11/26/2009 - Duke Sports Information

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Caribbean Challenge
Nov. 26  vs. Western Kentucky (3-0)
Nov. 27  vs. Marquette (3-1)
Cancun, Mexico  •  Moon Palace Resort

Media Information

Tip-off: Nov. 26 vs. Western Kentucky, 6:00 p.m. & Nov. 27 vs. Marquette, 6:30 p.m. (EST)
Live Video:  None
Radio:  Duke ISP Network - 620 The Buzz with Steve Barnes (PBP), Morgan Patrick (Color)
Twitter: DukeWBBSID & CoachPDuke
Facebook:  Official Duke Women's Basketball Group
Rankings:  Duke (No. 11 - AP, No. 12 - ESPN/USA Today)
Series:  Duke leads series with WKY (2-0); Duke leads series with Marquette (2-0)
Head Coaches:  Duke:  Joanne P. McCallie (371-165, 18th Season)
  WKY:  Mary Taylor Cowles (157-70, 8th); Marq:  Terri Mitchell (258-147, 14th)

Blue Devils Head Tropical to Play Two Games in Cancun, Mexico...
 For the Thanksgiving holiday, the 11th-ranked Duke women's basketball team (3-1) will head tropical as the Blue Devils will participate in the Caribbean Challenge on Nov. 26 and 27 in Cancun, Mexico.  Duke will take on Western Kentucky (3-0) on Thursday, Nov. 26 and then will face Marquette (3-1) on Friday, Nov. 27.  The contest on Thursday against the Lady Toppers will tip at 6:00 p.m. (EST) and against the Golden Eagles on Friday, the Blue Devils will play at 7:30 p.m. (EST).  All games will be played at the Moon Palace Resort.
 Duke is ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press and No. 12 in the ESPN/USA Today Division I Coaches Polls. 

   Noting Duke...
 Senior Bridgette Mitchell will play in her 100th career game against Western Kentucky ... the Blue Devils hit a season-high five three-pointers, blocked a season-high 12 shots and had a season-low 12 assists against Charlotte on Monday ... with her career-high eight assists against Charlotte, junior Jasmine Thomas now owns 201 career dishes ... Duke has registered a 14-1 record during the last 10 years at tropical destinations (Cancun in 2000 and 2006, Bahamas in 1999 and 2004 and St. Thomas in 2002 and 2007) ... the only losses for Duke in the Caribbean were in 1997 with a 77-65 loss to eighth-ranked Illinois in San Juan, Puerto Rico and in the 2007 Paradise Jam to second-ranked Connecticut, 74-48.

A Look At Western Kentucky...
 Western Kentucky enters the Caribbean Challenge with a 3-0 record with victories over Eastern Kentucky, Ball State and South Dakota State.  The Lady Toppers are led by Amy McNear (18.3 points, 5.6 assists), Courtney Clifton (12.7 points) and Arnika Brown (12.7 points, 13.0 rebounds).  Head Coach Mary Taylor Cowles enters her eighth season with Western Kentucky and returns all five starters from last season's 16-13 squad.

The Series With Western Kentucky...
 Duke and Western Kentucky will meet for only the third time in school history and the second straight season.  The Blue Devils defeated the Lady Toppers, 59-56, at Western Kentucky last season on Nov. 28, 2008. 

 The only other meeting came on March 20, 2000 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with the Blue Devils winning, 90-70.  The game was played in Durham, N.C.

A Look at Marquette...
 Marquette enters the Caribbean Challenge with a 3-1 record and a two-game win streak against Creighton and Oakland.  The Golden Eagles will take on Cleveland State at 2:30 p.m., on Nov. 26 prior to taking on the Blue Devils on Nov. 27.

 The Golden Eagles have been led with three double-digit scorers on the season -- Jessica Pachko (11.8 points), Lauren Thomas-Johnson (10.8 points) and Angel Robinson (10.5 points).  Robinson is coming off notching the first triple-double in school history against Oakland with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.  Marquette is coached by Terri Mitchell, who is in her 14th year and owns a 258-147 record.

The Series With Marquette...
 Duke and Marquette will meet for the third time in school history and the first time since March 23, 2004 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.  The No. 1 ranked Blue Devils won 76-67 in Cameron Indoor Stadium.  The other meeting came on Nov. 29, 1998 in Cameron Indoor Stadium with Duke notching a 91-60 victory.
  
