March 3, 2002

2002 ACC Women's Basketball Tournament
Box Score | Quotes

By AARON BEARD
Associated Press Writer

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Duke went 16-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play during the regular season. It hasn't quite so easy in the ACC tournament.

Alana Beard had 20 points, and the No. 4 Blue Devils overcame poor second-half shooting to hold off Virginia 71-67 Sunday in the semifinals.

Duke (26-3), which has won a school-record 17 games in a row, will face the winner of Sunday's semifinal between No. 2-seeded North Carolina and sixth-seeded North Carolina State in the championship game.

The two-time defending ACC champions withstood a frantic rally by the Cavaliers (17-12), who cut a 16-point lead with 3:43 to play to three. Virginia had a chance to tie, but Liz Sahin was called for a double dribble with 4.1 seconds to play.

"We never seemed to be able to put them away," said Sheana Mosch, who scored 11 for Duke. "But it's going to be like this from now on. Even if we're up one or down by 10, there's no point in the game where we're thinking we're going to lose."

The Blue Devils, coming into the tournament shooting a league-best 41 percent from 3-point range, shot 4-for-17 from behind the arc Sunday. For the tournament, they are 8-for-38.

Duke also had trouble putting away ninth-seeded Florida State in the opening round Friday night, never holding a comfortable lead until the final minutes of an 82-66 victory.

"I'm happy to still be alive in the tournament," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "I told the team that's what it's all about at this time of year: survival. It's not always pretty."

The Cavs have lost five in a row and 10 of the past 11 in the series.

The Blue Devils became only the second team in league history to go 16-0 in regular-season conference play, matching the mark set by Virginia in 1995.

Duke won Sunday despite shooting just 7-for-27 in the second half and 40 percent for the game. The Blue Devils did make 21 of 30 free throws in the second half.

Reserve Wynter Whitley added 13 points and hit 7-of-10 free throws in the second half for Duke.

Leading 35-21 at halftime, Duke hit only three of its first 20 shots after intermission.

The Cavaliers, though, couldn't take advantage until it was too late. Leading scorer Telisha Quarles scored most of her 10 second-half points in the final minutes and finished with 19.

"When we were down by double digits, I just told the team, 'We can still do this,"' Quarles said. "I was just doing everything that I could to keep my team within reach."

Duke led 26-21 late in the first half before scoring nine unanswered points to close the period. Beard scored six during that streak, the last two coming on a backdoor layup with about a minute left.

The Blue Devils shot 54 percent in the first half, while Virginia shot 32 percent.