College basketball
New No. 1 Duke takes care of business
By Associated Press
Published January 6, 2004
[Last modified January 6, 2004, 01:33:37]
DURHAM, N.C. - Duke had little time to enjoy its elevation to the top spot in the Associated Press poll.
Alana Beard had 19 points to set a school scoring record, and Duke extended its streak of Atlantic Coast Conference victories to 45 by beating Florida State 79-66 Monday night in its first game as the nation's top-ranked team.
"It might have been nice to take some time to enjoy things," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "But I was already watching tape of Florida State on the plane flight back home."
Mistie Bass added 11 points and Monique Currie 10 for Duke, which took over the No. 1 spot 48 hours after beating then-top-ranked Connecticut. Duke won its 11th straight since its season-opening loss to then-No. 3 Texas.
Goestenkors wanted to ensure her Blue Devils wouldn't take Florida State lightly.
"We talked with the players about making sure we showed respect for our opponents," she said. "I thought we did that for the first 20 minutes."
Goestenkors said her Blue Devils learned a good lesson about milestones and rankings last season, when they extended their string of ACC wins and were No. 1 for a while only to fall to UConn during the regular season, then losing in the Final Four.
"We were No. 1 long enough last year to understand that it really doesn't mean anything," Goestenkors said.
Beard surpassed the mark of 2,232 career points by Chris Moreland (1985-89) with a putback of her miss with 13:08 left in the first half. Beard finished the game with 2,248 points.
Beard's total moved her into third place all-time among ACC women behind Clemson's Barbara Kennedy (3,113) and North Carolina State's Linda Page (2,307).
"It's an honor, but this is really no time for a celebration," Beard said. "All that will come at the end of our season."
Shante Williams led Florida State with 18 points, and Tasheika Allen had 16. Genesis Choice added 10 points for the Seminoles, who lost for the third time in four games.
Beard had 12 points in the first half to pace Duke to a 41-23 lead. Beard, Jessica Foley and Vicki Krapohl made 3-pointers in the first 9:08 to help Duke go up 22-8.
The Blue Devils used runs of 9-2 and 11-0 in the opening 8:03 of the second half to build a 64-34 lead.
The Seminoles never got a point off their fastbreak in the first half.
"This was as a good a time as any to play them. You might have thought they could come out a little flat" after the UConn win, Florida State coach Sue Semrau said. "Instead, they came out really strong."
RICE 87, NO. 8 LA. TECH 84 (OT): Lauren Neaves made a free throw and a basket in the final minute of overtime for the host Owls.
The Techsters led by as many as four in overtime before Rice tied it at 82. Neaves hit the go-ahead free throw and followed with a field goal with 24 seconds to go.
Lindsay Maynard, who led Rice with 18 points, forced overtime when she made a free throw with six seconds left after Tech was assessed a technical for calling too many timeouts.
State
UCF 67, JU 46: Takira Allen had 18 points, and the visiting Golden Knights shot 50 percent to pull away. The Dolphins got within 30-29 with 17:24 left in the game before UCF went on a 14-2 run.
TONIGHT: USF VS. NIAGARA
WHEN/WHERE: 7; USF Sun Dome, Tampa.
RECORDS: Niagara 7-3, USF 6-6.
COACHES: Niagara - Bill Agronin (123-137, 10th season); USF - Jose Fernandez (31-63, fourth season).
KEY PLAYERS: Niagara - Eva Cunningham, G, 5-8 Jr.; Colleen Toetz, G, 5-9 Sr. USF - Jessica Dickson, F/G, 5-11 Fr. (15.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg); Nalini Miller, C, 6-2 Fr. (11.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 2.3 bpg); Anedra Gilmore, PG, 5-6 Jr. (7.8 ppg, 5.3 apg, 4.3 rpg).
NOTES: This is USF's final nonconference game. The Bulls play Friday at Charlotte and Sunday at East Carolina. USF lost 92-65 Sunday at Georgia. Miller was named Conference USA freshman of the week, averaging 17 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and four steals in two games. Cunningham had 15 points and 11 assists Saturday, and Niagara had 16 3-pointers in a 86-73 win at St. Francis (Pa.), its fourth straight. Common opponent: the Purple Aces beat Army 71-53 at home, USF lost 63-59 at Army. USF has won 15 of its past 21 nonconference home games.
- Compiled by Pete Young.
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