University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Duke
No. 13 Tar Heels Fall To No. 1 Duke, 79-57
January 11, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2004
Box Score in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
By AARON BEARD
Associated Press Writer
DURHAM, N.C. - Alana Beard had 22 points Sunday and No. 1 Duke used a late run to beat No. 13 North Carolina 79-57 for the Blue Devils' 500th victory.
Mistie Bass scored 18 points for the Blue Devils (13-1, 4-0 ACC), who improved to 500-300 in the program's 29 seasons. Monique Currie added 14 points and 15 rebounds for Duke, which has won 47 straight conference games.
Duke has not lost an ACC game since falling to North Carolina State 69-55 in February 2001.
Duke also improved to 23-1 as the nation's top-ranked team, while the Tar Heels (13-2, 3-1) fell to 0-18 against No. 1 teams.
Freshman Ivory Latta had 17 points to lead North Carolina, which has lost 10 straight and 13 of 14 to Duke.
Duke had won the last two meetings here by 20 and 34 points, but the Tar Heels stayed with the Blue Devils most of the way Sunday. The Blue Devils scored 16 straight points late, shutting down the Tar Heels and getting strong play from Bass inside, to put the game out of reach.
During that run, Duke held the Tar Heels without a field goal for the final 7:51. Duke scored 25 of the game's final 28 points and held the Tar Heels to 29 percent shooting.
Latta and Little combined for 11 points during a 21-10 run to open the second half, erasing a 38-27 halftime deficit and tying it at 48 with about 10 minutes left. But the Blue Devils went ahead to stay when Beard found Lindsey Harding for a 3-pointer and a 57-54 lead with 6:40 left.
That ignited the 16-0 run, with Bass scoring six points by getting to the free throw line and crashing the boards. She went 3-for-4 at the line and kept a possession alive with an offensive rebound that led to a basket inside by Iciss Tillis.
Bass then grabbed an offensive rebound on a missed free throw by Harding and completed a three-point play for a 68-54 lead.
