133 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(02/03/03 9:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For the first time in program history, 9,314 fans packed into a sold-out Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday night for a women's basketball game.
And although the Blue Devils played poorly until a late second-half run lowered their deficit against Connecticut to single digits, the Crazies proved throughout the contest why they are considered the best fans in the country.
"This was one of the best crowds at any game I've ever been to, men's or women's," senior Dorsey Rickard said. "Everyone was loud and crazy. It was just an incredible atmosphere."
The line for ticketed fans started forming around 7 a.m., and the walk-up line grew to several hundred students before the 7 p.m. tip-off.
"We had to turn away probably more than 100 people," line monitor Andrea Walczak said. "This was the first women's game where we've ever even needed line monitors."
The fans who did make it into Cameron certainly made their presence felt. In addition to the usual cheers, the Crazies enjoyed taunting Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma.
Auriemma--who drew the ire of Duke fans with his well-documented, brash comments before the game--dislikes his given first name, Luigi.
The Crazies picked up on this tid-bit of information and chanted "Luigi" whenever the Huskies' coach made a scene on the sidelines. Auriemma was mocked in near unison when he received a technical foul for protesting a call with 13:29 left in the game.
Despite the Blue Devils' 21-point halftime deficit, Cameron remained as loud and as full as it was at the opening tip. The fans were rewarded with a strong second half run by the home team, including 21 points from All-American Alana Beard.
The decibel level easily matched that of men's games during Duke's 30-11 streak that brought it within nine points in the closing minutes.
"At one point when we started to make our comeback, I couldn't hear myself think," Beard said. "It was awesome. I really appreciate the Cameron Crazies coming out. They did an awesome job."
The Crazies may have been loud, but they were also generally well-behaved.
The only security problem occurred at the start of the second half, when the game had to be delayed while several unruly Connecticut fans were removed from the student section.
"We had three UConn fans acting, shall we say, inappropriately," said first sergeant Larry Michels, who led a full police presence. "When I took them outside, they couldn't produce tickets, so they were not allowed back in. We want people to come in and enjoy the game, but we just don't want them to act inappropriately."
According to the other UConn fans--who were a small but loud group--the atmosphere in Cameron topped that of the Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn., which consistently sells out to a throng of 10,167 screaming Husky faithful.
"I was very impressed with this crowd," said Connecticut fan Mary Hill, who travels to most of the team's games. "This is probably the loudest stadium that I've ever been to. Here you've got all the students right on the court and they really bring it. It's totally awesome. All the older people are close to the court in Connecticut and the students sit higher up."
Duke students certainly packed the sidelines Saturday night, but opinions varied on whether or not this crowd was a one-and-done deal.
"This game probably intrigued some students and will make them want to come back to see the women play," Rickard said. "But it'll take a while to get the crowds like they have at men's games."
Other fans, though, were less optimistic.
"With a loss a lot of fans won't want to come back," said freshman Joanna Hundley, who was one of the first in line at 7 a.m. "At guy's games, there's always nonstop cheering. It's just so unfair."
Only time will tell just how faithful the Crazies really are, but, if Saturday night was any indication, attendance and enthusiasm should improve considerably for a program that has truly become one of the nation's elite.
"I appreciate the packed house that we had," Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "I'm sorry that we couldn't give them a better game."
(02/01/03 5:00am)
Saturday night's much-anticipated contest in Cameron Indoor Stadium between No. 1 Duke and No. 2 Connecticut not only features the top two teams in the nation, it also pits the game's two best players--juniors Alana Beard and Diana Taurasi--against each other for the first time in college.
(01/21/03 5:00am)
CHAPEL HILL -- At the start of the 2002-2003 season, the women's basketball team played with a fire and intensity that led to consistent blow-out wins against a wide range of opponents, from weak squads such as Hampton to perennial powerhouses like Tennessee.
(01/16/03 5:00am)
Prior to last night's game against ACC-foe Virginia, sharp-shooting Duke freshman J.J. Redick said that he would have likely remained in his home state to play college basketball for the Cavaliers if he had not grown up a Blue Devil fan.
(11/22/02 5:00am)
Since 1995, the Jimmy V Men's Basketball Classic has helped raise nearly $450,000 for the V Foundation for Cancer Research in honor of the late Jim Valvano, the legendary North Carolina State Basketball Coach and ESPN broadcaster who lost his battle with cancer in 1993 at age 47.
(11/14/02 5:00am)
Traditionally, Parents Weekend has been designed to impress the families of students already attending the University. Apparently, the 2002 version of this annual event also appealed to some future Blue Devils.
(11/11/02 5:00am)
Women's tennis star Kelly McCain may have just missed a chance to become the first women's tennis player in school history to win two collegiate grand slams in a single season, but the sophomore nevertheless had a strong showing at the Omni Hotels National Indoor Championships in Dallas, Texas.
(11/11/02 5:00am)
Entering the 2002-03 college basketball season, few players have played in as many big games or have led their team to as much success as Maryland's senior point guard Steve Blake.
(11/11/02 5:00am)
As preseason accolades continue to mount for the 2002-2003 women's basketball team, perhaps no player is better prepared to handle the high expectations than senior guard Sheana Mosch.
(11/05/02 5:00am)
Team Nike may have scored the first and final baskets in Monday's exhibition game against Duke, but little else went right in between the opening and closing seconds for the group of former college players, as the Blue Devils dominated their overmatched opponents 103-63.
(10/07/02 4:00am)
If football games could be won based on stats alone, then Duke would be sitting at 3-3 heading into next weekend's contest against Wake Forest with a chance to climb above the .500 mark for the first time in recent memory this late into the season.
(09/26/02 4:00am)
This is the first of a five-part series highlighting the freshmen members of the women's basketball team.
(09/24/02 4:00am)
When Duke sophomore Kelly McCain accepted her prize after reaching the first final of her young professional tennis career last week in Peachtree City, Ga., she expected the envelope to contain the $1,700 runner-up check. Instead, because she is still an amateur, she found a note telling her to see the tournament director for a smaller sum to cover just her travel expenses.
(09/16/02 4:00am)
Youth can often be a disadvantage to collegiate cross-country teams, but, if Saturday's victories at the Lou Onesty Invitational in Charlottesville, Va., are any indication, a plethora of young runners on both the No. 11 women's and No. 20 men's squads are poised to lead the Blue Devils to one of their most competitive seasons ever.
(09/06/02 4:00am)
When the 2002 NCAA Cross Country Championships take place in Terre Haute, Ind. at the end of November, both the men's and women's squads plan to be a part of the elite 31-team field competing for the national crown.
(04/11/02 4:00am)
To say that the Duke women's tennis team has been dominant in the ACC in recent years would be an understatement.
(03/29/02 5:00am)
Their senior class of Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones and Tamika Williams have each scored more than 1,000 points in their careers and have compiled a 130-9 record while collecting one national title and participating in three Final Fours.
(03/26/02 5:00am)
RALEIGH -- They say that a team must play strong defense in order to win a national championship. If so, the rest of the Final Four field should watch out, because the Blue Devils have proven that they have one of the most stifling defensive units in the nation.
(03/25/02 5:00am)
RALEIGH -- For Duke basketball fans, the scene at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh Saturday afternoon was frighteningly familiar.
(03/01/02 5:00am)
In less than two years at Duke, women's basketball star Alana Beard has already racked up countless individual awards for her sensational performance on the court. In addition to winning the ACC Freshman of the Year award for the 2000-2001 season, she was named national freshman of the year by nearly every major field of voters and was the first freshman ever to be chosen for the first team All-ACC.