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Blue Devil Game Notes: UConn, Dec. 29, 9 PM, ESPN2
12/28/2014 4:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ESPN2 & Watch ESPN l Twitter l Live Stats l Live Audio
Game InformationWhat……………………………………………………..#10 Duke at #2 Connecticut
Date……………………………………………………………Monday, Dec. 29, 2014
Time………………………………………………………………………..9:00 PM (ET)
Location………………………………………………………………….Hartford, Conn.
Venue………………………………………………………………..XL Center (16,294)
Where to Watch………………………………………………………………….ESPN2
……………………………………………..Dave O'Brien (PBP), Doris Burke (Color)
Radio……………………………………………Blue Devil IMG - www.GoDuke.com
…………………………………………Steve Barnes (PXP), Morgan Patrick (Color)
Live Stats……………………………………………………………www.GoDuke.com
Rankings………………………………………….Duke (#10/10), Connecticut (#2/2)
Series Record…………………………………………………Connecticut leads 10-3
Last Meeting ……………………………Dec. 17, 2013 - Connecticut 83, Duke 61
Setting the Scene...
Coming off an impressive victory over eighth-ranked Kentucky before heading into the Christmas break, 10th-ranked Duke (8-3) will travel to Hartford, Conn., to face second-ranked Connecticut (9-1) Monday, Dec. 29 at 9:00 p.m.
The game will be played at the XL Center and aired live on ESPN2 with Dave O'Brien (PBP) and Doris Burke (Color) calling the action. It will also be carried live on the Blue Devil IMG Sports Network on www.GoDuke.com with Steve Barnes (PXP) and Morgan Patrick (Color) on the air.
The Blue Devils will return to the XL Center in Hartford for the first time in 10 years since Jessica Foley hit the game-winner as time expired in 2004.
Duke will face its sixth ranked opponent on the season and second straight top 10 foe.
What is Next?...
Duke will return home to host N.C. A&T Jan. 2 at 6:30 p.m., in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils will open a three-game homestand. Duke will play five out of the next six games at home. The Blue Devils will also play three games on the week.
Storylines/Other Blue Devil Notes...
• Freshman Sierra Calhoun will head to Connecticut where her brother, Omar, is a junior on the UConn men's basketball team. He has played in only two games in 2014-15 due to dealing with an early season injury.
• Duke's 11th-ranked field goal percentage defense (33.0%) will go up against Connecticut's No. 1 ranked scoring offense (90.5).
• Senior Amber Henson came off the bench against eighth-ranked Kentucky to register a season-high 11 points to go along with four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal in 25 minutes.
• Sierra Calhoun has averaged 15.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals over the last three games. She has hit 46.4 percent of her field goals.
• Duke's win against No. 8 Kentucky marked the first victory against a higher-ranked opponent since a 74-64 win against fifth-ranked Miami on Feb. 24, 2012. The Blue Devils last defeated two straight top 10 teams in the 2010-11 season versus No. 7 Texas A&M and No. 4 Xavier in Cameron.
• Duke has featured four different leading scorers in each of the last four games -- Rebecca Greenwell, Elizabeth Williams, Sierra Calhoun and Azurá Stevens.
• Over the last five games, Duke's freshmen have scored 248 of 439 Blue Devil points (56.5 percent).
• After attempting 26 shots on the road at Nebraska and Texas A&M, senior Ka'lia Johnson has taken 14 shots the last four games combined (hit 6-of-14 field goals). Johnson is 17-of-21 from the free throw line in her last four games, after only getting to the line 16 times in her first seven games.
• Duke opponents have blocked 37 shots in 11 games; Elizabeth Williams has blocked 31 shots in the nine games she has played.
• The Blue Devils have totaled at least one double-digit rebounder in 9-of-11 games.
• Mercedes Riggs has come off the bench to notch 12 assists to only three turnovers.
• Elizabeth Williams is one of four players in the ACC to average a double-double with points/rebounds -- Sarah Imovbioh (UVA), Briana Day (Syracuse) and Dearica Hamby (WFU).
