No. 13 Duke Wins Maui Invitational With 77-73 Win Over No. 11 Marquette
| 11/22/2007 - Duke Sports Information |
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) - Two things are perfect on Maui: the weather and Duke basketball.
Freshman forward Kyle Singler scored 25 points, including the clinching free throws with 13 seconds to play, and the 13th-ranked Blue Devils beat No. 11 Marquette 77-73 on Wednesday night to claim their fourth EA Sports Maui Invitational championship.
Duke (5-0) won the title here in 1992, 1997 and 2001. The Blue Devils' first 11 wins came by an average of 18.9 points and nine were by at least 10 points. This one went down to the final seconds.
No other school has won more than two championships in the 24 years of this event.
DeMarcus Nelson added 16 points for the Blue Devils, whose fans were chanting "our house" in the final minute and as the awards were being presented.
The Lahaina Civic Center may not be Cameron Indoor Stadium but Duke has a better winning percentage there.
Lazar Hayward had 14 points for the Golden Eagles (4-1), who were making their first appearance in the tournament.
Marquette beat Duke 73-62 in the championship game of the CBE Classic in Kansas City, Mo., exactly a year ago. It was the Golden Eagles' second straight preconference tournament title as they won the Great Alaska Shootout in 2005.
Singler joined Bobby Hurley, current Duke assistant Steve Wojciechowski and Mike Dunleavy as Blue Devils who have won the MVP at the Maui Invitational.
Duke took a 67-61 lead with 6:03 to go on a low move by Lance Thomas off a pass from Singler, his only assist of the game.
The lead was six one more time, before Maurice Acker hit a 3 for the Golden Eagles and Ousmane Barro made one of two free throws to get Marquette within 69-67 with 4:42 left.
The Golden Eagles were within 75-73 with 33 seconds left on a layup by Jerel McNeal. Singler, who was bothered by a leg cramp midway through the second half, made two free throws with 13 seconds left for a four-point lead. He was 7-for-11 from the field and 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
Singler was stretched out on the floor near the Duke bench when he was out with the cramp. He jumped up and sprinted by the bench to get back in the game and took a bottle of Gatorade with him to the scorer's table to report in.
Both teams are perimeter-oriented, yet Duke went inside early, scoring 10 of its first 14 points on drives, tip-ins or layups.
A big lift for the Blue Devils was 7-foot-1 sophomore center Brian Zoubek, who scored four points on offensive rebounds and had an assist when he threw the ball back out to Greg Paulus for a 3-pointer that was part of the 11-2 run that gave them a 35-27 lead with 4:41 left.
Singler capped the run with a 3 and the freshman added another one 2:24 later to make it 39-30.
Even though both teams shot well in the first half - Duke hit 53.3 percent and Marquette was at 44.8 - the defense was intense and every shot was contested.
James hit a scoop shot on a drive with seven seconds left to bring Marquette within 43-36 at halftime.Article Links
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Clough: Waner Sisters Looking Forward To Home Game
| 11/10/2007 - Rob Clough, GoDuke.com |
DURHAM, N.C. – It’s always special when a player gets to go home and play in front of their friends and family. For Emily and Abby Waner, getting to open the season at the University of Denver (DU) will be particularly memorable, considering that so many people who have touched their lives will be in attendance.
Indeed, there will be so many people from the sisters’ past in attendance that Emily said that it will feel like "a home game for Abby and me.” The fact that their homecoming game is also their season opener is adding to the excitement for fifth-year senior Emily, who is thrilled to make her "last debut." For Abby, it doesn’t matter what day their homecoming game fell on, she’s just "glad to be there in front of her family." Abby enthused that she couldn’t "wait to get there, because there were so many people [in Colorado] who were a part of me getting to Duke." Emily shares her excitement and is grateful for the "supportive community" that’s been a part of her life.
Their parents, Tim and Jeannie, have purchased hundreds of tickets to the game.
Friends and relatives are coming into town from all over. Not only are old high school friends going to be in attendance, the Waners’ old high school (ThunderRidge) has bought a number of tickets as well. The current team at ThunderRidge will be at the game, along with the members of their old club team and many former coaches. Thus far, over 4,200 tickets have been sold for the game. Considering that DU’s attendance record at Magness Arena is 4,799 and the pioneers averaged just 465 fans a game last season, it’s safe to say that this will be a special event for the Pioneers as well. With so many friendly faces, Emily said that this game will feel like a home game for Abby and herself.
