North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Set to Face No. 2 Blue Devils on Friday
1/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Jan. 28, 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State women's basketball, 10-10 and 2-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, will travel to Durham on Friday, Jan. 30, to face the No. 2 ranked Duke Blue Devils, 15-2 and 6-0 in the ACC. Game time is set for 7 p.m. on FOX Sports Net South. NC State has picked up two straight ACC victories with a win at Florida State and a win at home versus Maryland. Duke recently ended its 15-game winning streak with a loss to then No. 2 Tennessee.
NC State has won two-straight ACC games after starting 0-5. The Wolfpack evened the series with Maryland 1-1 for the year with a 61-45 victory at home on Sunday. Two players are averaging double figures in ACC games, both senior Kaayla Chones and freshman Marquetta Dickens. Chones leads the NC State squad with 14.7 ppg, while Dickens is adding 10.0 ppg. Chones has recorded double digits in all but one ACC contest and in all but three games overall. Dickens has recorded 10 or more points in seven games overall and in four ACC games. Senior Nanna Rivers, who leads the team in assists with 63, has finished with five or more assists in four of the six ACC games. Chones recently reached the 800-rebound plateau with her three boards against Maryland. She has 800 total for her four-year career and ranks seventh all-time at NC State. The Wolfpack continues to be a consistent leader among the ACC's assist makers, ranking second behind Duke. NC State owns a 38-21 overall record versus the Blue Devils and is 15-12 at Duke. The Pack hasn't won a game at Cameron Indoor since Feb. 18, 1992 (87-67). That was the last year without Goestenkors.
Duke recently ended a 15-game winning streak with a loss to Tennessee on Saturday, 72-69. Prior to that, the Blue Devils hadn't lost since opening the season with an 85-77 loss to Texas in the State Farm Tip-off Classic. Duke continues to dominate the ACC however, winning its first six games of its conference slate. Four players are averaging double figures for the Blue Devils, with senior Alana Beard leading the way. She is averaging 18.9 ppg. Sophomore Monique Currie is second on the squad with 13.7 ppg and 7.1 rpg. Senior Iciss Tillis is third with 12.2 ppg, but leads the team in rebounds with 7.3 rpg. Sophomore Mistie Bass rounds out the foursome with 10.5 ppg. Duke is currently outscoring its opponents by an average of 28.4 ppg and outrebounding them by a margin of 12.2. The Blue Devils are also forcing their foes to turn the ball over more than 23 times per game, seven more than the Duke total. Duke's last ACC loss was to NC State in Raleigh on Feb. 18, 2001 (ST 69, Duke 55).
