ACC Hoops Wrapup: Duke, FSU, Georgia Tech women win

ACC Men

Smith Scores Career-High 33 Points in 85-64 Win Over UAB: Nolan Smith is making everything look easy these days, from knocking down his own shots to directing the offense for top-ranked Duke while its star freshman point guard sits with an injury.

The senior scored a career-high 33 points to help the Blue Devils beat Alabama-Birmingham 85-64 on Wednesday night, giving Duke its 24th straight victory dating to last season's run to the Atlantic Coast Conference and NCAA tournament championships.

Kyle Singler added 15 points, including his 2,000th career point during a game-opening 26-4 run that took the drama out of this one early. The Blue Devils (14-0) never let the Blazers (10-3) closer than 14 points after that in a performance that pleased coach Mike Krzyzewski considering it came in a nonconference game crammed between Duke's first two ACC contests.

Physical Play Sparks Wolfpack Comeback: Led by C.J. Leslie's 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, NC State shook off a hot-starting Elon squad to win 87-72 at the Greensboro Coliseum Wednesday night.

Freshman Ryan Harrow followed Leslie with 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting and a perfect 8-of-8 from the line, alongside four assists and three steals.

Tracy Smith's 15 points, Scott Wood's 13, and Richard Howell's 10 gave NC State five players in double figures on the night, the third time pulling the feat this season.

Wake Forest Uses Big Second Half Run to Beat High Point, 79-63: Wake Forest used a 20-5 run midway through the second half and connected on 22-of-26 attempts from the free throw line to defeat High Point, 79-63, Wednesday evening at the Joel Coliseum. The win for the Demon Deacons snaps a four-game skid and improves their record to 7-8 on the year, while the Panthers fall to 5-8.

Along with shooting 84.6 percent from the free throw line, Wake Forest was also efficient from the field as well by shooting 49.1 percent (26-for-53). Many of the good looks for the Deacons were a result of a team-high 17 assists on the night.

Freshman J.T. Terrell had a very nice all-around game for Wake Forest, scoring a team-high 18 points while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists. Terrell was 6-for-12 from the field and 4-for-5 from the charity stripe

Boston College Basketball Loses To Harvard, 78-69: Senior Joe Trapani scored 21 points and junior Reggie Jackson netted 18 points to lead Boston College in a 78-69 loss to Harvard before 4,129 fans in Conte Forum.

Harvard, which had five players score in double figures, shot 23-of-24 from the foul line. Freshman Laurent Rivard came off the bench to pace the Crimson with a game-high 23 points.

The Crimson then outscored BC 18-5 in the final 10 minutes of the half to claim a 33-29 advantage at the break. BC shot 57.1 percent (12-for-21) in the opening half, while limiting Harvard to 36.5 percent shooting (9-for-24). Harvard, though, sank 13-of-14 free throws to gain the lead.

ACC Women

Yellow Jackets Upset No. 8 Tar Heels, 71-70: Metra Walthour hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 23.6 seconds remaining, Tyaunna Marshall scored 24 points and Georgia Tech beat No. 8 North Carolina 71-70 on Thursday night.

Jessica Breland, who missed a jumper at the buzzer, hit a pair of free throws to give the Tar Heels (15-1, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) a seven-point lead at the 1:40 mark, but North Carolina didn't score again.

Georgia Tech (13-4, 1-0) has won 10 straight. The Yellow Jackets scored eight points in the final minute on Marshall's 3-pointer, Deja Foster's basket and Walthour's 3.

Italee Lucas led North Carolina with 21 points and Breland finished with 15.

Alex Montgomery added 13 for Georgia Tech, which won its third straight at home over North Carolina but beat the Tar Heels for the just third time in the last 17 meetings.

No. 3 Duke Pushes Past No. 14 Maryland, 71-64: Jasmine Thomas scored seven of her 22 points in the final 2 minutes, and the Blue Devils remained undefeated by rallying past No. 14 Maryland 71-64 on Thursday night.

Tricia Liston added 12 points for the Blue Devils (15-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). They shot 38 percent and used a late 11-2 run to extend their winning streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium to 17. They're also off to their best start since the 2006-07 team opened 30-0.

Kim Rodgers scored 18 points and Diandra Tchatchouang added 14 for Maryland (13-2, 0-1), which went up 60-58 on Lynetta Kizer's layup with 2:39 to play before Duke got rolling moments later.

