Nov. 21, 2002

Overcoming adversity is nothing new for Duke. Being No. 1 in the preseason poll is.

The Blue Devils, starting the season as the nation's top-ranked team for the first time, try to cope with the loss of Monique Currie when they face East Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the season opener for both teams.

Currie, the MVP of last season's ACC tournament, is recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL, an injury she suffered just five seconds into Duke's first preseason game on Nov. 5. The 6-foot sophomore is expected to rehab for the next six months.

Currie averaged 14.3 points last season, tied with junior Iciss Tillis for second on the team. She also had six rebounds per game.

"We know that one person can't replace her. It has to be a team effort," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said.

Her injury comes just one year after Rometra Craig and Crystal White transferred to Southern California and Louisiana State, respectively, in December.

"We have talked about the fact that we have always shown great character when we have had to deal with adversity and this is another one of those situations where our character will be tested," Goestenkors said. "We will find out who we are and what we are made of."

The Blue Devils overcame the absence of Craig and White last season, using eight players en route a 31-4 finish, including a 16-0 mark in the ACC. They won the conference championship and reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament before losing 86-71 to Oklahoma.

"This team is very hungry to reach the very top," Goestenkors said. "It was great for our young team last year to reach the Final Four, to have that experience and to understand what it takes to get there. Now we want to take it that next step and finish it off."

Duke returns seven players from last season, including preseason All-American Alana Beard, who averaged a team-best 19.8 points while shooting 57 percent from the field.

Eleven preseason No. 1 teams have gone on to win the national championship, but the Blue Devils, who have never been ranked higher than third, aren't concerned with that.

"We understand it doesn't mean anything," Goestenkors said. "It's the postseason ranking we're after."

East Carolina was 6-21 last season, including 1-11 on the road. The Pirates are hoping to improve behind first-year coach Sharon Baldwin, who earned Atlantic Sun coach of the year honors last season after guiding Mercer to a 16-13 record. The Bears were 6-23 the year before.

"You can expect to see a team that will not be outworked or outhustled on the floor," Baldwin said. "We will expect to win."

The Pirates return just one double-digit scorer in Courtney Willis (12.3) and averaged only 58 points last season, compared to Duke's 83.5.

The Blue Devils have won nine of 10 season openers under Goestenkors, while the Pirates have dropped their last three to fall to 17-17 all-time.

East Carolina leads the all-time series 9-5 but has lost the last four meetings.