Big win for Coach P and the program -

Duke closed out the series with Tennessee with a win and a 5-4 overall lead.  This is the kind of victory you point to on the recruiting trail.  This game also looks good on your resume when seedings are announced.

Momentum is back and so is the defense, but rebounding is the key word -  Duke lost a bit of their momentum is a very disappointing loss to UNC in Chapel Hill, but came back to throttle Clemson at home.  Coach P was preaching rebounding in the post game conference and that carried the Blue Devils had another good game on the glass.  The Duke defense locked down the Vols for most of the night.

Jasmine Thomas - Jasmine hit some key shots when Duke needed a basket.  Thomas has taken her game to another level this season and the Blue Devils will need that to continue.

Next play - Virginia Tech at home on Thursday.  The game starts at 7:00 and is the second to last home game of the season.

Back to ACC play- The tournament atmosphere in Knoxville could well help the Devils during the stretch run.  After the aforementioned Hokies, Duke will then travel to Maryland and Wake Forest before a season ending game with North Carolina.  Needless to say, all the games are important in terms of seeding for the ACC Tournament which runs March 5th through the 8th in Greensboro.

The following is courtesy of Duke Sports Information (visit GoDuke.com for complete game coverage) -

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Seventh-ranked Duke did something only two other teams in NCAA history have done -- defeat 13th-ranked Tennessee three straight times at Thompson-Boling Arena -- on Monday night in front a national television audience as the Blue Devils posted a 62-54 victory.

Jasmine Thomas scored a game-high 19 points and Chante Black added 18 points for the Blue Devils.  Duke will next host Virginia Tech on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 7:00 p.m.

For a full recap, click on www.GoDuke.com <http://www.goduke.com/>

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Blue Devil Postgame Notes   *  Duke at Tennessee *  February 16, 2009

With The Duke Victory:
*       Improved to 21-3 overall and 6-2 against ranked opponents.
*       Won its third straight contest at Tennessee in the Thompson-Boling Arena and became only the third program to ever defeat the Lady Vols at home three straight times (Texas and Louisiana Tech)
*       Moved to 6-5 in the series against Tennessee.
*       The home team in the Duke/Tennessee series moved to 1-5.
*       Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie moved to 2-2 all-time against Tennessee.
Senior Chante Black
*       Registered double-figure scoring for the 25th straight game to open the season and remains the only player in the ACC to score double-digits in all of her team's games this year.
*       Her streak of 25-straight games to open the season in double-figures is now tied for third all-time at Duke (Sue Harnett -25).
*       Finished with 18 points and a season-low two rebounds.
*       Fouled out for only the second time this season and the fourth time in her career.
*       Hit 8-of-11 field goals.
Senior Abby Waner
*       Posted five assists marking the ninth time this season she has dished out five or more assists.
*       With her five assists, moved into eighth place on Duke's all-time assist charts with 411.
Senior Carrem Gay
*       Pulled down six rebounds in only 16 minutes.
Senior Carrem Gay
*       Came off the bench to notch nine points, nine rebounds and one assist.
Junior Bridgette Mitchell
*       Made her second straight start and the eighth start of her career.
*       Registered eight rebounds in 19 minutes of action, while notching three steals and one blocked shot.
*       In her two games started, she has pulled down nine and eight rebounds.
Sophomore Karima Christmas
*       Played for the first time after suffering a concussion a week ago at North Carolina on Feb. 9.  She returned to full-contact practice on Sunday.
*       Saw action in only seven minutes and had two rebounds and one steal.
Junior Keturah Jackson
*       Came off the bench to register six points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists in 22 minutes.
Sophomore Jasmine Thomas
*       Notched double-figure scoring for the fifth time out of the last seven games and a total of 10 times this season.
*       Led Duke with 19 points and a season-high seven rebounds.
Sophomore Krystal Thomas
*       Pulled down five rebounds in only nine minutes.
Other Duke Notes:
*       Wore road blue uniforms with pink and white trim for the "Pink Zone" game.
*       The Blue Devils dropped to No. 7 in the AP Poll that was released on Monday afternoon.
*       Outrebounded Tennessee 49-36 and now has outrebounded the last two opponents by a combined 32 boards.
*       Duke committed 22 turnovers but Tennessee registered only 12 points off those turnovers.
*       Its bench was outscored for the third straight game.
*       Improved to 29-3 under Coach P when holding opponents to under 40.0 percent from the field.
*       Held Tennessee to only 54 points and Duke's defense has now held 18 out of 24 opponents to 58 points or under.
*       Played its third road game out of the last four games.
*       Duke will next return home to face Virginia Tech on Thursday, Feb. 19 as the Blue Devils host the Hokies at 7:00 p.m.

