No. 12 Duke 78, Virginia 70

2/24/2008 2:08 PM

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -Chante Black scored 15 of her 22 points in the second half, and Wanisha Smith added 16 points in her final home game to lift No. 12 Duke past Virginia 78-70 on Sunday.

The Blue Devils (21-7, 10-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) wrapped up the No. 3 seed for the conference tournament, beating the Cavaliers for the ninth consecutive time at Cameron Indoor Stadium and the 14th straight game overall.

Duke led 31-30 at halftime before Virginia (20-8, 8-4) started the second half with an 8-0 spurt. The Cavaliers scored on three consecutive possessions to take a 38-31 lead 2 minutes in, and they stretched their lead to 42-33 on a pair of free throws by Lyndra Littles with 16:12 remaining.

But the Blue Devils responded by scoring on eight of 10 possessions. Black made all four of her field-goal attempts, two of which resulted in three-point plays, as Duke cut Virginia's lead to 61-59.

Smith tied the game at 61 on a pair of free throws, and Duke regained the lead when Smith made a driving layup with 4:32 left.

The Cavaliers self-destructed down the stretch, committing turnovers on four consecutive possessions and missing a pair of free throws.

Monica Wright led Virginia with 23 points, and Aisha Mohammed contributed 18 points and 14 rebounds. Paulisha Kellum added 15 points for the Cavaliers, who finished with 22 turnovers against Duke's pressure.