GREENSBORO - For the last three seasons, the Blue Devils have always rode into the ACC tournament with a team capable of winning the ACC tournament.
But the closest those teams ever came to the tournament final was a comfortable seat on the couch in front of a television.
Those teams never had it this easy.
Leading from wire to wire, No. 2 seed Duke (25-5, 14-4 in the ACC) routed the sixth-seeded and outclassed Yellow Jackets 77-56 yesterday in Greensboro Coliseum to punch its ticket to the ACC tournament final. The Blue Devils will face fifth-seed North Carolina, which upended No. 1 seed Virginia 66-62 in thrilling fashion yesterday, in Duke's first appearance in the final since 1996.
"We came ready to play," said senior Missy West, who poured in 18 points in only 22 minutes of play. "Duke's women's program hasn't won an ACC championship. [Coach Gail Goestenkors] is constantly reminding us of that. Last year we went to the Final Four, and this year we want to win the ACC championship-that's one of our premier goals."
Although the surging Yellow Jackets (15-13, 8-10) had upset third-seeded N.C. State in the quarterfinals Saturday, the Blue Devils wasted little time before chucking Tech's glass slipper into the garbage disposal. Duke took advantage of seven Yellow Jacket turnovers in the first 13 minutes and raced out to a 22-13 lead.
The Blue Devils then effectively closed the game out with a 12-2 run to end the first half. Duke guards Georgia Schweitzer and Krista Gingrich each hit a three-pointer in the
"My compliments to Duke," Georgia Tech coach Agnus Berenato said. "They played an excellent game. By virtues of the scores of the three games we've had against Duke this season, it's evident that they're a team that's 20 points better than us."
For the second straight game, Duke played all 11 active players and no one played more than 30 minutes. But despite her limited playing time, Lauren Rice still came within one assist of recording the first triple-double in the history of the program.
But even with Rice approaching history, it was her roommate West that stole the show in the second half.
Midway through the second half, West went on a personal 8-0 run that included two three-pointers from the top of the key with the shot clock winding down. After hitting her second three while drifting to her left, West turn to the Duke bench and gave the gesture of disbelief made famous by Michael Jordan in the 1992 NBA finals.
"I don't even remember doing it, but my teammates were making fun of me in the locker room," West said. "I was just shocked at some of my shots that were going in. I don't know where they came from. It was a great feeling, I just wasn't expecting it."
Something the Blue Devils may not have been expecting was their easy path to the tournament final. With every active player getting in the scoring act, Duke had routed eighth-seeded Florida State 92-65 in the quarterfinals Saturday.
For the second time in less than two weeks, the Blue Devils torched the Seminoles out of the gates and held a double-digit lead the entire second half. Duke's pressure defense forced FSU into 25 turnovers, including 12 by injury-ridden forward Brooke Wyckoff.
"I said it about 10 days ago, 'That's a great Duke basketball team,'" said Florida State coach Sue Semrau in what sounded like a replay of her post game comments after the last Duke-FSU meeting. "I was very impressed with their overall team effort. They took advantage of the things we did not do well. They outplayed us in every aspect of the game."
Duke's effectiveness was even more surprising considering less than 24 hours before the game, the playing status of the Blue Devils' starting backcourt was in serious doubt. Friday night, freshman guard Sheana Mosch threw up repeatedly and Gingrich was still battling a case of bronchitis.
But by game time, both Mosch and Gingrich were raring to go. Mosch scored six of the team's first 11 points and sent the Blue Devils on their way to the trouncing, and perhaps, the first ACC tournament championship in program history.
Notes: Sophomore Janee Hayes started Saturday's game because Rice had missed team curfew last week.... North Carolina will make its sixth tournament final appearance in the last seven years.... Duke and North Carolina have only met once for the ACC title, with UNC winning in 1995.... Tickets for tonight's 7:30 championship game will be available at the gate and are $8 for students, $10 for adults.
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