Storylines/Other Blue Devil Notes...

• Senior Bridgette Mitchell leads Duke with 16 offensive rebounds on the season. Over her four-year career, she has totaled more offensive rebounds than defensive rebounds each season. For her career, she owns 192 offensive boards and 156 defensive rebounds.
• With her four blocks against Charlotte, junior Krystal Thomas moved into 10th place on Duke's all-time blocked shots list with 79. She passed Payton Black's 78 career swats and is just two away from ninth all-time.
• Junior Karima Christmas hit 2-of-4 from downtown against Charlotte, which broke a streak of seven consecutive missed three-point field goal attempts to open the season.
• After shooting 45.5 percent from three-point land in two exhibition games, Duke has struggled from downtown to open the season hitting only 20.0 percent (14-of-70). Eight Blue Devils have attempted a trey on the year.
• Duke is averaging 17.0 steals a game through four contests so far. The Blue Devils are also playing big on the boards outrebounding opponents, 51.2-31.5 (+19.8).
• Over her 18 years as a head coach, Joanne P. McCallie owns a record of 2-3 against Western Kentucky. She is 1-0 versus the Lady Toppers as the coach at Duke and was 1-3 versus WKU while at Maine. McCallie has totaled a 1-0 record against Marquette with the 65-63 win coming while she was at Michigan State on Dec. 2, 2001.
• Against teams from the Sun Belt Conference, Coach P owns an all-time record of 6-4 -- Arkansas State (2-0), Denver (1-0), FIU (0-1), Middle Tennessee State (1-0) and Western Kentucky (2-3).
• Coach P owns an all-time record of 17-9 against Big East teams -- Cincinnati (2-0), Connecticut (1-3), DePaul (1-0), Marquette (1-0), Notre Dame (2-0), Pittsburgh (1-0), Providence (3-3), Rutgers (2-3), South Florida (3-0) and Villanova (1-0).
• The 95 points allowed by Duke at Texas A&M on Nov. 15 was the most allowed by a Blue Devil team since the 104 points Connecticut scored on Nov. 13, 1998. The 56.9 field goal percentage by the Aggies on Sunday was the highest allowed by Duke since Florida State shot 57.4 percent on Feb. 4, 2004. The game broke Duke's 51-game ACC winning streak.
• In the season opener on Friday, Duke scored 104 points and won by 69 points at Houston Baptist University. The 104 points was the most scored under a team led by Joanne P. McCallie at Duke and the 69-point win was the largest margin of victory for a McCallie-led Blue Devil squad. The Blue Devils also hit 55.7 percent from the field, which is the second-best field goal percentage for a Coach P led Duke team. The high was 56.0 percent against Virginia on March 6, 2009 in the ACC Tournament.
• The Coach P Radio Show will next take place on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 6:00 p.m. The show will be stationed at Satisfaction Restaurant in Durham at Brightleaf Square. Make sure you get there early to secure a seat.

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Western Kentucky Game Time Change...
   The contest against Western Kentucky on Thursday, Nov. 26 will now start at 6:00 p.m. (EST).  Please note the time change.

Duke Makes Return To Caribbean Challenge...
 The Blue Devils previously played in the Caribbean Challenge in 2006 with Duke registering victories over 25th-ranked Bowling Green (55-46) and SMU (75-45).

Jackson Productive in First Start...
   After not playing in either of the two exhibition games, senior Keturah Jackson came off the bench to open the season at Houston Baptist and Texas A&M.  In the home opener against Georgia Southern, Jackson got the starting nod and took full advantage of it.

 In the contest versus the Eagles, Jackson notched 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals in 27 minutes played.  The 11 points was one shy of a career high and her five assists was a new career high.  The 6-0 guard hit 5-of-7 field goals on the night.

 So far on the season, Jackson owns a team-high 15 steals.  Jackson is coming off having rotator cuff surgery on June 8 and was finally cleared for full action on Nov. 13 for the season opener at HBU.

Duke Versus the Sun Belt...
  Duke has won 8-of-9 games against Sun Belt opponents. The only loss to a Sun Belt team was against Florida International on January 1, 1984 when the Blue Devils fell, 56-83.

Duke Versus the Big East...
 The Blue Devils have matched up against Big East teams 47 times, winning 31 of those contests.  Duke has won three straight games against Big East opponents and seven out of its last 10.