• The Blue Devils are currently ranked No. 9 in the latest NCAA RPI. Duke's three losses have come against teams that have combined to post a 33-2 overall record.
• Senior Elizabeth Williams ranks No. 12 nationally with a 3.44 blocks per game average.
• The Blue Devils rank No. 1 nationally in rebounding margin (21.4). Duke ranks No. 1 in defensive rebounds (34.0) and is also averaging 19.0 offensive rebounds a game, which ranks fifth.
• Rebecca Greenwell is one of only two freshmen in the ACC to rank in the top 12 of both scoring and rebounding (Rachel Camp of Virginia Tech).
• The Blue Devils currently rank first in the ACC and 11th nationally with a 33.0 field goal percentage defense.
• Duke lost three straight games for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign, which was Coach P's first year at Duke. It snapped a 242 consecutive game streak without losing back-to-back games. The last three-game losing streak was also in 2007-08.
• In the ACC stats, Rebecca Greenwell (91.9, 2nd) and Sierra Calhoun (89.7, 3rd) rank in the top three in free throw percentage. Greenwell also ranks 12th nationally.
• Senior Ka'lia Johnson ranks No. 3 in the ACC with a 4.3 assist per game average. Johnson has 12 assists to only four turnovers the last two games. She has dished 47 assists this season and had 39 assists her first three years combined.
• Rebecca Greenwell and Sierra Calhoun have both hit four three-pointers in a game, which is tied fourth on the Duke freshman record books.
• Ka'lia Johnson's 13 assists at Old Dominion tied for the third most in a single game for the Blue Devils. It is also the most by an ACC player this season.
• Rebecca Greenwell netted seven steals at Alabama, which is tied for the fourth most by a freshman in Blue Devil history.
• Joanne P. McCallie entered the 2014-15 campaign with a 73.2 winning percentage, which ranks 19th overall on the NCAA Division I coaching charts.
• Duke has a total of 17 games slated to be aired on television. All other home games will be carried live on the Blue Devil Network.
• The Blue Devils have five players and three staff associated with the team who have won USA Basketball medals - Oderah Chidom, Rebecca Greenwell, Amber Henson, Kendall Cooper, Elizabeth Williams, head coach Joanne P. McCallie, athletic trainer Summer McKeehan and team doctor Jeff Bytomski.
• Follow @Duke_WBB and @CoachPDuke on Twitter to get the latest updates on Duke women's basketball. Also, "Like" Duke Women's Basketball on Facebook to get the latest video, pictures and more. DWB is on Instagram at dukewbb. Join all three now as they are free!
A Look at Connecticut...
Connecticut enters the contest with a 9-1 overall mark and winners of its last eight games under head coach Geno Auriemma. Beanna Stewart (16.8 points, 7.5 rebounds), Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (15.9 points, 4.9 rebounds), Kia Nurse (13.7 points, 4.0 rebounds), Morgan Tuck (13.6 points, 4.6 rebounds) and Moriah Jefferson (10.2 points, 47 assists) have led the Huskies so far on the season.
The Series with Connecticut...
Duke and Connecticut will meet for the 14th time in program history with Connecticut leading the all-time series 10-3, including winners of seven in a row. The two last met a season ago, when top-ranked Connecticut beat second-ranked Duke in Durham by a score of 83-61.
The Blue Devils have not beaten Connecticut since March 28, 2006 when Duke won 63-61 in overtime in the NCAA Tournament.
Duke is 1-2 in games played in Hartford, with fourth-ranked Duke upsetting top-ranked Connecticut, 68-67, on January 3, 2004 on Jessica Foley's three-pointer as time expired.
Duke Versus the AAC...
Duke owns an all-time record of 25-20 against teams from the American Athletic Conference -- Cincinnati (0-1), Connecticut (3-10), East Carolina (6-9), Houston (2-0), SMU (1-0), South Florida (3-0), Temple (7-0), Tulane (1-0) and Tulsa (2-0).
