GREENSBORO - Georgia Schweitzer likes the vibe in Greensboro Coliseum.
"I love this gym," the Duke senior said after defeating Florida State yesterday in the semifinals of the ACC tournament.
After scoring 52 points in two games to make it to the championship game, Schweitzer is pumped about getting one more win in Greensboro.
"I'm not really sure," she said. "I know when you play ball here, you get confident. When you shoot with confidence, it's a different story. Sometimes you're not hitting your shots and in some particular gyms, it gets in your head. It can also be positive."
Schweitzer has won an ACC tournament championship already, and tonight she will lead the Blue Devils one last time, hopefully, to defend that tournament title.
After Duke's (27-3) win over Florida State Sunday afternoon, second-seeded Clemson fell 65-52 to third-seeded N.C. State (20-9), ensuring an ACC final that everyone believes might vie with the Orange Bowl as this year's top defensive showdown.
"N.C. State, their defense is phenomenal," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "They put great pressure on the ball, they get up in the passing lane, really try to keep you from executing your offense."
The two teams split during the regular season. Duke won 62-59 in a close match in Cameron earlier in the season. It was in that game that Alana Beard dislocated her thumb. By the time she had returned and the Blue Devils faced the Wolfpack in Raleigh, the tables turned and N.C. State handed Duke its third and final loss of the season, as the Blue Devils crumbled 69-55 in the last five minutes of what had been a tight game.
N.C. State, meanwhile, returns after a roller-coaster season. Opening the conference season 2-6, including a 75-35 win over Wake Forest and an overtime loss at North Carolina, the Wolfpack turned it around in the second half of conference play. N.C. State went on a 7-0 sweep through the conference before dropping its last regular-season game at Maryland.
"That chokes me up," said an emotional N.C. State coach Kay Yow. "It's something I got used to and it hasn't been here for a while. To be back in the championship, with this team, is really special. They believe that together, we can go above and beyond. So I'm just thrilled to be back."
Yow, who notched her 600th win in Raleigh last month, would know how special a return to the finals are. Having not won a tournament game in five years, she last saw the Wolfpack win the championship in 1991.
"We didn't want to play anyone else but Duke," forward Talisha Scates said. "I mean, Durham and Raleigh right next to each other, and in Greensboro, it doesn't get any better than that."
N.C. State leads the conference in scoring defense, allowing an average of only 57.4 points per game. Predictably, Duke follows as a close second in the ACC, allowing 61 points per game.
Duke has the offensive edge, however, with 75.4 points per game, dwarfing the Wolfpack's seventh-place mark of only 66. Even worse is N.C. State's perimeter shooting-the Wolfpack is only 26.3 percent from behind the three-point arc.
But while Duke might have more experience in the ACC finals lately, Kay Yow has another advantage.
"I love tournaments. I love this time of the year. The Lord must have known. My birthday comes in March. That's like an indication. March madness, that just fits me perfectly."
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