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Official Basketball Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final Statistics
#7/10 Duke vs #13/18 Tennessee
2-16-09 7:33 p.m. at Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tenn.
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VISITORS: #7/10 Duke 21-3, 8-2 ACC
                         TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
15 Bridgette Mitchell.. f  1-4    0-0    2-2    6  2  8   2   4  0  1  1  3  19
30 Carrem Gay.......... f  0-3    0-0    0-0    1  5  6   2   0  1  1  1  1  16
11 Chante Black........ c  8-11   0-0    2-5    0  2  2   5  18  1  6  1  1  32
04 Abby Waner.......... g  2-10   0-5    1-2    1  3  4   2   5  5  7  0  0  35
05 Jasmine Thomas...... g  6-9    1-2    6-8    2  5  7   3  19  2  5  0  2  36
13 Karima Christmas....    0-1    0-0    0-0    2  0  2   2   0  0  1  0  1   7
21 Joy Cheek...........    3-8    0-0    3-7    5  4  9   4   9  1  0  1  0  24
31 Keturah Jackson.....    3-4    0-0    0-3    2  2  4   0   6  2  1  0  3  22
34 Krystal Thomas......    0-5    0-0    1-2    1  4  5   1   1  0  0  1  0   9
  TEAM................                         1  1  2
  Totals..............   23-55   1-7   15-29  21 28 49  21  62 12 22  5 11 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-29 41.4%   2nd Half: 11-26 42.3%   Game: 41.8%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-5  20.0%   2nd Half:  0-2   0.0%   Game: 14.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  3-4  75.0%   2nd Half: 12-25 48.0%   Game: 51.7%    4
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HOME TEAM: #13/18 Tennessee 18-7, 7-3 SEC
                         TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
02 Alex Fuller......... f  3-9    0-2    0-0    3  3  6   3   6  2  1  0  1  29
52 Kelley Cain......... c  4-6    0-0    2-6    1  5  6   4  10  0  0  2  1  24
05 Angie Bjorklund..... g  2-13   1-7    3-4    3  0  3   2   8  3  1  0  3  36
15 Alicia Manning...... g  1-2    1-2    0-0    1  2  3   5   3  1  2  0  2  17
40 Shekinna Stricklen.. g  2-10   0-3    2-2    0  3  3   5   6  1  4  0  1  28
01 Briana Bass.........    3-4    2-2    6-6    0  2  2   1  14  1  1  0  0  24
10 Amber Gray..........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  1  0  0   5
20 Sydney Smallbone....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   4
25 Glory Johnson.......    0-6    0-1    1-2    1  2  3   2   1  0  3  0  2  16
33 Alyssia Brewer......    3-6    0-0    0-5    3  2  5   1   6  1  3  2  0  17
  TEAM................                         3  1  4             1
  Totals..............   18-56   4-17  14-25  15 21 36  23  54  9 17  4 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  8-26 30.8%   2nd Half: 10-30 33.3%   Game: 32.1%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-7  28.6%   2nd Half:  2-10 20.0%   Game: 23.5%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-7  71.4%   2nd Half:  9-18 50.0%   Game: 56.0%    6
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Officials: Dee Kantner, Bryan Enterline, Eric Brewton
Technical fouls: #7/10 Duke-None. #13/18 Tennessee-None.
Attendance: 16990
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
#7/10 Duke....................   28   34  -   62
#13/18 Tennessee..............   23   31  -   54
UT's #40 fouls out @ 4:02/2 DU's #11 fouls out @1:31/2
UT's #15 fouls out @ 39.8/2

Points in the paint-DUKE 28,TENN 24. Points off turnovers-DUKE 14,TENN 12.
2nd chance points-DUKE 11,TENN 15. Fast break points-DUKE 6,TENN 2.
Bench points-DUKE 16,TENN 21. Score tied-2 times. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-DUKE 2nd-01:41, TENN 2nd-00:47.
Largest lead-DUKE by 16 2nd-08:51, TENN None.