Coach P owns an all-time record of 16-11 against teams from the AAC -- Cincinnati (2-0), Connecticut (1-9), East Carolina (1-0), Houston (3-0), Memphis (0-1), South Florida (3-0), Tulane (0-1) and Temple (6-0).
What Happened Last Time...
No. 1 Connecticut defeated No. 2 Duke 83-61 behind 21 points and a career-high seven three-pointers from Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis in her first game back from an injury.
Breanna Stewart had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Huskies, and Stefanie Dolson had 14 points and Bria Hartley finished with 13.
UConn shot 49 percent, held the Blue Devils without a field goal for a critical eight 1/2-minute stretch while pushing its lead well into the 20s.
Chelsea Gray had 13 points and Haley Peters finished with 11 for Duke, which had its 24-game winning streak at Cameron snapped -- a run that dated to UConn's last visit in 2011.
The Blue Devils, who spent the second half trying to claw their way back into the game, pulled to 65-52 on Elizabeth Williams' layup with just under eight minutes left.
After a timeout, UConn worked the ball around the perimeter to Mosqueda-Lewis, who swished her fifth three-pointer to restore the Huskies' 18-point lead and help them pull away for their 17th straight win.
Tricia Liston and Alexis Jones each finished with 10 points for Duke, which earned just five free throws and was 4-of-18 from three-point range.
Stewart scored 15 points in the half, and 12 of those came during the 13-minute span in which the Huskies outscored Duke 35-11 and turned a one-point deficit into a 38-15 lead.
For the Blue Devils, this one couldn't have started much worse. They missed 12 consecutive shots during that drought before things finally started to click late in the half behind Gray.
She reeled off six straight points before Chloe Wells' three-pointer with 35 seconds left in the half pulled Duke to 41-26.
Hey, I Know You...
Senior Elizabeth Williams played with Connecticut's Breanna Stewart, Morgan Tuck and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis on the USA Women's U19 World Championship squad over the summer of 2011 that won the gold medal Puerto, Chile with an 8-1 record. Seven of the 13 players on the roster were from either Duke or UConn.
Williams and Mosqueda-Lewis also played on the U17 World Championship team that won the gold medal in Toulouse, France with an 8-0 mark in the summer of 2010. Over the summer of 2009, Williams, Mosqueda-Lewis and UConn's Kiah Stokes led the USA U-16 National Team to a 5-0 mark and the gold medal in Mexico City.
Versus Ranked Teams...
Duke owns a 1-3 record this season against ranked opponents, but has lost the three contests by a combined 11 points.
The Blue Devils played the Nebraska and Texas A&M contests without senior All-America Elizabeth Williams.
Rebecca Greenwell has averaged 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 steals against ranked teams, while Azurá Stevens is averaging 13.3 points and 9.3 rebounds.
Duke is holding a 10.0 rebounding advantage against ranked opponents.
Williams & Stevens Net National Honors...
Elizabeth Williams was named the espnW National Player of the Week and ACC Player of the Week, while Azurá Stevens earned USBWA National Freshman of the Week and ACC Freshman of the Week Dec. 22-23 following the Kentucky game.
Led by a monster game against Oklahoma with a season-high 26 points, career-high 20 rebounds, three blocks, three assists and two steals, Williams averaged 17.0 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.3 blocks, 2.0 steals and 2.0 assists. Against Oklahoma, the 6-3 center became just the third Blue Devil in school history to join the 20-20 club.
Against eighth-ranked Kentucky, Williams totaled her fourth double-double of the season and 23rd of her career with 13 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, three assists and one steal in 31 minutes. Against UMass Lowell, Williams played only 22 minutes, but still totaled 12 points, four blocks, three steals and seven rebounds.
Stevens averaged 14.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.0 assists in the three victories. She hit 50.0 percent of her field goals and 8-of-11 free throws (72.7). Against No. 8 Kentucky, the 6-5 versatile Blue Devil tallied a team-high 17 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in only 18 minutes of action.
She collected 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal against Oklahoma to open the week. Stevens posted her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds in only 20 minutes versus UMass Lowell. She has started each of the last five contests for Duke.
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