Dec. 18, 2004
INDIANAPOLIS - Monique Currie had 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to lead No. 3 Duke to a 66-48 victory over No. 20 Purdue on Saturday in the Boilermaker Blockbuster.
Wanisha Smith added 12 points and Mistie Williams had a career-high 14 rebounds for the Blue Devils (10-1), who extended their winning streak to eight games.
Erin Lawless scored 17 points and Katie Gearlds had 16 for Purdue (6-3), which shot a season-low 28 percent from the field and went through two scoring droughts.
After whittling a 13-point Duke lead down to two in the second half, the Boilermakers went the next 8:31 without a field goal.
Currie and the Blue Devils outscored Purdue 17-2 in that span. Currie had eight points during the run, including a three-point play off an acrobatic layup that got Duke rolling.
The Boilermakers missed 13 straight shots, spanning 9:40 from the end of the first half and beginning of the second, to squander a lead. Duke outscored Purdue 19-0 during the drought to turn a six-point deficit into a 34-21 lead with 16 minutes left.
Lawless responded with eight points during a 16-5 run that Sharika Webb capped with a 3-pointer to cut Duke's lead to 41-39.
That was the best Purdue could do as Duke's scrappy defense showed up and the Boilermakers' anemic offense reappeared.
Lawless and Gearlds combined to go 12-of-32 from the field, but the rest of their teammates went 5-for-29.
In a ragged first half, Duke shot 28 percent and Purdue 25 percent. Both teams went through scoring droughts of more than five minutes in the period.
Duke closed with a 10-0 run to take a 25-21 lead at the break. Gearlds scored 11 first-half points, including three 3-pointers, to keep Purdue close.
JON KRAWCZYNSKI
AP Sports Writer