Blue Devils Return To Action By Hosting Quinnipiac On Sunday

Duke Returns To Action By Hosting Quinnipiac On Sunday...

Coming off a break of seven full days of no games for the Christmas holiday, the sixth-ranked Duke women's basketball team will host Quinnipiac (8-2) on Sunday, Dec. 28 at 2:00 p.m., in Cameron Indoor Stadium. This will mark the first of four out of the next five games that will be played at home for the Blue Devils.

Fans can hear the Blue Devils live on the radio on WDNC AM 620 with Steve Barnes (PXP) and Morgan Patrick (Color) on the air. The contest will feature live video on ACC Select. For more information on ACC Select, head to www.accselect.com.

In the rankings, Duke is listed No. 6 in the Associated Press and No. 11th in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Polls.

MEDIA INFO

What: Quinnipiac at Duke
Date: December 28, 2008
Location: Durham, N.C.
Venue: Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314)
Tipoff: 2:00 p.m. (EDT)
Radio: WDNC AM 620
Radio Talent: Steve Barnes (PxP), Morgan Patrick (Color)
TV: None
TV Talent: None
Online Audio/Video: ACC Select www.accselect.com
Livestats: www.GoDuke.com

Noting Duke...
In two games Joy Cheek has not starting this season (Southern & Siena), she has averaged 13.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals, while hitting 64.7 percent of her field goals ... Cheek has scored double-figures in six straight games off the bench dating back to last season ... Duke holds a 388-190 points in the paint advantage on the year ... so far on the season, senior Chante Black owns 27 blocked shots, which is more than Duke's 10 opponents have accumulated against the Blue Devils (22).

A Look At Quinnipiac...

Quinnipiac enters the contest with an 8-2 overall record and winners of five out of the last six games. The Bobcats are coming off a 77-73 loss on Dec. 21 at Yale.

Erin Kerner (18.8 points, 16 treys), Mandy Pennewell (11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 18 treys) and Brianna Rooney (7.8 points, 4.1 rebounds) have led Quinnipiac on the season.

Head Coach Tricia Fabbri is in her 14th season with the Bobcats and owns an overall record of 185-186.

The Series With Quinnipiac...

Duke and Quinnipiac will meet for the first time in school history.

Duke Versus The Northeast Conference...

The Blue Devils own an all-time overall record of 2-0 against the Northeast Conference -- Wagner (2-0).

Storylines...
? Duke has registered 26 wins out of its last 27 games at home against non-conference foes. Over the last eight years, the Blue Devils have posted a 53-4 overall record against non-conference opponents in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The losses came against Tennessee (2), Connecticut and South Carolina.
? Duke has won 30 straight home games in the month of December. The last loss came on Dec. 20, 1997 against UCLA, 93-83.
? With Duke's win over No. 3 Stanford on Dec. 16, Coach P won her third contest against a top-five ranked team in just her second season with the Blue Devils. McCallie has notched victories against Stanford while the head coach at Maine, Michigan State and Duke.
? In her 17-year coaching career, Joanne P. McCallie has never coached against Quinnipiac.
? The Blue Devils have registered five players in double-figure scoring the past two straight games against Southern California and Siena.

Black Receives ACC Honor...

For the second time this season, Duke's Chante Black has been named Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Week, for the week ending Dec. 21. Black led the eighth-ranked Blue Devils to an upset win over No. 3 Stanford before helping the squad pick up two victories over Southern Cal and Siena.

Black led No. 8 Duke to a home victory over No. 3 Stanford, 56-52, to go along with two wins at the Women of Troy Basketball Classic over Southern California and Siena. The senior from Winston-Salem, N.C., was named Classic MVP after posting 22 points and six rebounds against USC, while notching 12 points and nine rebounds against Siena.

Over the three games during the week, Black averaged 16.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals and hit 58.1 percent of her field goals. She also hit 12-of-15 free throws for an 80.0 percentage. Against Stanford, Black totaled 14 points, six rebounds, two assists, one block and two steals.

Waner Named Lowe's Senior Class Award Candidate...

Duke senior standout Abby Waner has been selected one of 30 candidates for the 2008-09 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, presented annually to an NCAA Division I student-athlete in nine sports.

Based on criteria focusing on the “Four C's” of classroom, character, community and competition, the award winners will be selected by national balloting of head basketball coaches, national media and college basketball fans. Lowe's, an official corporate partner of the NCAA, will present the winners with trophies during the weekend of the NCAA Final Four.

Waner, a native of Highlands Ranch, Colo., has averaged 10.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.5 steals leading eighth-ranked Duke to a 9-1 overall record on the season. The 5-11 senior guard is coming off scoring five straight points to close out regulation at Southern California and send the game into overtime. Waner spearheaded a comeback which saw the Blue Devils trail by 17 points with 11 minutes remaining.

Over her career, Waner has registered 183 three-pointers and 564 three-pointers attempted, which rank second and first, respectively, on Duke's career lists. Her 355 assists is ninth, 255 steals is fourth and her 1,212 points is 19th on the Blue Devil career charts. Waner is a two-time Naismith Candidate for National Player of the Year and two-time All-ACC selection.

A stellar student-athlete, Waner has been named ESPN The Magazine All-District III on two occasions, while also notching All-ACC Academic team and ACC Honor Roll honors.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season and complete college education brings.

From the list of 30 nominees, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in February 2009. Those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote. In addition to voting by Division I head basketball coaches and national media, college basketball fans will also be able to submit ballots by text voting or on-line at www.seniorclassaward.com.

ACC Select To Air Contests...
Duke's next home contest against Quinnipiac will be aired live on ACC Select, which provides audio and video online at www.accselect.com. If you cannot make it to Cameron Indoor Stadium in person then head to the web site to watch the Blue Devils the Bobcats. The Quinnipiac, Temple and Miami home games following the Christmas holiday will also be aired.