Dec. 28, 2009

Duke Dominates N.C. Central, 117-28
Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie challenged her players to focus on details coming out of Christmas break.

They heeded her advice, playing hard every possession.

Joy Cheek scored 16 points to help No. 8 Duke defeat North Carolina Central 117-28 on Monday night in the biggest rout in school history. 

No. 20 UVa Defeats Samford, 69-60, in Marriott Cavalier Classic
The 20th-ranked Virginia women's basketball team defeated Samford, 69-60, on the opening day of the Marriott Cavalier Classic at John Paul Jones Arena. UVa senior guard Monica Wright (Woodbridge, Va.) led all scorers with 28 points and added nine rebounds and six steals.

With the win, Virginia's record improved to 8-3 on the year. The Cavaliers advance to the championship game of the Marriott Cavalier Classic for the 22nd time as they look to win their sixth-straight title. UVa's opponent in the 7 p.m. championship game on Tuesday (Dec. 29) will be Liberty, as the Flames dispatched Cornell, 70-40, in the earlier game of the tournament.

Wright's 28-point effort was her seventh 20+ point performance of the season and third in a row. In her last outing, Wright tallied her 2000th-career point and is now in third place on Virginia's all-time scoring list with 2039 points. She is 19 points from tying Heather Burge's second-ranking total, 2058 points.

No. 24 Yellow Jackets Hold Off Pesky Lady Pirates, 63-54
Senior Brigitte Ardossi finished with a career-high 24 points leading the 24th-ranked Georgia Tech women's basketball team (11-2) to a 63-54 win over Hampton (3-8) Monday night in the first round of the FIU Sun & Fun Classic at the U.S. Century Bank Arena.

Ardossi finished the game nine-of-12 from the field with eight rebounds and four steals. Deja Foster scored 10 points and grabbed nine boards and Alex Montgomery added 12 points off the bench for the Yellow Jackets.

The Lady Pirates battled Tech the entire first half but a Montgomery three-point field with 30 seconds remaining gave the Yellow Jackets a 28-27 advantage going into the locker room. Ardossi led Tech with 12 points on a perfect six-of-six shooting from the field. 

Holston's 20 Sends Wolfpack Over Seton Hall
Bonae Holston scored a game-high 20 points to lead NC State to a 68-57 victory over Seton Hall Monday night at Reynolds Coliseum.

A 12-3 second-half run by NC State (8-5) broke open a one-possession game with 4:25 left to play - giving the Pack a 61-49 lead.

During the run, Tia Bell banked in jumper and fouled out Nicole Emery (19 points) in the process. Seton Hall never got closer than nine the rest of the game. 

Miami Runs Past Quinnipiac into Tournament Final
Shenise Johnson scored 20 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out nine assists in a near triple-double to lead the University of Miami women's basketball team (10-1) to a 93-48 victory over Quinnipiac (4-6), Monday night in the opening round of the Wyndham Miami Holiday Tournament at the BankUnited Center.

Just one game after scoring a career-high 27 points at Cornell, Johnson almost reached another milestone as she fell just an assist shy of recording a triple-double in the Hurricanes lopsided victory over the Quinnipiac Bobcats.

The Atlantic Coast Conference's leading scorer, Riquna Williams, led all players with 22 points. The Pahokee, Fla. native also handed out four assists and had three steals. 

Boston College Tops California, 81-69
Junior center Carolyn Swords scored 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, while junior Stefanie Murphy added nine points and 11 rebounds as Boston College defeated California, 81-69, at the Maggie Dixon Surf `n Slam Tournament.

The Eagles improved to 7-5 on the season and will play host San Diego in the final on Wednesday, Dec. 30 (11 p.m. ET). California is now 5-5 and will play Nevada in the first game on Dec. 30.

BC built a 13-8 lead behind six quick points from Swords at with 13 minutes to play in the half. Mickel Picco (14 points) hit two straight hoops and BC was up 22-12 with seven minutes to play. California closed the lead to five points but BC freshman Kerri Shields stepped up and hit two three-pointers followed by three-pointers from Jaclyn Thoman and Jasmine Gill to lead 40-25 at the half.

Seminoles Can't Contain No. 1 Huskies, Lose 78-59
Tina Charles and Connecticut were too much for Florida State.

Charles scored 16 of her 24 points in the second half Monday night to lead the top-ranked Huskies to a 78-59 victory over 12th-ranked Florida State for their 50th straight win.

She didn't let her coach down in the second half, hitting 8 of 13 shots and grabbing six of her game-high nine rebounds.

Ninth-Ranked Georgia Edges Clemson, 59-47, on Monday
The Clemson Lady Tigers came up just short against the ninth-ranked University of Georgia Lady Bulldogs Monday night in Littlejohn Coliseum. After a hard-fought battle, the Lady Bulldogs came out on top, 59-47. With the win, Georgia improved to 12-0 on the season and the Lady Tigers fell to 9-5.

Clemson was led once again by the solid play of senior Lele Hardy. Hardy finished the game with a game-high 13 points and eight rebounds. With her first rebound of the night, she hit the 800 career boards plateau, becoming only the third Tiger in history with 1300 points and 800 rebounds in a career. She also is the school record-holder with 330 career steals.

Freshman Keyrra Gillespie, who entered the night leading the ACC in assists, had seven dishes on the night, and also added five rebounds and three steals. 

San Diego State Trips Deacons, 63-62
Wake Forest out-scored San Diego State in the paint (30-40), in transition (24-21), off the bench (18-4) on second chance points (23-15) and out-rebounded the squad 34-38 but the Aztecs still claimed a 63-62 victory at Viejas Arena in the opening around of the Surf N Slam Tournament on Monday night in San Diego.

Wake Forest falls to 8-4 for the season with the loss and San Diego State improves to 7-4.

Wake Forest will next face the losing team of the Auburn vs. Valparaiso match up. The consolation game will be on Wednesday, December 30 at 5 p.m. PT at Viejas Arena.