No. 2 Duke 100, Wake Forest 54

1/2/2006 1:54 PM

By KEITH PARSONS
AP Sports Writer

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Leading scorer Monique Currie missed her only shot of the second half, but second-ranked Duke still managed 58 points while shooting 74 percent.

With that kind of depth, no wonder they cruised to another lopsided victory.

``It makes my job easier,'' coach Gail Goestenkors said. ``I think it shows with our assists, how unselfish they are, but also with the minutes. People are only concerned with the end result.''

Currie had 16 points before sitting out the final 11 1/2 minutes, Lindsey Harding added 14 points and Duke beat Wake Forest 100-54 Monday in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both schools.

Reserve Chante Black finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks for the Blue Devils (12-0), who won their previous five home games by an average of 57 points, including a 110-24 rout of Ball State. That's one of three times they have scored 110 points at Cameron Indoor Stadium this season, and the points came nearly as easily in this one.

``I don't feel like there's any pressure to try to score 100 points,'' Harding said. ``We just have so many people on the team that can score. That's how we get a lot of points.''

For most the first half, the Demon Deacons (7-5) stayed within reach, and they trailed only 30-23 when Corinne Groves made a layup with about five minutes left in the first half. That's when Duke took over.

``I think our defense sparked a lot of our offense,'' Currie said. ``We started attacking the basket instead of just passing it around.''

Alison Bales scored inside off an assist from Mistie Williams, and Harding converted a three-point play after nice feed from Currie. Meanwhile, Wake Forest's players had trouble keeping possession, and when they did their shots stopped falling.

They went into halftime with six straight missed shots and turnovers on three other trips, and it hardly got better after the break. The Blue Devils scored the first six points of the second half to force a timeout from Wake Forest coach Mike Petersen, and Groves ended the drought with a layup - her team's first basket in 7 minutes.

``When the game was still being contested, we had a lot of pretty good looks that I like, that we usually make,'' Petersen said. ``If you miss open shots, you're going to have a problem against a team like that.''

Later, a 3-pointer by Diedre Naughton closed the Deacons to 55-33, but Duke went on a 21-4 surge to make it 76-37, drawing a derisive cheer of ``More than double!'' from the few Crazies in attendance.

Of course, they should be used to it by now. The Blue Devils have won each of their games by at least 14 points, and they returned from easily winning the Surf'N Slam Classic in San Diego late last week. In two games, they averaged 112 points and shot 61 percent.

Duke has been just as impressive on defense, holding opponents to just below 30 percent from the field. Wake Forest, which lost its 29th straight in the series, finished at 29 percent.

``I think what we proved was they're the best team in the country and we're not,'' Petersen said. ``We've got a lot of work to do.''

Naughton led the Deacons with 15 points, but leading scorer Cotelia Bond-Young was held to nine, about half her average.

``We were just anxious and excited to try to do something that no one has done, try to compete with them and stick with them the whole game,'' Naughton said. ``Unfortunately, we didn't.''