The Waners grew up in Highlands Ranch, a suburb approximately 20 minutes south of Denver. Tim Waner attended DU and was a baseball star. Emily noted that Magness Arena is just 15 minutes away from their childhood home, and that DU has become a gathering place for pickup basketball during the summer.
Players from the University of Colorado, Colorado State, Denver and Pueblo College all come looking for competition, especially because it’s a convenient, centralized gathering location. Emily was effusive in her praise of Magness, which is a new facility, and Denver coach Pam Tanner. She is "grateful" to her for scheduling Duke after Colorado State backed out of a home-and-home arrangement.
Emily described Tanner as an "excellent" coach who recruited her when she was at ThunderRidge.
Emily and Abby have some connections to a couple of current Pioneers. Guard Alisha Godette is the team’s leading returning scorer, and like Emily, is a fifth year senior. She played at rival Doherty High School and is a quick, strong slasher that Abby said gave them "nightmares for years." Abby first started playing against her when she was in fourth grade. Energetic starting guard Brooke Meyer played on rival Cherry Creek High and lost to ThunderRidge in the state finals during Abby’s junior year. Abby describes her as a ‘firecracker’ and averred that "I’d love to play with her." That Cherry Creek team had a couple of other notable names: Jessica Elway (John’s daughter, who is now at Stanford) and Caroline Cryer, now a member of Duke’s lacrosse squad.
When asked about what they missed most about Colorado apart from family and friends, Emily said simply that "home is always home." Both sisters noted how much they miss the mountains, and Abby said that the snow and mountains gave her a sense of being home. Emily said that she missed Denver’s big-city atmosphere a bit and Abby concurred, especially now that she’s "older, so there’s more that I can do." Abby did enthuse about living in Durham, however, enjoying the "college atmosphere" and its greenery. Both players are most excited that their family will host a dinner for her teammates and coaches at their house on the Saturday before the game.
One thing neither player misses from their Colorado days is playing at altitude.
Both Waners suggested that "you get used to it." Emily recalled that it was a "huge advantage" when she played at the University of Colorado, especially against opponents that weren’t in peak condition. Emily said that she’d advise her teammates to "drink lots of water." Abby advised simply playing through it, and hoped that her teammates would "go hard on Saturday," noting that it would help them for the game on Sunday. Abby added that Duke’s "depth will be huge," so don’t be surprised to see the Blue Devils go to its bench early and often.
One interesting figure expected to attend the game will be Abby’s fourth grade basketball coach, Cassandra Stevens. She noted that Stevens was "compassionate" and "team-oriented," emphasizing relationships. Abby could feel the "love she had for people as a coach." Stevens taught her to value her teammates and her coaches. Abby actually started playing the game in first grade, with her father Tim as her coach. When asked if basketball was something she specifically wanted to do as a first-grader, she replied that "Sports is what I wanted to do," saying that she was a "tomboy who just wanted to run around and compete."
Of course, part of wanting to play came from wanting to be like her older sister. Emily emphasized that it "means a lot to play with Abby," and that this game was one of the reasons "why I came here." The nature of their relationship was highlighted in a play from the Blue/White game where the sisters happened to chase after the same loose ball and wrestled after it for several seconds, neither one wanting to yield. Emily said that this play was "the definition of our relationship." Because of the closeness of their relationship off the court, they are "not afraid to cross the line" on the court. Simply put, Emily said, "It’s personal, and I don’t want to lose".
Abby agreed when it was suggested that if you had to boil down her court personality to just one word, it would be "competitive." She said that "both of us hate to lose, especially to each other." She offered that no one could take away the fact that they are sisters, and so having an outlet for their intensely competitive natures was liberating and "made us better players."
While both players are grateful for the opportunity to go home and play in front of so many loved ones, they both understand that the focus is "on team." Emily noted that she and the team want to go out and "play the way we were taught to do in practice" and concentrate on getting a win. Neither player is too worried about playing in front of a big crowd. Abby considers it to be "an honor" that leaves her "humbled." Emily said that they played in front of many of the same people in high school, so this won’t be a new experience. Of course, "once you starting playing, everything else dissolves." She’s excited for this "grand finale" of sorts, a celebration of the career she’s had with Abby and a validation of the fact that they "stuck it out" together.
Both players no doubt hope that starting the season with a trip home will be the first step for a long and successful trip this year.
Courtesy: Sara DavisEmily and Abby Waner
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