Jan. 11, 2006
ATLANTA (AP) – Wanisha Smith scored 13 points and No. 2 Duke survived its closest game of the season, defeating Georgia Tech 67-59 Wednesday night.
The Blue Devils (15-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) went ahead for good on Abby Waner’s 3-pointer less than three minutes into the second half. But they struggled to put Georgia Tech away, scoring their final field goal with 6:27 remaining.
Duke wrapped up the victory at the foul line, hitting nine of its last 11 attempts.
The Blue Devils had been winning by an average margin of nearly 43 points, including a 66-point blowout of Fairfield and an 86-point rout of Ball State. Their closest game coming into this one was an 84-70 victory at Texas.
Georgia Tech (11-4, 0-3) held Duke to its fewest points of the season, far below its 97-point average. The Blue Devils already have tied a school record with six 100-point games, their lowest-scoring game was a 69-37 victory over Auburn.
Duke slowly pulled away over the final seven minutes. Chioma Nnamaka hit a pair of free throws to bring Georgia Tech to 57-51 with 2:57 remaining, but the Yellow Jackets never got any closer.
The Blue Devils finally pushed the margin into double figures when Smith hit a pair of free throws with 32.5 seconds left to make it 62-52.
Duke, which was shooting 55 percent from the field, was held to 21-of-64 (33 percent). The Blue Devils made only 7-of-23 from beyond the 3-point arc, but worked hard for extra chances by grabbing 23 offensive rebounds.
Georgia Tech played well defensively but couldn’t take advantage, shooting only 39 percent.
The Yellow Jackets set the tone with a scrappy first half. There were seven lead changes and seven ties before a quick spurt, capped by Laura Kurz’s 3-pointer, pushed Duke to the biggest edge of the half, 32-25.
But the Yellow Jackets scored the final two baskets to trail 32-29 at the break.
Stephanie Higgs led Georgia Tech with 21 points, but Nnamaka was the only teammate in double figures with 10. With 10 rebounds in the game, seven of which came in the first 11 minutes of the game, Higgs recorded the third double-double of her three-year career.
For Duke, Lindsey Harding scored 12 points, while Monique Currie and Chante Black added 11 apiece.
