Duke-Temple Preview

3/19/2007 12:25 PM

By DAN BURCH
STATS Writer

Duke's lone loss this season was quickly forgotten with a flawless performance in its NCAA tournament opener.

The top-seeded Blue Devils look for a repeat effort when they play No. 8 seed Temple in the second round on Tuesday in Raleigh, N.C.

Duke spent the entire season undefeated before a surprising loss to North Carolina State in the ACC tournament. After having 15 days off following that defeat, the Blue Devils (31-1) shot 54.2 percent from the field to beat No. 16 seed Holy Cross 81-44 in their first-round game on Sunday.

"As the game went along, I felt like we got a little bit better on both ends of the floor, which was really the purpose of this game - it was just to get the kinks out and get our legs back under us," Blue Devils coach Gail Goestenkors said.

Abby Waner made a Duke tournament-record six 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 26 points as the Blue Devils improved to 13-0 in NCAA tournament games played in North Carolina.

"I'd be a little bit worried coming into the tournament if I felt I was rusty," said Waner, who is 17-for-26 from 3-point range in her last three games. "Even though we had 15 days off, that still doesn't mean you can't get in the gym and shoot."

The Blue Devils' performance helped erase any doubts about the team's vulnerability as it tries to reach the Final Four for the second straight year after losing 78-75 to Maryland in overtime in last season's national championship game.

Duke led 41-22 at halftime Sunday and has yet to trail after the first half of any game this season. Senior point guard Lindsey Harding won her 127th career game at Duke, tying the school record held by Mistie Williams.

Duke has advanced to the round of 16 every year since 1998, making four Final Four appearances during that time.

Temple (25-7) is just happy to be in the second round after rallying to beat ninth-seeded Nebraska 64-61 on Sunday. The Owls were upset as a No. 6 seed in last year's first round and had only one tournament victory in four previous appearances under coach Dawn Staley.

"It's a really huge win for the program," said senior Kamesha Hairston, the Atlantic 10 player of the year. "Every other year we've lost in the first round. No one thought coming into this year we'd have the success we've been having."

Lady Comfort scored the go-ahead basket as the Owls rallied from a four-point deficit in the final 2 1/2 minutes to set up the matchup with Duke.

"They are the No. 1 team for a reason," Staley said of the Blue Devils. "They are balanced and have a variety of ways they can score. I like who we bring into the basketball game and I like our approach and our belief. We are going to play them like they are another basketball team and let the chips fall."

Duke beat Temple 112-34 on Dec. 12, 1998, in the only meeting between the teams. The 78-point margin of victory was the third-largest in school history.