Duke Knocks Off USC, 97-89, In Overtime

Friday, December 19

Los Angeles

11:00 p.m.

Duke University

USC

Duke Knocks Off USC, 97-89, In Overtime

12/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

By: Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Down 12 points, then 17, then 13. No deficit proved too big for No. 8 Duke.

Abby Waner hit a tying jumper with three seconds remaining in regulation, then the Blue Devils finally got some breathing room in overtime and beat Southern California 97-89 on Friday night, extending their six-game winning streak.

Jasmine Thomas and Chante Black scored 22 points each, and Carrem Gay had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils (8-1), coming off a 56-52 victory over No. 3 Stanford. Shay Selby added 11 points and Waner finished with 10.

"I don't think we ever want to be in these positions, but if we are, you want to know how to get out of them," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "There were so many people who stepped up. We played really tough basketball in a very tough environment. I liked our poise and our resilience."

Freshman reserve Ashley Corral had 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Brynn Cameron also had 16 points for the Trojans (5-4), who have yet to beat Duke in three meetings.

"It's frustrating when you're that close to a team like Duke," Cameron said.

Waner's jumper tied the game at 82 after her three-pointer got the Blue Devils within one. In overtime, Duke ran off nine in a row to take the lead for good. Black had five of those points after scoring just three in the second half.

"That was a tough, grind-it-out game," Thomas said. "They played great."

The Trojans struggled with missed shots and turnovers when they tried to rally. Cameron scored five in a row to get them to 93-89 with 1:08 left before Duke hit free throws to finish it off.

"They played really, really hard. They know we could have won the game," USC coach Mark Trakh said. "We just build on this and say we played them tough down the stretch."

The Trojans came undone after leading by 13 points with 4:36 remaining in regulation. They were outscored 20-5 over the final three minutes, with Waner scoring nine points. USC was just 3-of-8 from the line down the stretch.

Camile LeNoir was fouled in the corner with 15 seconds left. She made the first, but missed the second, then Waner hit a jumper to tie the game at 82 with three seconds remaining.

After a timeout, Hailey Dunham's inbounds heave was intercepted at midcourt by Gay, who missed a three-pointer to force overtime.

USC opened the second half strongly and built a 17-point lead on a 25-7 run. The Trojans hit four three-pointers, including two by Cameron, and went up 66-49 with 11:14 remaining.

The Blue Devils managed just one field goal ? a three-pointer by Shay Selby ? during USC's run. But they chipped away and cut their deficit to 69-64 with 7:11 remaining. Thomas' fast-break layup off Cameron's turnover capped a 15-3 run that included 11 in a row.

Duke dominated the boards, 50-37, and had 10 steals in a sloppy game where the teams combined for 54 turnovers.

The Trojans blew a 12-point lead in the first half and went into the break tied at 41. Selby hit a three-pointer and a jumper that tied it up for the Blue Devils.

Duke got back into the game with a 23-11 run to end the half, including 12 in a row just after the Trojans had built their double-digit lead. Gay, Thomas and Keturah Jackson had four points each in the spurt.