blue Demons had a very successful season in 2004-05 posting a 26-5 overall record and a 13-1 mark in Conference USA finishing first under the direction of Doug Bruno. DePaul advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Liberty, 88-79.
Storylines/Trends...
? Pittsburgh Head Coach Agnus Berenato has lost 22 straight games to the Blue Devils. She had lost 21 consecutive while at Georgia Tech and then fell to Duke last season in her first meeting against Duke as the Pitt coach.
? Junior Abby Waner will return to Madison Square Garden this weekend after spending a few days this August observing the Madison Square Garden television network. She observed two games and in the first she was in the television truck. In the second she was on the court with commentators Jason Horowitz and Mary Murphy.
? The only common opponent Duke and Pittsburgh have had this season is Penn State. The Blue Devils lost 86-84 at the Nittany Lions, while the Panthers also lost at Penn State (80-74).
? Duke has won 19 straight home contests in Cameron Indoor Stadium, including four wins against top-five ranked opponents.
? Over the last eight games, Chante Black is averaging 14.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 2.4 blocks, and 1.3 steals, while hitting 51.1 percent of her field goals.
? Freshman Jasmine Thomas has averaged 11.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.5 blocks over the last six games. She has scored double-figures in four out of the last six contests and is coming off a career-high 17 points at Penn State two games ago. Thomas hit a career-best three treys in the contest. She made her first career start against third-ranked Rutgers.
? A total of eight Blue Devils have hit at least one three-pointer this season with freshman Jasmine Thomas (10), junior Abby Waner (11) and senior Emily Waner (5) leading Duke in the threes made category.
? Over her 16 years as a head coach, Joanne P. McCallie will go up against Pittsburgh for the first time in her career.
? With her six three-pointers made at Penn State, junior Abby Waner moved into seventh place on Duke's all-time career charts with 129. She needs three more to move into a tie for sixth.
? Duke has been outrebounded in four out of the last five games -- the Blue Devils outrebounded Vanderbilt, 39-29, during the stretch.
? Senior Wanisha Smith became the 22nd player in Duke history to register 1,000 career points as she scored a field goal in the first half against second-ranked Connecticut. She now owns 1,001 points in 110 games.
? Duke had its 107th straight week streak of being ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll come to an end on Nov. 26 as the Blue Devils dropped to 11th. On Dec. 3, the Blue Devils dropped out of the top 15 for the first time since Dec. 20, 1999, as Duke was listed at No. 17.
? In nine games this season, Duke has totaled five different Blue Devils lead the team in scoring.
? So far this season, junior Chante Black is getting to the free throw line as she leads the Blue Devils with 33 attempts and 24 made for a 72.7 percentage. She has attempted only four free throws over the last four games.
? Duke has held a 298-176 points in the paint advantage in the nine games this season.
? Junior Abby Waner is 157 points away from reaching 1,000 for her career and would be the 23rd player in school history to reach that mark.
? The Blue Devils had suffered three straight losses for the first time since the 1996-97 season. The Blue Devils had lost three in a row, not including ACC opponents, for the first time since an eighth place finish in the Dial Classic over the 1984 New Year's holiday.
Homecoming For Carrem Gay...
Junior Carrem Gay will return home to New York this weekend as the native of New York, N.Y., will play her first career game in Madison Square Garden. Her parents live approximately 40 minutes from the Garden by railroad and Gay has been there a few times before.
Gay, who attended Christ The King H.S., was New York Miss Basketball as a senior in 2005. She led her squad to an undefeated 27-0 record and No. 1 national ranking her senior year.
Swat Club...
As a team, Duke registered 10 blocked shots on Thursday against third-ranked Rutgers. Leading the Duke charge was junior Chante Black, who finished the game with a career-high six blocks. Black collected three blocks on one possession during the 15-minute mark of the second half as the Blue Devils led by four, 25-21.
Duke's double-figure blocks on the night marked the second time this season the Blue Devils have swatted more than 10 shots as they had 14 versus South Florida on Nov. 15.
Life On The Road...
The Blue Devils concluded a five-game road trip on Sunday at Penn State. During the road swing, Duke played only one of those contests in the eastern time zone and finished with a 2-3 record on the trip.
Duke's 2007-08 schedule is one of, if not the most, demanding schedules Duke has faced over the last number of years with quick turnarounds, travel and tough opponents.
During the five-game road trip, the Blue Devils averaged only 60.8 points, hit 41.3 percent of their field goals, 31.3 percent from downtown, and turned the ball over 18.2 times a contest.
A couple of notes about Duke's schedule-- Duke played only one home game in the month of November for the third time in school history (2002-03 and 1995-96). (Prior to 1995-96, the season started around Thanksgiving so these years do not count); Duke also had only one home game over the first eight contests, which is a school record -- the closest was two home games over the first eight contests in 1979-80.
