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 Boston College's Mickel Picco, left, shoots over Duke's Lindsey Harding, right, in the second half. (AP Photo/Sara D. Davis) |
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Women's Basketball Falls To No. 1 Duke, 73-52
Feb. 15, 2007
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -Freshman Bridgette Mitchell scored a season-high 20 points Thursday night to lead top-ranked Duke past Boston College 73-52. Wanisha Smith added 13 points for the Blue Devils (27-0, 12-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won at least 12 conference games for 10 straight seasons, an ACC record. The Blue Devils now turn their attention toward a challenging final week of the regular season. Duke travels to sixth-ranked Maryland on Sunday, then returns home to face second-ranked North Carolina on Feb. 25. All three teams made the Final Four last season. Kathrin Ress scored 16 points for the Eagles (12-13, 2-9). The Eagles had ended a four-game losing streak with a win against Miami last weekend, but trailed the entire way in this one and never threatened Duke's perfect record. By halftime, Mitchell had 14 points - the freshman's first double-figure game since December and just her fourth all season - on 7-for-8 shooting in 10 minutes. At one point, Mitchell scored 10 straight points for Duke, helping the Blue Devils take a 36-19 lead on a putback with 5:55 left in the half. All seven of her baskets came in the paint, part of Duke's dominance inside. The Blue Devils scored 30 first-half points in the paint on putbacks and layups, helping them shoot 57 percent for the half. Boston College didn't have the same success, shooting just 10-for-32 with nine turnovers to fall behind 46-27 at halftime. The Eagles got no closer than 15 points after the break.