Triangle Sports Roundup – UNC, Duke, NC State WBB

Atlantic Coast Conference, theACC.com
Atlantic Coast Conference, theACC.com
Atlantic Coast Conference, theACC.com

No. 8 Duke stays undefeated with 72-42 win over Stony Brook

DURHAM, N.C. – The eighth-ranked Duke Blue Devils eventually overwhelmed the Stony Brook Seawolves in a 72-42 win at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Friday.

Oderah Chidom led Duke with her second career double-double, posting 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Sierra Calhoun (13 points, 2 rebounds), Amber Henson (10 points, 4 rebounds), and Rebecca Greenwell (10 points, 3 rebounds) supported Duke’s 41-percent offensive output.

“It was just a hard fought game”, Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said.

“I appreciate our team’s defense and rebounding.”

Coming off a record-setting game with 69 total rebounds against Buffalo, the Blue Devils came into their matchup against Stony Brook ranked first nationally in rebounding margin (27.0) while averaging 18.8 offensive rebounds per game.

Elizabeth Williams (5 points, 2 assists, 3 blocks) kept Duke’s numbers on the boards up, and posted a game-high 12 rebounds as the Blue Devils outrebounded the Seawolves 56-31.

Duke held Stony Brook to 25-percent shooting.

After posting 22 points against Buffalo, Calhoun started Duke’s scoring with a layup followed up by a three and a jumper from Amber Henson to push the game’s opening lead to 7-0 by the 16:18 mark.

Successive blocks by Calhoun and Williams denied Stony Brook the chance to get on the board and Duke soon extended its lead to 11-0.

Duke utilized a four-out-and-one-in offensive set-up with Williams and Henson alternating in the high post to free up its perimeter shooting, and to create scoring opportunities in the paint and from the free throw line.

Though Stony Brook didn’t score its first points until the 13:59 mark, the Blue Devils experienced some trouble.

“They were very disciplined,” McCallie said of Stony Brook’s play.

After the Blue Devils extended the lead to 20-9, the Blue Devils went silent for three minutes while the Seawolves made some noise, and added five more points to their total.

Duke led 29-19 at halftime, even while shooting 29 percent from the field (9-31), its lowest first-half shooting rate of the season.

The Blue Devils continued to show difficulty in scoring from the inside, but diligent work from Henson and Williams kept pushing Duke through its difficult periods at both ends of the floor.

Greenwell scored her first field goal of the game at 15:46.

The Seawolves matched it, but Calhoun dropped her third three-pointer of the game and pushed the Duke lead to 18 points, 43-25.

Stony Brook continued to battle to keep the score as close as possible, but Duke continued to keep a hefty double-digit buffer between them.

With Duke leading 53-36 with under eight minutes to play, Williams injured her ankle after colliding with a Seawolves defender while going to the basket.

She was slow to get up, but managed to walk to the Duke bench on her own.

McCallie utilized her bench to ride the game out to finish with a deceptively dominating 30-point win after shooting 51 percent in the second half.

With a 5-0 record, Duke now hits the road to face top-25 competition.

The Blue Devils will face No. 7 Texas A&M on Sunday and then move on to Lincoln to face No. 15 Nebraska in the two teams’ Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchup next Wednesday, before returning back home to face No. 1 South Carolina the following Sunday.

No. 11 Tar Heels upset No. 5 Stanford in 70-54 victory in Hawaii

HONOLULU, HAWAII – The 11th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels topped the fifth-ranked Stanford Cardinal 70-54 at the Rainbow Wahine Shootout tournament on Friday.

Senior guard Latifah Colemen led the Tar Heels with a 19-points to go along with six boards and six assists.

Double-digit performances from Xylina McDaniel (15 points, 4 rebounds) and recent ACC Player of the Week Stephania Mavunga (10 points, 8 rebounds) supported the effort in beating the Cardinal.

North Carolina (5-0) finished the game shooting 41 percent while Stanford (3-2) converted on 31 percent of its attempts from the field.

The Tar Heels led 24-18 at halftime and maintained a 61-percent shooting performance during the second half, including dropping 8-of-12 three-point attempts to outdistance themselves from the Cardinal.

North Carolina outrebounded Stanford 47-32 and caused 13 turnovers throughout the game.

The Tar Heels will play Prairie View A&M next in the tournament on Saturday.

Wolfpack falls short in 74-66 loss to George Washington in Junkanoo Jam

FREEPORT, BAHAMAS – The N.C. State Wolfpack dropped its opening game at the 2014 Junkanoo Jam on Friday afternoon, falling to George Washington by a final score of 74-66 inside St. George’s High School gymnasium.

NC State shot 15-28 (.536) from the field in the second half to mount a furious comeback, cutting a 16-point deficit to just four points late in the game, but the Pack was unable to quite catch up with the Colonials.

Dominique Wilson scored a career-high 21 points in the loss and was joined in double figures by Miah Spencer (18 points) and Jennifer Mathurin (12 points and 12 rebounds). Mathurin’s 12 rebounds were a career high.

George Washington was led in scoring by local hero Jonquel Jones, who is a native of Freeport. Jones scored 22 points on 9-16 shooting from the field and also grabbed nine rebounds in front of a raucous and supportive local crowd.

The Pack (4-2) leapt out to a five-point lead midway through the first half, taking a 20-15 advantage when Len’Nique Brown-Hoskin scored in the paint. George Washington (4-2) then hit a strong stride at this point in the half, ending the frame on a 15-2 run to take a 30-22 advantage into the locker room.

NC State was held to 8-30 (.267) from the field in the first half, a mark which included a 3-14 (.214) mark from three-point range. Spencer scored a half high 10 points on 3-6 shooting (2-2 from distance) while also securing three rebounds. Brown-Hoskin tied for a half high with three assists.

Facing a 55-39 deficit, the Pack battled back with an 8-0 run to pull within eight points (55-47) on a Mathurin layup during a possession which included three NC State offensive rebounds. State would push this run to 19-7 over the course of six minutes and four seconds, but would ultimately get no closer.

NC State will next be in action on Saturday against Texas Tech.