In Duke's seven games on the road this season, the Blue Devils have amassed 9,656 miles traveled to Denver, Colo., Tampa, Fla., St. Thomas, USVI, Nashville, Tenn., and University Park, Pa. Duke will add another 500 miles to the crazy travel schedule this weekend.
Gay Plays Well Off The Bench...
In two games off the bench this season, junior Carrem Gay has scored 13 and 11 points -- her only two double-figure scoring games. Overall, in the two contests she has not started, Gay has averaged 12.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in 25.5 minutes. She has hit 10-of-20 field goals over the two games.
Gay looked like her normal self on Thursday against third-ranked Rutgers as she posted 11 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks in 27 minutes. She hit several key jump shots in the second half and sank one free throw with 30 seconds remaining to give Duke a 45-44 lead.
A 59.1 percent field goal shooter her first two years, Gay has struggled for most of this season from the field hitting only 40.7 percent of her field goals.
Black Continues To Play Strong...
After missing the entire 2006-07 campaign, junior Chante Black has made her return this season and has been very impressive. On the year, Black is averaging 13.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 2.1 blocks and 1.1 steals per game. The 6-5 center has scored double-figures in each of the last eight games and was named to the Paradise Jam All-Tournament team.
Black has become a go-to player and is showing her improved shooting range this season. She has totaled three double-doubles this year with 16 points and 11 rebounds against South Florida, 10 points and 11 rebounds versus Purdue and 10 points and 10 rebounds at Vanderbilt. Black has hit 34 of her last 58 field goal attempts for a 58.6 percentage.
She is also leading Duke from the charity stripe, hitting a team-best 24-of-34 attempts. Black is also the only Duke player to start all nine games this season.
Foursome At The Point...
Duke has been going with the foursome of senior Emily Waner, redshirt sophomore Brittany Mitch, freshman Jasmine Thomas and junior Abby Waner at the point guard slot this season after losing National Player of the Year Lindsey Harding to graduation last spring.
The foursome has dished out a combined 69 assists, while committing 53 turnovers on the season. Abby Waner leads the point guards with 11 treys, and Thomas owns a team-best 18 steals, while Emily Waner owns a team-best 23 assists on the year.
The last time Duke had such inexperience at the point guard slot was in the 2004-05 season when Harding was suspended and freshman Wanisha Smith was thrust into the role. Duke totaled a 31-5 overall record and Smith averaged 10.9 points, 4.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 32.2 minutes a game.
Starting Rotation...
Duke broke a string of seven different starting lineups to open 2007-08 as the Blue Devils started the same lineup of Chante Black, Abby Waner, Bridgette Mitchell, Carrem Gay and Emily Waner against Vanderbilt and Penn State. The Blue Devils continued with the theme on Thursday against Rutgers with their eighth different starting lineup.
In the different lineups, Duke has featured five players starting their first career games with the Blue Devils. In the season opener, Emily Waner made her first career start, in the USF contest Brittany Mitch and Keturah Jackson made their first starts, against UNC Greensboro Bridgette Mitchell started, versus Temple Joy Cheek made her first career start and against Rutgers freshman Jasmine Thomas started. Of the 12 members of the squad, 10 have started at least one game except for freshmen Krystal Thomas and Karima Christmas. With Duke starting two first timers versus the Bulls, it marked the first time since Nov. 12, 2004 that the Blue Devils have started two or more players for the first time in their career -- Jessica Foley, Caitlin Howe and Chante Black.
All 12 players are seeing action in double-figure minutes this season and five Blue Devils are playing over 20 minutes a game.
Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie has said all along it doesn't matter who starts the game as the lineup at the end of the game is the most important. She is expecting to use many different starting lineups during the season.
Injury Report...
Duke has been hit with the most injuries in recent Blue Devil history with two of Duke's most experienced players -- Abby Waner and Wanisha Smith -- missing a total of seven games.
On Tuesday, Nov. 13, Waner suffered a high left ankle sprain and missed four straight contests before returning against UConn. By missing the South Florida game, Waner broke a streak of playing 70 straight games for the Blue Devils. Her ankle is about full strength heading into the Pittsburgh contest.
Smith suffered an spiral fracture of her fourth metacarpal in her right hand against South Florida and missed the UNCG contest. She broke a streak of 107 straight games played and 55 consecutive starts. Smith returned to the court in the Paradise Jam playing all three contests, but then missed the last three contests to rest her hand. She is questionable for the Pitt contest.
Freshman Krystal Thomas suffered a subluxed left kneecap in the first half at Vanderbilt and did not return. She will miss approximately three more weeks with the injury. Thomas had earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors on Nov. 19.
Redshirt sophomore Brittany Mitch was hit below her right eye early in the second half versus South Florida and received five stitches.
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