Duke nets 1st ACC crown

GREENSBORO - Tear-choked and game-weary, Missy West sat staring out at the assembled media with a spent stare that said everything that didn't need to be, her left hand cupping her right, as if she were holding her own hand, trying to convince even herself that she had done what she had done.

In a game where emotions had poured out like sweat and where a rivalry flared like no other can, she had been the hero of heroes.

It had taken Duke 25 years to be this close to an ACC championship and Missy West made sure that another 51 seconds wasn't going to stop the Blue Devils from claiming their first.

The senior, who has seen about as many knee surgeries as double-digit games, scored 11 second-half points and hit three key free throws in the final minute of the game as the second-seeded Blue Devils (26-5) defeated the No. 5 seeded Tar Heels (18-12) 79-76 in Greensboro Coliseum last night to win the program's first-ever ACC championship.

"It was a great game; we just came out determined to play at the end," said West. "It was a sweet victory, a great way to go out."

But the Tar Heels nearly chimed midnight early on the Tobacco Road Cinderella story of the blue collar Blue Devil.

After trailing by four to seven points most of the second half and not seriously threatening the Duke advantage, the Tar Heels began a rally with 5:53 left to play that turned a tight ACC championship game into one of the tournament's classics.

North Carolina star point guard Nikki Teasley, whose 31 points kept the Tar Heels close on the Blue Devils' heels the whole game, connected with a slashing LaQuanda Barksdale for a lay up to trim the lead from a game-high nine points back to seven.

And the Tar Heels weren't letting up.

A 24-foot three-point bomb by Teasley capped off the 17-6 Carolina run, giving the Tar Heels their first advantage since the 10:55 mark in the first half at 72-71.

Fortunately for the Blue Devils, it was the Tar Heels' only lead of the half.

The unlikely hero West laced a perfect pass to a cutting Georgia Schweitzer, sneaking the ball just past the arms of an outstretched Jackie Higgins, who turned and watched as Schweitzer sank the layup to put Duke ahead for good.

And then the unlikely sub became the unlikely hero.

A Teasley miss gave the ball back to the Blue Devils with 51.9 seconds to go and a handcheck foul by North Carolina's Cherie Lea on West, who was dribbling on the perimeter, would give the Blue Devils the game.

The Malone, N.Y., senior stepped to the line and sank the front end of a one-and-one, putting the Blue Devils ahead by a basket.

"[West] is one of the toughest kids I've ever coached," head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "She had such fire and determination. She got it done tonight."

She misfired on the second attempt, but another Teasley miss on the Tar Heels next possession and a pair of West free throws after she corralled the defensive rebound proved to be all the Blue Devils needed to claim their first ever ACC championship.

"This was one of the best games I've ever been a part of," Goestenkors said. "I'm incredibly happy to come of it with a win."

And for one brief moment still, it seemed like the Tar Heels might make one last push with 12 seconds left.

A home run ball from Rice soared through the Coliseum rafters, streaking above the Carolina press and hanging, it seemed, for the whole 25 years Duke had gone without an ACC title.

But the ball found the waiting hands of Schweitzer, was relayed to Michele Matyasovsky for a bucket and ended the evening in the only conceivable manner for the champion Blue Devils-perfectly.