In the mid-eighties, the Houston Rockets were led by two seven-footers, Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon, who were known as the Twin Towers. Last night in Cameron Indoor Stadium, No. 8 Duke (22-5, 14-1 in the ACC) displayed its own version of the Twin Towers, as Michele VanGorp and Payton Black sparked the Blue Devils to a 75-67 win over N.C. State (15-10, 8-7).
"I am just very excited to come away with a win," said coach Gail Goestenkors. "N.C. State has got an outstanding team."
With 11:12 left in the game and the score knotted at 47-47, Black took control, scoring 10 of Duke's points in a 12-4 run that gave the Blue Devils a 59-51 lead with only 5:45 to play.
From that point on, the Wolfpack could not draw closer than two points, as the Blue Devils hit 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
"I'm very proud of the team and the effort they gave in the second half," Goestenkors said. "Down the stretch when we really needed it, I thought we played well."
Black finished the game with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in only 11 minutes, before fouling out while battling inside with N.C. State's Summer Erb.
Erb, the ACC's leading scorer, registered 17 points and five rebounds in 33 minutes but was worn down by the inside presence of both Black and
VanGorp struggled from the field, scoring 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting, but she was able to wear down Erb and force her into foul trouble.
"Summer is one of the most physical players you come up against in the ACC," VanGorp said. "It was definitely physical down there, so you just have to play with it and do what you can to win the game."
Duke started the game with a flurry, as Georgia Schweitzer hit a layup and a three-pointer in the opening minute to give the Blue Devils a 5-0 advantage. Tynesha Lewis, who ended the contest with a game-high 19 points, kept the Wolfpack alive in the first half, breaking down the Duke defense off the dribble for 12 points.
The Blue Devils appeared to take command of the game late in the first half, using an 11-2 spurt to take a 29-20 lead 5:52 before intermission.
N.C. State answered with a 10-0 run of its own over the next 2:42 and went into halftime holding a 35-33 lead.
"[N.C. State] played great basketball, especially in the first half," Goestenkors said. "We struggled defensively, and I didn't feel like we put forth the type of effort needed against a team like N.C. State in the first half.
"The challenge to the team at halftime was to come out and play with passion defensively and get the loose balls and rebounds."
The second stanza remained even for the opening six minutes, but with her team down 47-44, N.C. State coach Kay Yow chose to give both Lewis and Erb, her top two scorers, a rest at the same time.
The move initially paid off, as Monica Bates, who was 2-of-6 from behind the arc on the season, buried a game-tying three-pointer. But Duke answered with six consecutive points before finally gaining an eight-point advantage which it would never relinquish.
Hilary Howard, Duke's court leader, was held in check throughout the game, not finding the basket for the first 38:29. But with the shot clock running down and the Blue Devils clinging to a three-point lead, Howard drove the baseline for a reverse lay-up and her first points of the contest, extending the lead back to five.
Despite only scoring six points and being held to zero assists, Howard kept control of the game in the final minutes and only committed two turnovers over the entire contest.
"For the most part we took care of the ball, but we especially did when we needed to, which was down the stretch," Goestenkors said.
Schweitzer scored five of her 14 points in the final four minutes, and Peppi Browne grabbed a key offensive rebound followed by a putback with only 2:06 left to play.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.