The women’s basketball team travels to Cameron Indoor Stadium tonight to play its second straight top-five opponent, four days after a 65-53 home loss to then-No. 4 North Carolina.
Duke, the No. 2 team in the country, has defeated N.C. State in the schools’ past eight meetings and in 15 of the last 17 games between the two.
Coach Kay Yow, who will be coaching in her 999th game Thursday night, said State has the third toughest schedule so far this season, and even though Duke and North Carolina have a combined record of 34-0, the back-to-back games against the two are good for the team.
“We are being really pushed to get ready, to prepare and to have a chance to win these games,” Yow said. “But I think that if we finish the game, win or lose, and if we come back and we play at the same level of intensity over the next few games, it will be worth it all.”
The Wolfpack have started the season 11-5 overall and 2-2 in the ACC, but away from Reynolds Coliseum, State is only 4-4 while Duke has not lost a home game since Feb. 27, 2005.
Yow said her staff will talk to the team about the atmosphere at Duke, but she insisted the team is excited about the challenge of playing at Cameron.
“We will bring it up and remind them on Thursday during the shootaround,” Yow said. “While women don’t get the same crowds that men do, it’s still a privilege and pleasure to play before an enthusiastic, loud and roaring crowd. It brings the best out of you.”
Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said State has one of the best low-post combinations in the nation in senior center Tiffany Stansbury and sophomore forward Khadijah Whittington.
“There are so many teams that have great tandems, and N.C. State is certainly one of them,” Goestenkors said. “They are very athletic. They rebound the ball very well. They are tough to defend because they can shoot a little bit from out[side] and also take it off the dribble. So, once again, it will be a tough challenge for us.”
Stansbury, who leads the Pack in scoring and shot blocking, will be playing at Cameron for the first time.
“I was there watching the NCAA Tournament last year, and I’m very excited about playing there for the first time, especially with such a rowdy crowd,” Stansbury said.
But for Ashley Key, a junior guard who has become one of the ACC’s top defenders, it will be her second trip.
“It’s an electric place to play,” Key said. “It’s always fun to go to different atmospheres and play — you will find out really quick if you are going to let them get to you.”
Key spent the majority of the North Carolina game guarding Ivory Latta and holding her to 2-for-15 shooting, and she will likely spend most of tonight’s matchup on Duke senior forward Monique Currie, a National Player of the Year candidate.
“She is a complete player,” Yow said about Currie. “She is a competitor. She can shoot the three. She can put it on the floor. She can rebound. She can just do it all. She is an All-American. Not only that, she is a clutch player.”
Key agreed that Currie is an all-around player.
“She means so much to their team,” Key said. “It will be a good challenge for me. The way I’m going to approach it is that I’m just going to try to see what she likes to do, and I’ll do my best to stop her.”
Asked the best way to defend Currie, Stansbury shrugged and left three words of advice for her teammate.
“Play good defense,” Stansbury said.
