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Women's Basketball Closes Out 2008 With Road Game At Providence
12/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Duke Closes Out 2008 With Road Game At Providence...
The sixth-ranked Duke women's basketball team (10-1) will close out 2008 with a road contest at Providence (6-5) as the Blue Devils will travel to Providence, R.I., on Wednesday, Dec. 31 for a 2:00 p.m. contest. The game will be played at the Alumni Hall/Mullaney Gymnasium.
Fans can hear the Blue Devils live on the internet at www.GoDuke.com with Steve Barnes (PXP) and Morgan Patrick (Color) calling the action.
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: Duke at Providence
Date: December 31, 2008
Location: Providence, R.I.
Venue: Alumni Hall/Mullaney Gymnasium (2,620)
Tipoff: 2:00 p.m.
Radio: Internet Only (GoDuke.com)
Radio Talent: Steve Barnes (PxP), Morgan Patrick (Color)
TV: None
TV Talent: None
Online Audio/Video: None
Livestats: www.GoDuke.com
Noting Duke...
In 11 games, six different Blue Devils have led Duke in scoring ... Duke is riding an eight-game winning streak ... Duke will return home for three straight home contests against Temple, Miami and Maryland following the Providence game ... Karima Christmas has hit four out of her last five three-point field goal attempts ... the Blue Devils notched a season-high 11 blocks and 25 steals in the last game against Quinnipiac ... Duke holds a 430-204 points in the paint advantage on the year ... so far on the season, senior Chante Black owns 30 blocked shots, which is more than Duke's 10 opponents have accumulated against the Blue Devils (24).
A Look At Providence...
Heading into Wednesday's contest, Providence owns a 6-5 overall record and has won four out of its last five games. Leading the Friars has been Mi-Khinda Hankins (11.9 points, 5.6 rebounds), Chels Marandola (11.2 points, 5.2 rebounds), Emil Cournoyer (10.1 points, 5.5 rebounds). Head Coach Phil Seymore is in his fourth season with Providence and owns a 39-57 overall record.
The Series With Providence...
Duke and Providence will meet for the third time in school history, but the first time since 1987. The Blue Devils earned an 87-75 win over the Friars on Dec. 6, 1987 in Providence, R.I. On Dec. 29, 1983, Duke fell to Providence in the Dial Classic played in Miami, Fla., 65-64.
Duke Versus The BIG EAST Conference...
The Blue Devils own a 29-16 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), Pittsburgh (1-0), 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).
Storylines...
? Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie will head near her home of Brunswick, Maine for the game against Providence as many family members and friends will be in attendance at the contest. It is approximately an hour and a 45 minute drive to Providence for the McCallie clan.
? Duke and Providence own two common opponents -- Hartford and Quinnipiac. The Friars lost to both Hartford (69-50) and Quinnipiac (78-69), while the Blue Devils lost to Hartford (53-51) and knocked off Quinnipiac (78-50).
? In her 17-year coaching career, Joanne P. McCallie has posted a 2-0 record against Providence. Coach P notched a 73-54 win at the Friars on Dec. 20, 2002 and totaled a 64-47 victory at home on Dec. 21, 2001. Both games were while she was the head coach at Michigan State.
? Blue Devil junior Bridgette Mitchell played against Friar senior Shantee Darrian as they attended rival high schools. Mitchell attended The Peddie School, while Darrian attended The Hun School. Both are from Trenton, N.J.
? Duke has registered 27 wins out of its last 28 games at home against non-conference foes. Over the last eight years, the Blue Devils have posted a 54-4 overall record against non-conference opponents in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The losses came against Tennessee (2), Connecticut and South Carolina.
? Duke has won 31 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.
? The Blue Devils registered five players in double-figure scoring in two straight games against Southern California and Siena prior to the Christmas holiday.
Defense Leading Duke...
The Duke defense has been stellar to open the season as the Blue Devils are holding opponents to 32.3 percent shooting, which ranks first in the ACC and fourth nationally.
Since Coach P arrived at Duke, it's defense has held 15 opponents to under 30.0 percent shooting and 35 opponents to under 40.0 percent shooting out of 46 games. Overall, the Blue Devils are 14-1 when holding opponents to under 30.0 percent, 19-3 when holding opponents under 40.0 percent shooting and is 4-7 when an opponent shoots over 40.0 percent since Coach P has arrived.
So far this season, Duke's defense has held its opponents to 22 points or fewer in the first half in seven of the 11 contests. The Blue Devil defense has also forced 23 or more turnovers by their opponents in nine out of the last 10 games. Duke has also held nine out of 11 teams under 56 points.
Duke's defense has forced two straight and a total of three teams to 30 or more turnovers this season. Last year in Coach P's first year with the Blue Devils, three opponents turned the ball over 30 or more times. Over the last nine years, the 2000-01 and the 2002-03 teams each forced five opponents to 30 or more turnovers.
Mitchell Stepping Up...
Junior Bridgette Mitchell has stepped up her play over the last two games as she has scored 12 points and 14 points, respectively. Those are the only two times this season Mitchell has registered double-digit scoring.
Over the last two games, Mitchell has hit 71.4 percent of her field goals (10-of-14), while averaging 13.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and has hit her only three-point field goal attempt.
Hopkins Returns; Other Freshmen Miss Game...
Blue Devil freshman Chelsea Hopkins made her return to the lineup on Sunday versus Quinnipiac as she played 11 minutes off the bench.
Hopkins was injured in the second half of the Western Kentucky game on Nov. 28 with a lateral meniscus injury. She had surgery on Thursday, Dec. 4 by Dr. Alison Toth and missed five games.
Duke's other two freshmen -- Shay Selby and Kathleen Scheer -- both missed the Quinnipiac game due to an illness. Selby returned to practice on Monday, but Scheer missed it.
Black Has Huge Game...
Senior Chante Black had a very impressive game against Quinnipiac on Sunday as she notched 17 points, 12 rebounds, eight steals, three blocked shots and one assist in 31 minutes. The eight steals were a new career high.
Over the last three games, Black has averaged 17.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.3 blocked shots. During that streak she has hit 59.5 percent of her field goals.
Black became only the seventh player in Duke history to reach the 800-rebound mark in the last game against Quinnipiac. She now ranks fifth on the Blue Devil career charts with 807.
In Elite Company...
Senior Chante Black became the sixth player in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) history to register over 1,000 points, 800 rebounds and 200 blocked shots in the last game against Quinnipiac. Other ACC players to register the feat are Alison Bales (Duke), DeMaya Walker (UVA), Dawn Royster (UNC), Peggy Capel (CU) and Dolores Bootz (GT). Black currently owns 1,149 points, 807 rebounds and 222 blocked shots.
Senior Abby Waner needs only 13 rebounds and five steals to become the 12th player in ACC history to notch over 1,000 points, 400 rebounds, 250 assists and 265 steals. Only Duke's Alana Beard has ever totaled these numbers. Waner currently owns 1,217 points, 387 rebounds, 361 assists and 260 steals.
Players Mentioned
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