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Duke vs. Quinnipiac


 
 
 
No. 6 Duke 78, Quinnipiac 50
 
 
CBSSports.com wire reports

DURHAM, N.C. -- Chante Black has made a habit of filling up the stat sheet during her career.

She delivered an appropriate performance en route to a milestone. Black scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to help No. 6 Duke defeat Quinnipiac 78-50 on Sunday.

Black, who became the sixth player in ACC history with 1,000 points, 800 rebounds and 200 blocked shots in a career, added three blocked shots and a career-high eight steals for the Blue Devils (10-1).

"I think my teammates, especially the guards, applied great pressure," Black said. "Coach always talks about rotation and positioning, and I just tried to focus in on that. Because of their pressure, they were forcing the other team to make bad decisions, and I was there to pick up those loose balls."

Joy Cheek scored 15 points for Duke, which led 49-21 at halftime en route to its 31st consecutive home win in December. Bridgette Mitchell added 14 points for the Blue Devils, who forced 33 turnovers and came up with a season-high 25 steals.

"It was a very aggressive, intense game coming back from the break, so I'm very happy to see that," said Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie, whose team had not played a game since it defeated Siena 86-41 on Dec. 20. "We had some excellent practices, and I thought they carried over."

The Blue Devils trailed just once, falling behind 5-4 with 18:25 remaining in the first half. They answered with a 14-2 run to take control of the game.

 

Duke forced 21 turnovers in the first half, 16 of which resulted in steals, and closed with a 19-3 run in the final five minutes of the period. The Blue Devils, who held the Bobcats to one field goal in the final 7:30 before halftime, owned a 22-2 edge in points off turnovers during the first half.

Twice during the first half, the Bobcats called a timeout because they couldn't inbound the ball against Duke's full-court pressure.

"I thought to start the game, the pressure was solid," Quinnipiac coach Tricia Fabbri said. "It forced us into turnovers that are uncharacteristic of our team."

On the rare occasions when Quinnipiac penetrated Duke's defense, the Blue Devils were there to challenge shots. Duke finished with a season-high 11 blocked shots, including three by Krystal Thomas in a 66-second span midway through the first half.

Mandy Pennewell scored 17 points to lead the Bobcats (8-3), who cut Duke's lead to 19 points on three occasions in the second half.

Erin Kerner, who entered the game averaging a team-high 18.8 points for Quinnipiac, finished with seven turnovers and no points on 0-for-7 shooting. Starting guard Brianna Rooney played just seven minutes because of the flu.

The Bobcats, who shot 30.9 percent from the field, had little chance to sneak up on the Blue Devils. Duke's lone loss this season came Nov. 21 at the hands of Hartford, a team Quinnipiac defeated two weeks later.

"It was in the back of our minds, definitely," Black said. "I was aware that Quinnipiac did beat Hartford, and I definitely wanted to win this game. It was a focus thing."

 
Copyright 2010 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
 
 
 
Scoreboard
Quinnipiac212950
6 Duke «492978
 
Northeast Conference
Sacred Heart6-09-7
Central Connecticut State5-010-5
Quinnipiac4-110-4
Robert Morris3-25-10
Fairleigh Dickinson3-34-10
Mount St. Mary's2-37-7
St. Francis (PA)2-33-12
Monmouth1-46-9
Wagner1-45-10
St. Francis (NY)1-42-13
Long Island0-45-10

ACC
Duke7-119-4
Florida St.6-220-4
Georgia Tech6-320-5
Virginia6-317-6
Wake Forest5-414-9
North Carolina4-416-6
Boston Coll.4-413-10
Miami (Fla.)3-516-7
N.C. State3-513-10
Maryland3-616-8
Virginia Tech2-712-11
Clemson2-711-14
 
 
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AZST 58 Final
NE 62
ND 68 Final
CHARLO 61
WMI 55 Final
NC 102
NTX 54 Final
OKST 80
CT 77 Final
SC 48
MOREHDST 38 Final
LOU 66
KSST 74 Final
WAST 58
RIDER 38 Final
VA 83
CALDAV 49 Final
STAN 84
TX 79 Final
TXEP 40