No. 19 Tigers Upset No. 7 Blue Devils

February 14, 1999

CLEMSON, S.C. – Natasha Anderson and Itoro Umoh both scored 24 points each in leading 19th-ranked Clemson to a 80-75 upset win over seventh-ranked Duke in an Atlantic Coast Conference women’s basketball game at Clemson, SC Sunday afternoon.

With the win, Clemson improves to 20-5 overall, 10-5 in the ACC, while Duke falls to 21-5 overall, 13-1 in the ACC. Clemson is ranked 19th in both the Associated Press and USA Today polls, Duke is ranked seventh in both polls.

The Lady Tigers kept Duke from tying the ACC record for most ACC regular season games won in a row. The Blue Devils had won 19 ACC games in a row coming into the Clemson game. Virginia holds the league record with 20 consecutive ACC wins during the 1993 and 1994 seasons.

Umoh finished the game 7-14 from the field and hit 10-12 from the free throw line. She also had six assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Anderson was 9-12 from the floor and had five rebounds. She was also 6-7 from the free throw line.

Clemson finished the game 26-52 from the field for a .500 pct. This marked the fifth time this season, the Lady Tigers have shot 50% or better from the field this season.

Duke was led in scoring by Michele VanGorp with 35 points as she was 15-23 from the floor. She was also the game’s leading rebounder with 11.

Clemson largest lead was 19 as the Lady Tigers took a 39-20 lead with 3:29 left to go in the first half. Clemson took a 13 point lead into the lockerroom at the intermission.

Duke opened the second half on a 15-6 run in the first 6:05 and narrowed Clemson’s lead to 49-45 behind VanGorp’s nine points. Duke came within two points on three occasions in the next eight minutes but Clemson built a five point lead with 5:29 remaining in the game. VanGorp hit two field goals for Duke and brought the Blue Devils within one, 68-67, with 4:19 remaining in the game. However Clemson’s Umoh scored the next five points, and the Lady Tigers built a 73-67 advantage with 1:12 left in the game.

VanGorp hit a field goal for Duke and Umoh hit three of four free throws giving Clemson a 76-69 lead with :46 seconds remaining. Georgia Schweitzer hit a three for Duke with :38 seconds remaining and Geren answered with two free throws making the score 78-72. Hilary Howard hit a three-point field goal for Duke from the left, narrowing the lead to 78-75 with :26 seconds remaining. Umoh and Anderson both hit one of two free throws each in the closing seconds giving Clemson a 80-75 win.

Today’s victory was Clemson’s 20th of the season. This is the 10th time in Clemson’s Head Coach Jim Davis’ career that he has won 20 games in a season. Clemson has now won 20 or more games 16 times in the 24 year-old program’s history.

This was the last home game for Clemson this season. The Lady Tigers now have a 19-5 record when playing their last home game.