Wake Forest University
Duke
Wake Forest Loses OT Heartbreaker
3/2/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 2, 2001
By DAVID DROSCHAK
AP Sports Writer
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Georgia Schweitzer scored 27 points and hit key foul shots in overtime as No. 4 Duke overcame a miserable start to beat Wake Forest 75-68 in the opening round of the ACC women's tournament Friday night.
The top-seeded and defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion Blue Devils (26-3) fell behind by 15 points against a team that had lost eight straight and trailed by nine at the half before being pushed into an extra period.
Wake Forest's Bianca Brown tied it up at 62-62 with a three-point play with 26.2 seconds left in regulation and Duke held the ball for one last shot. But freshman star Alana Beard lost the ball as she dribbled toward the basket as time expired to sent it into a five-minute overtime.
Duke trailed twice in the extra period, but two free throws by Schweitzer with 1:59 left put the Blue Devils ahead to stay at 69-68.
The all-conference senior then made three more from the line over the final 27.9 seconds and grabbed a key rebound and got a steal to help close out the Demon Deacons (11-17).
Schweitzer finished 14-for-16 from the free-throw line, making six straight over the final 1:39 of regulation to keep Duke in it.
Olivia Dardy had a career-high 30 for Wake Forest, but the Demon Deacons turned it over 31 times.
The halftime comeback was the third best in ACC tourney history. Florida State overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to beat Maryland last year and Duke was down 20 against Virginia in 1995 and went on to win in overtime.
Top seeds had gone 19-0 all-time against No. 8 or No. 9 seeds heading into the game, but the Blue Devils came dangerously close to becoming the first casualty, falling behind big in the first half.
Duke could do nothing right in the opening 20 minutes, shooting 27 percent, going 6-for-13 from the foul line and turning it over 13 times.
The ACC's top shooting team went more than 4 1/2 minutes without a basket to start the game and missed 13 of its first 16 shots as the Demon Deacons built a 23-8 lead 8:44 before the break.
At one point, Duke went eight minutes without a point.
But the Demon Deacons managed just four more points the rest of the period as the Blue Devils closed within nine.
Duke's 18 points at halftime was its lowest total of the season. The previous low was 23 against LSU on Nov. 11. The Blue Devils went on to win that game 56-45.
