March 7, 2003

By JENNA FRYER
AP Sports Writer

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - Time after time, Wake Forest came back. Second-ranked Duke never doubted the outcome.

Alana Beard scored 18 points and Iciss Tillis added 14 points and nine rebounds, leading the top-seeded Blue Devils to their 23rd consecutive win over Wake Forest, 64-59, in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

"Losing never crossed my mind," Tillis said. "Actually, it hasn't all year. We just have the confidence to win close games like these."

That's because the Blue Devils (29-1) rarely lose - they won their 41st straight ACC game, a streak that goes back to their 69-55 defeat to N.C. State on Feb. 18, 2001.

The Blue Devils are looking to become the first team to win four straight ACC tournament titles, a bigger goal to coach Gail Goestenkors then just making it past Wake Forest.

"We have struggled before in the first game," Goestenkors said. "I said after the game that the goal is not to be the best tonight. Our goal is to be the best on Monday night."

Tiffani Listenbee scored 17 points for ninth-seeded Wake Forest (13-15). Tonia Brown added 16 and Erin Ferrell scored 13.

"We knew we were going to have to play at the top of our game," Wake Forest coach Charlene Curtis said. "We made some great, great plays to stay in this game."

The Demon Deacons have not beaten Duke since the 1993-94 season. But they had a chance in this one, cutting Duke's lead to 61-58 with 58 seconds to play after Bianca Brown's steal and driving layup.

"That was the moment we were waiting for," Listenbee said. "Just staying in the game until the end, keeping it as close as we could, giving us a chance to win."

The Blue Devils couldn't find a shot after that, calling timeout with 5 seconds on the shot clock. Sheana Mosch turned over the inbounds pass and, as Wake Forest looked for a shot, Tillis committed her fifth foul, sending Tonia Brown to the line.

She made the second of her two free throws to cut it to 61-59 with 26 seconds left.

Wake Forest caught a huge break after Listenbee was called for a technical foul for delaying the game as Beard both missed free throws. Duke got to keep the ball, though, and Vicki Krapohl was fouled and made one free throw for a 62-59 lead with 18 seconds to play.

Tonia Brown's 3-point attempt with :02 to play was off-target. Lindsey Harding got the rebound for Duke and made both free throws to lock up the win.

"They just kept coming at us," Goestenkors said. "Every time I thought we were ready to pull away, they'd so something special to make something happen. I thought it was a great game for them."

Beard scored six straight midway through the second half to push Duke to a 46-34 lead. But Wake Forest stayed within striking distance behind six straight points from Listenbee that cut the score to 50-45.

Mosch, scoreless through the first half, got aggressive with 5:28 to play and helped Duke again build a lead.

She was fouled going to the basket and made both free throws, then came away with a steal on Wake's next possession. She drove the length of the court, drawing a foul as her layup dropped through the basket. Mosch's free throw stretched Duke's lead to 59-48 with 3:52 left.

Wake Forest wouldn't quit, getting a 3-pointer from Tonia Brown, followed by her running jumper that cut it to 60-53 with 2:32 to play.