February 18, 1999

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina State had an answer for almost everything No. 8 Duke threw out until the Blue Devils went to their reserves.

Payton Black came off the bench and scored 12 points, half during a crucial run in the second half, as Duke hung on to beat N.C. State 75-67 Thursday.

"Our bench was a huge factor," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "Obviously, the way Payton came in and played the second half gave us a big boost, and gave us a lot of confidence down the stretch."

Black started a 8-2 run with consecutive baskets and ended it with a scoop shot with 9:08 left to play to give Duke a 55-49 lead, which it held the rest of the game.

Black also helped contain N.C. State's 6-foot-6 Summer Erb, the Atlantic Coast Conference's leading scorer and rebounder.

"I tried to take the ball right to Erb," Black said. "She got into foul trouble and that forced her to be a little tentative on defense. That opens things up some on the inside and gives us a little more room to get our shot off."

After taking the lead, Duke (22-5, 14-1) scored on 13 of its last 14 possessions to hold on for its 20th win in 22 games, bouncing back from its 80-75 loss Sunday at No. 19 Clemson.

N.C. State (15-10, 8-7) trailed 70-67 with 38 seconds left to play but missed its last three tries from the floor, while the Blue Devils made five of six free throws in the final 33 seconds to ice the win.

Georgia Schweitzer and Michele VanGorp each scored 14 points while Nicole Erickson added 13 points for Duke.

Tynesha Lewis led N.C. State with 19 points and Erb had 17 points and grabbed five rebounds.

Duke outrebounded the Wolfpack 37-29, led by Schweitzer's eight boards.