|
 |  |
|
AD PARTNERS
|  |
Duke advances to face LSU
Posted: Saturday March 25, 2000 08:05 PM
DURHAM, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Sheana Mosch and Georgia Schweitzer scored 25 points each as second-seeded Duke pulled away in the second half for a 90-70 victory over No. 10 Western Kentucky in an East Regional second-round matchup. Duke advances to the regionals for a third straight season and will face Louisiana State in Richmond, Virginia on Saturday. With the game tied, 40-40, with 16:57 remaining, the Blue Devils (28-5) seized control with a 14-3 burst capped by a jumper from Missy West to take a 54-43 lead midway through the second half. Five different players scored during the crucial spurt, led by West's five points and three each from Schweitzer and Rochelle Parent. The Hilltoppers (22-10) pulled within 67-57 with 6:43 to go but that was as close as they would get, failing to clinch their first "Sweet 16" berth since 1995. The Blue Devils, who advanced to the championship game a season ago, won their 15th straight at Cameron Indoor Stadium and improved to 3-2 here in second-round matchups. "I'm just excited to be moving on," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "It certainly didn't feel like a 20-point game and I don't think it was a 20-point game. I just felt like if we could hang in there and keep working the ball and making them work defensively, sooner or later we would wear them down a little bit." Jamie Britt nailed back-to-back jumpers in the first half to give Western Kentucky its biggest lead, 21-18, with 8:24 remaining. She finished with 17 points, but made only four of her next 12 shots. Mosch did most of her scoring at the line, draining 11 straight free throws for Duke, which shot 87 percent (26-of-30). "Sheana had an exceptional game and I'm just very, very proud of her," Goestenkors added. "I thought tonight she made great decisions with the basketball. She's been having very good practices lately." ShaRae Mansfield led the way for the Hilltoppers scoring 21 points and grabbing nine rebounds, but the team shot just 42 percent (26-of-62) from the field. "If we could just keep it within five or six with a few minutes (left), this team knows how to pull it off," Western Kentucky coach Steve Small said. "We missed a lot of shots we normally make."
© 2003 SportsTicker Enterprises, LP
| ||||||||||||||||||||
