Tech Travels to Durham to Face No. 2 Duke Women

Feb. 6, 2004

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Georgia Tech Faces Second-Ranked Duke Saturday

The Yellow Jackets travel to North Carolina for the second time in a week to take on the second-ranked Duke Blue Devils Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium in a game that will tip at 2 p.m. The Jackets are coming off consecutive losses to Wake Forest and NC State while Duke lost its first ACC game of the season, 80-74, at Florida State Wednesday. The game will be broadcast live on WREK-Radio 91.1 FM in Atlanta and online at www.wrek.org, with Richard Musterer calling the play-by-play for the Jackets. Duke will broadcast on WDNC-AM 620 in Durham, with Steve Barnes calling the play-by-play while Missy Anderson handles the color commentary duties and Scott Yakola provides half-time and post-game interviews. Livestats for the basketball game will also be available at ramblinwreck.com.

Series Notes

* Duke holds a 44-7 lead in the series with the Jackets, including winning the last 22 games. Only two of the wins have come away from the friendly confines of Tech’s Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The Jackets are 2-22 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham.

* The last time the Jackets defeated Duke was February 27, 1994 in Atlanta, by a score of 61-56. Coming into that contest, Tech had won three of the previous four against the Blue Devils.

* Georgia Tech has had chances against Duke in the 22 contests since the last victory, coming as close as one point in a 74-73 loss in 1999, and have been within 10 points at the conclusion of five of the contests.

* The most points the Jackets ever scored against Duke came in 1989, when Tech scored 97 in an overtime victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

* The first game between the two teams was on January 13, 1979, with Duke winning by a 70-55 score on its homecourt. Georgia Tech last faced the Blue Devils on January 8, with Duke taking the 77-45 win in Atlanta.

* Duke was ranked second in the USA Today poll the last time that the Jackets faced them, and the last time the Jackets faced a Duke team ranked second in both the USA Today and ESPN Coaches Poll was in the 2003 ACC Tournament. The Blue Devils won that contest, 76-52.

Tech vs. Ranked Opponents

* Georgia Tech is looking for its first win over a ranked opponent since its 65-61 victory over the 22nd-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in last year’s Russell Athletic Shootout.

* The last time that Tech defeated a ranked ACC team was during the 2001-02 season, when the Jackets downed the 17th-ranked Tar Heels, 81-62, on their home court.

* Tech’s first victory over a ranked opponent came in 1987 under head coach (now associate commissioner in the ACC office) Bernadette McGlade when Tech defeated 19th-ranked Maryland in an overtime game at the Thrillerdome, 81-80. Prior to that win, the Jackets had gone 0-41 against ranked opponents.

* The Jackets’ second victory against a ranked opponent came in Agnus Berenato’s first year as a head coach at Tech, winning 105-80 against 13th-ranked Virginia. Berenato is currently the only Yellow Jackets women’s basketball head coach to ever earn a victory over a ranked team in her first season at the helm of the program.

* Overall, Georgia Tech is 22-167 against ranked opponents in history.

Jackets vs. Duke: Last Time Out

Duke handed the Yellow Jackets their first ACC loss of the season in Atlanta on January 8 by a final score of 77-45. The Blue Devils held the Jackets to just 13 points in the first half, outscoring them by 29 in the frame. Four Duke players recorded double-figures in scoring, led by senior All-American Alana Beard, with 17 points. Fallon Stokes led Georgia Tech with 16 points, while Mallorie Winn added nine and Kasha Terry, six. Terry also recorded seven blocks in the contest, which was the most at Tech since Allison Echols recorded nine in 1991. Brittany Hunter and Monique Currie scored 14 points apiece for the Blue Devils, while Lindsey Harding added 10. Georgia Tech shot 30.6 percent in the game, including going 0-for-6 from the three-point arc, while Duke shot 46.2 percent from the field and hit three treys. The Blue Devils outrebounded the Jackets, 47-36 and had six fewer turnovers than Tech in the contest while recorded four more steals. Duke also converted on 14-of-23 from the charity stripe, while Tech made it to the line just 11 times, making seven.

