Dec. 6, 2007

Duke Hits Late Free Throws, Rallies Past Rutgers, 49-44

This time, Duke made its free throws down the stretch against Rutgers.

Carrem Gay's free throw with 30 seconds left put No. 17 Duke ahead to stay in its 49-44 victory over No. 4 Rutgers on Thursday night that snapped its longest losing streak in a decade.

Abby Waner and Keturah Jackson both made two late foul shots for the Blue Devils (6-3), who avoided their first four-game slide since 1994.

After Essence Carson of Rutgers tied it at 44 with 1:04 remaining, the Blue Devils hustled downcourt and ran down the shot clock. Jasmine Thomas forced up a long 3-pointer that missed badly, but Gay was there to collect the rebound and was fouled by Matee Ajavon. She hit the first of two free throws to put Duke up by one.

Ajavon's running shot in the lane was tipped by Chante Black. Ajavon then committed her fifth foul and the Scarlet Knights' bench was charged with a technical foul. Waner and Jackson iced it by each converting two attempts from the line in the final 11 seconds.

Black and Gay both scored 11 points to lead Duke, which earned a measure of revenge against Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights upset the Blue Devils last March in the Greensboro Regional semifinals when star guard Lindsey Harding missed two free throws in the final seconds.

Mitchell Notches 1,000th Point in Tech's 92-45 Win over USC Upstate

Janie Mitchell scored 24 points to lead Georgia Tech (6-1) to a 92-45 victory over South Carolina Upstate (3-6) Thursday night at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. With her 24 points, Mitchell became the 22nd women's basketball player in Tech history to score 1,000 points in a career.

Tech registered season-highs in shots attempted with 94 and rebounds with 67. Tech registered 40 offensive boards, four more than all the rebounds Upstate could muster for the game. The team also forced the Spartans into 32 turnovers in the victory.

All 13 Jackets scored, including Chioma Nnamaka, who registered 16 points, the sixth time this season she has scored in double figures. Deja Foster grabbed a season-high 10 boards to go along with four points.

Tech's defense stymied the Spartans' offense by forcing 18 turnovers on its way to a 49-19 halftime lead. The Jackets registered 13 steals and 16 offensive boards, one more than the Spartans entire first half total to help open the large lead.

Second Comeback Attempt Falls Short For FSU WBB In 81-67 Loss At #11 Texas A&M

For the second game in a row, the Florida State women's basketball team made a valiant effort to come back from a double-digit deficit on the road only to fall short. The Seminoles made a run at No. 11 Texas A&M in the second half, but dropped an 80-67 decision on Thursday (Dec. 6) at Reed Arena.

Leading the way for the Seminoles in the scoring column was guard Shante Williams (Jacksonville, Fla.) with 18 points. Getting into double-digits for the second game in a row after missing four-straight contests was center Britany Miller (Tallapoosa, Ga.) as she scored 14 points. Also getting into double figures was guard Tanae Davis-Cain (Dawson, Ga.) at 13.

Topping the Seminoles in rebounding was Miller at six boards, followed closely by Davis-Cain with five. Handing out a career-best eight assists was guard Mara Freshour (Nashville, Ind.). Florida State had a season-high nine blocks with forward Jacinta Monroe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) tying her career high of five blocks and Miller knocking down three more.