Dec. 28, 2007

Cheek Leads No. 13 Duke Past Houston, 84-68

Joy Cheek registered 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Chante Black and Jasmine Thomas added 12 and 11 points, respectively, to lead 13th-ranked Duke over Houston 84-68 on Friday afternoon at Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston, Texas.

Cheek, who registered her first double-double of the season and only the second of her career, scored eight points during a 16-0 Duke run that spanned both halves and turned a close game into a 49-27 lead with 19 minutes remaining. Duke (10-3) never led by fewer than 13 after that.

The Blue Devils played for the first time since a 92-49 victory over Bucknell and had to shake off the rust early as Houston led 22-20 after two free throws by Courtney Taylor with 7:02 left in the first half, but Duke went on an 11-0 run for a 31-22 lead less than four minutes later. Wanisha Smith scored the first four points, and Jasmine Thomas added three during the spurt.

Boston College Women's Basketball Cruises Past Colgate, 75-45

Boston College had four players reach double figures as the Eagles defeated Colgate, 75-45, in a non-conference battle at Conte Forum Friday afternoon. The Eagles are now 10-3, while Colgate drops to 1-12.

The Eagles were led by freshman Carolyn Swords with 16 points, six rebounds and two blocks, while sophomore Ayla Brown had 13 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Sophomore Mickel Picco added 14 points and five assists while junior Brittanny Johnson notched 11 points.

Boston College went up 16-6 early behind four points apiece from Brown and Swords. The Eagles then went on a 14-2 run to go up, 30-8 with 6:30 to play. Brown and Swords combined for eight points in the run. The Eagles held a 34-17 lead at the half as they shot 60 percent from the field and held Colgate to 30 percent.

White, Wolfpack Trounce Alabama State, 83-36

Sophomore Amber White's highly touted game arrived on Friday afternoon for NC State with 16 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals in a 83-36 demolishing of Alabama State at Reynolds Coliseum.

The 16 points was a career high for the Philadelphia native, who paced five NC State (11-3) players in double figures. Nikitta Gartrell added 14 points, while freshman Brittany Strachan had the best game of her brief career with 13 of the Pack's 43 points from the reserves.

Megan Zullo and Khadijah Whittington tossed in 12 and 10 points respectively for NC State, who won its third in a row.

The week long holiday break certainly didn't cool down Zullo's shooting, canning her first four 3-pointers she took, giving her 13 makes in her last 16 attempts over the last three games.

Cavaliers Defeat Delaware State, 71-54

Virginia opened its play at the 2007 Marriott Cavalier Classic by defeating Delaware State, 71-54, Friday night at John Paul Jones Arena. Lyndra Littles scored 18 points to lead the Cavaliers, who will play for the championship against Marshall Saturday at 7 p.m.

In the earlier game, the Thundering Herd rallied for the win over Missouri, 77-72. Delaware State and Mizzou will play in the consolation game at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Littles opened the game with two-straight baskets and the Cavaliers built an early 7-2 lead. The Lady Hornets battled back, however, and eventually took a one-point lead at 9-8 on a three-point play by Ashlee Burbage. From there, the teams traded baskets until Virginia built a 24-21 cushion with 4:36 remaining in the half. The Cavaliers ended the period on a 10-4 run and took a 34-25 lead at halftime.