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7 p.m.
Women's Basketball
vs Countdown to Craziness
Friday, November 14
Durham, N.C.
7:00 p.m.
Duke University
77
vs
68
Oklahoma State
Black Leads Duke To 77-68 Win Over Oklahoma State
11/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. ? Oklahoma State's Andrea Riley controlled the game before halftime, but it was Duke's Chante Black who took over in the decisive second half.
Black scored 18 of her career-high 28 points after the break as No. 8 Duke rallied to beat No. 14 Oklahoma State 77-68 on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
Riley scored 20 of her 29 points in helping to give the Cowgirls a 44-35 halftime lead, but the Blue Devils ripped off a 20-0 run early in the second to seize control of the game. Black, who was 13-of-17 from the floor and grabbed 10 rebounds, contributed 10 points, two blocked shots and a behind-the-back assist during the spurt.
"I found my shot and calmed down," said Black, who was 8-of-9 from the floor in the second half. "I felt like in the first half I was rushing a lot against the double teams and triple teams. In the second half, I was able to command the ball more and be more poised."
Carrem Gay added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who won their 18th consecutive home opener. Abby Waner and Jasmine Thomas also scored 10 points.
The difference for Duke after halftime was its rebounding and defense. The Blue Devils beat Oklahoma State 34-20 on the glass in the second half, and they finished the game with a 29-7 advantage on second-chance points.
"I told the girls before the game that the difference in the game was going to be the rebounding," Oklahoma State coach Kurt Budke said. "I thought if we could just be even that we could win the ballgame."
Along with their problems on the glass, the Cowgirls shot 21 percent from the floor in the second half as the Blue Devils used their matchup zone to stop Riley's penetration. Oklahoma State went scoreless for more than 6 minutes as Duke turned a 46-38 deficit into a 58-46 lead with 12:25 remaining.
"We just tried to mix it up a little bit," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "It really didn't matter what we played, as long as we had energy with what we did. Anything we ran in the second half seemed more effective, whether it was man or matchup, because we had a much more aggressive, physical mind-set."
Riley, the Big 12's leading scorer last season, shot just 3-of-16 in the second half. Shaunte' Smith had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Oklahoma State, and Tegan Cunningham added 10 points.
The Cowgirls cut Duke's lead to 65-60 with 4 minutes remaining, but they never got closer.
"We played what I thought was as good as we could play in the first half," Budke said. "Give Duke credit for coming out and playing a strong second half. They changed up their defenses, and we missed some shots."
Players Mentioned
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