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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, March 3, 2008

Tar Heel women rip Duke, 82-51

Associated Press

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — For the second time in a month, North Carolina ran right by Duke and turned the rivalry into a rout.

Cetera DeGraffenreid scored 14 points to help the second-ranked Tar Heels beat the No. 12 Blue Devils 82-51 yesterday, securing the school's first unbeaten regular season in Atlantic Coast Conference play while handing Duke its worst loss in 15 years.

Erlana Larkins added 14 points and 10 rebounds in her final home game for the Tar Heels (27-2, 14-0 ACC), who had an easy time beating their rival for the seventh time in nine meetings. North Carolina has won 10 straight games and 18 of 19 overall, earning the league tournament's top seed for the third time in four seasons.

"I was telling everybody, 'I wouldn't want to play us on Senior Night,' " said Tar Heel senior LaToya Pringle, who had 14 points, eight rebounds and six blocks.

"It's heart, and these guys right here," North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said while sitting alongside Larkins and Pringle.

Chante Black had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils (21-8, 10-4), who saw their latest matchup in the rivalry turn into a replay of last month's disastrous first meeting. Then, the Tar Heels ran the court at will and got just about any shot they wanted in a 93-76 win, which marked only the third time this decade that the Blue Devils had allowed an opponent to score 90 points.

No. 3 Tennessee 72, No. 22 Georgia 63: Candace Parker scored 30 points in her final regular-season game and the Vols (27-2 overall, 13-1 SEC) finished second in the conference by beating the host Bulldogs (21-8, 8-6). Christy Marshall led Georgia with 15 points.

No. 5 Maryland 76, N.C. State 64: Laura Harper scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Crystal Langhorne had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lift the Terrapins (29-2, 13-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) past the host Wolfpack (18-11, 6-8). Nikitta Gartrell scored 19 points for N.C. State.

No. 6 LSU 64, Mississippi State 49: Sylvia Fowles had 20 points and 12 rebounds to help the Lady Tigers (25-4, 14-0) clinch the Southeastern Conference regular-season title with a win over the host Bulldogs (16-13, 4-10).

No. 7 Stanford 74, Washington State 52: Candice Wiggins scored 24 points to become the Pac-10 career scoring leader and the Cardinal (27-3, 16-2 Pac-10) beat the host Cougars (5-24, 2-16). Wiggins entered the game needing 14 points to tie Lisa Leslie, who scored 2,414 points at USC from 1991-94.

Washington 74, No. 9 California 66: Sami Whitcomb scored 24 points, and hit four 3-pointers during a decisive 18-7 second-half run as the host Huskies (13-17, 8-10 Pac-10) stunned Cal (24-5, 15-3), ruining the Golden Bears' chance at their first Pac-10 title.

Texas 65, No. 10 Oklahoma 49: Brittainey Raven scored 16 points and the Longhorns (18-11, 6-9 Big 12) prevented the host Sooners (21-6, 11-4) from tying for first place in the Big 12 standings.

James Madison 76, No. 11 Old Dominion 63: Dawn Evans scored 19 points to help the host Dukes (20-8, 13-4 Colonial Athletic Association) end the Monarchs' (26-4, 16-1) 19-game winning streak.

No. 16 Utah 67, No. 24 Wyoming 53: Leilani Mitchell had 19 points and 13 assists to help host Utah (25-3, 14-0 Mountain West) beat the Cowgirls (23-5, 11-4), giving the Utes' the regular-season title and their 20th straight victory.

No. 18 Ohio State 74, Northwestern 50: Marscilla Packer scored 17 of her 21 points in the second half and the host Buckeyes (22-7, 13-5) beat the Wildcats (5-25, 1-17) to become the first team in 18 years to win at least a share of four straight Big Ten titles.

No. 23 Vanderbilt 83, Alabama 54: Meredith Marsh and Ashlee Bridge each scored 16 points to lead the host Commodores (22-7, 11-3 Southeastern Conference) to a win over the Crimson Tide (8-21, 1-13).