Blue Devils stomp Heels, 101-58

Call it a first round TKO for the Blue Devils.

The Duke-North Carolina rivalry has always featured bitter slugfests till the final whistle, regardless of time, place or records.

Last night's contest certainly wasn't one of them.

In a rout of historic proportions, the women's basketball team (18-2, 7-1 in the ACC) trounced North Carolina (10-9, 2-6) 101-58 last night in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The 43-point margin of victory was easily the most lopsided win for Duke in its series history against North Carolina and the worst loss for the Tar Heels in nearly a decade.

"I'm just real proud of the team," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "Obviously we were very focused and ready to play. Tonight, we played a great game.

"It was the most complete game we've played, offensively and defensively."

Peppi Browne set the tone early for the Blue Devils, blowing past UNC star LaQuanda Barksdale on the game's opening possession for a layup; and her teammates quickly followed suit.

Before the Tar Heels could even gather themselves, the Blue Devils had roared out to a 30-8 lead behind a 15-of-21 shooting performance in the game's first 12 minutes. Browne and reserve Sheana Mosch each contributed six points to the opening blitz.

North Carolina turned the ball over 24 times and converted only 19 field goals. Before two meaningless three pointers from Leah Sharp in garbage time, the team had shot a combined 1-for-13 from behind the arc.

"We're just not taking very good shots," Hatchell said of her team. "We've tried setting up things, getting balls to certain people, we haven't really found [something that works]. We're just going to keep working until we push the right button."

Although the victory was already well in hand, the Blue Devils received their biggest scare of the season in the second half.

With 11:22 remaining and the Tar Heels pressing hard, Georgia Schweitzer found a streaking Browne down court. But as Browne slammed on the brakes to pump-fake, her right knee gave out awkwardly and she collapsed immediately to the floor.

While the boisterous crowd fell silent, Goestenkors and trainer Joe Angus attended to Browne and she was helped off the floor after five minutes. Browne's injury status remained unclear following the game.

"I hope Peppi's knee is not what I think it is," Hatchell said. "It looked bad when she went down. I hope it's not an ACL injury, but it looked pretty bad. I've seen a lot of those, and my stomach dropped when it happened."

Although Goestenkors went to the bench frequently in the second half, the Tar Heels never mounted a serious run. But North Carolina's trapping defense did manage to turn the final 20 minutes into a conga line to the free throw line. The Blue Devils went eight minutes without a field goal but somehow managed to extend their lead from 39 to 42 over that stretch.

When the parade to the charity stripe ended, the only drama remaining was whether Duke would break the 100-point barrier. Seldom-used center Lello Gebisa ended the suspense with 11 seconds left by softly banking in a turn-around in the lane.

The game marked the first time Duke has broken the 100-point barrier against an ACC team since it dropped 113 points on Georgia Tech last January.

"It's always nice [to get to 100] because the crowd gets really into it," Schweitzer said. "But it doesn't really matter to us as long as we win."

Notes: Rice grabbed her 500th rebound last night and came within one board and four assists of a triple-double.... Duke's 29 made free throws established a new Blue Devil Cameron record.... The Blue Devils shot 67 percent from the field in the first half, its best performance of the season.