Tech Record Book Versus Duke

* The Jackets have had two players to score 30 or more points in a game against the Blue Devils. Ida Neal first accomplished the feat when she had 31 points against them in 1987, while Kisha Ford recorded the most Tech points against Duke when she had 32 in 1997.

* Two Duke players have scored 30 or more points against the Jackets, as Sue Harnett scored 30 in 1991, and Tyish Hall matched that output with 30 in 1996.

* Tech’s 14 overtime points in 1989 and again in 1993 set a record for most Tech points in an extra period until the Jackets scored 18 against Clemson last season.

Looking at the Blue Devils

The Blue Devils had their streak of 51 consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference victories snapped at Florida State Wednesday as the Seminoles downed Duke, 80-74 at the Leon County Civic Center. Florida State had five players record double-figures in scoring, led by 20 points from freshman Shante Williams. Duke was led by forward Mistie Bass, who recorded 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Alana Beard added 22 points and Lindsey Harding, 11. The Blue Devils were without the services of All-American Iciss Tillis, who suffered a concussion in the Clemson game the contest before. The Seminoles shot 57.4 percent from the field and went 16-for-22 from the free-throw line, including a pair late in the game by Bradley that sealed the victory. Duke shot 46.7 percent in the contest, and converted on 75 percent of its free throws, but turned the ball over 16 times, which led to 15 FSU points. The Seminoles were also able to get 15 points from their bench, while Duke was limited to just six from its reserves. The score was tied at 35 going into the lockerroom at the half, but FSU came out strong in the second half, outscoring the Blue Devils, 45-39 in the frame. This season, the Blue Devils are led by a pair of All-Americans in Alana Beard and Iciss Tillis, who are averaging 19.6 and 11.9 points per game, respectively. Monique Currie has returned to form this season, standing second on the team in scoring (13.1 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg). Mistie Bass is also averaging 11.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in her starting role. Duke has five players that have recorded double figures in blocks this season, led by Beard, Bass, and Brittany Hunter, all with 23. Tillis and Currie have blocked 18 and 17 shots, respectively. Harding leads the team with 90 assists this season, while Beard has recorded 81; Beard has also stolen a team-high 52 passes in 2004.

Last Time Out for the Jackets

Kendra Bell and Ashley Key scored 17 points apiece as four Wolfpack players scored in double figures in NC State’s 75-71 victory over Georgia Tech Sunday at Reynolds Coliseum. Also scoring in double figures for the Wolfpack were Kaayla Chones and Sasha Reaves, with 14 and 11 points, respectively. NC State scored seven consecutive free throws with less than a minute remaining in the game to hold off the Jackets comeback. During that time, Megan Isom and Fallon Stokes hit a pair of three-pointers while Kasha Terry and Alex Stewart added layups. Over the final eight minutes, there were six ties and 10 lead changes and neither team led by more than two points during that time until the Wolfpack hit some key free throws at the end of the contest.The Yellow Jackets shot 46.8 percent from the field, including 63.6 percent from the three-point arc. Isom hit four threes while Stokes added two in the contest. Stokes led all scorers with 24 points while Isom and point guard Alex Stewart added 18 and 17 points, respectively.

Head Coaches’ Backgrounds

Although MaChelle Joseph and Gail Goestenkors are meeting for just the second time in history as opposing head coaches, they share a history dating back to 1989 when Joseph began her first season as a member of the Purdue women’s basketball team. At the time, Goestenkors was an assistant coach in the program and actually recruited Joseph to play for the Boilermakers. Goestenkors left Purdue following the 1992 season, Joseph’s senior year, to become head coach of the Blue Devils. She owns a 23-3 record against Georgia Tech and is 1-0 against her former player.