Thomas put the Blue Devils up for good with a long 3-pointer over Anjale Barrett with 1:55 left, making it 61-60. After Duke forced a stop, she came through again, swishing a runner over Barrett while fading right to stretch it to three. She added two free throws with 41.7 seconds left.

Freshman Chelsea Gray then stole a sideline pass and took it back for a layup to make it 65-60 with 51 seconds left. The Terps couldn't make it a one-possession game the rest of the way.

Krystal Thomas added 10 rebounds for Duke, which held a 46-42 rebounding advantage and improved to 4-0 this season against Top 25 opponents - all at home. The Blue Devils, who attempted a season-high 29 3-pointers and made six, have won nine of 10 against the Terrapins at Cameron and four straight overall in one of the ACC's most intense rivalries.

Johnson, Hurricanes Too Much For Virginia: The Hurricanes, led by junior Shenise Johnson's 30 points and 11 rebounds, earned a big 82-73 road victory over Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams Thursday night at the John Paul Jones Arena. The win was the 14th straight for Miami - the second longest win streak in program history.

Trailing by as much as five points in the opening half, Miami (15-1, 1-0 ACC) closed out the period on an 8-0 run, keyed by four points each from Riquna Williams and Morgan Stroman.

The run continued in the second half with a corner three from R. Williams and a Sylvia Bullock layup. In all, the Hurricanes went on a 13-0 run to take a 44-34 lead. The Cavaliers would get within one point with 8:09 to go, but Miami never trailed again.

After Virginia closed the gap to one, Johnson nailed one of her career-high tying 11 field goals to go up 59-56. On the next possession, reserve guard Shanel Williams stepped up and hit a three to extend the `Canes lead to six, limiting the home team's chances for a comeback.

Despite a poor shooting performance in the first half, R. Williams continued to attack the basket and draw fouls. The two-time ACC Player of the Week hit 9-of-11 free throws on the night and ended the game with 22 points. As a team, the `Canes connected on 20 of their 22 free throw attempts for a season-best 90.9 percent.

Stroman added 12 points and 12 rebounds - recording her second straight double-double and the fifth of the season. Bullock also reached double-figures on the night, adding 10 points.

Virginia (10-6, 0-1 ACC) was led on the offensive end by Paulisha Kallum's 19 points. Ariana Moorer scored 17 points, while Ataira Franklin added 15 and a team-high eight rebounds.

FSU's Semrau Gets 100th ACC Win at Virginia Tech, 79-48: She's got over 200 career victories and is the all-time wins leader in Florida State women's basketball history. Now Sue Semrau has 100 Atlantic Coast Conference victories on her resume.

The No. 19 Seminoles gave their head coach that milestone win Thursday night against Virginia Tech at Cassell Coliseum, 79-48, in the ACC opener for both squads. Under Semrau, who has still never lost to Virginia Tech on the road, FSU (13-3) is now 9-5 in its first league game of the year and has won the last five straight.

Four FSU players scored in double figures with redshirt sophomore forward Chasity Clayton's season-high 16 points leading the way. The Alexandria, Va. native also had five boards.

Senior guard Courtney Ward contributed 11 points on 3-for-5 shooting from 3-point range. All-star candidate Cierra Bravard posted 10 points to go along with five rebounds before fouling out with just over eight minutes remaining on the clock.

Redshirt sophomore guard Alexa Deluzio scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds while freshman forward Natasha Howard added eight points and three rebounds.

Swords Lifts BC Over Harvard, 80-78: Senior Carolyn Swords grabbed an offensive rebound and hit a lefty lay-up to give Boston College an 80-78 victory over cross-town rival Harvard on Thursday night in front of 824 fans at Conte Forum. Boston College improved to 13-2, while Harvard drooped to 6-6.

Swords, who finished with 28 points, nine boards and three blocks, snatched a Jaclyn Thoman miss and put it in the win the game with 1.2 seconds to play. Swords shot 12-for-17 from the floor and went 4-for-5 from the free throw line.

Senior Stefanie Murphy also had a big game as the forward from Londonderry, NH notched 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting and grabbed seven boards and had five assists. Freshman Kristen Doherty added 12 points and a career-high nine rebounds. Thoman finished with just four points but had eight assists and three steals.

Wake Forest Defeats Hampton: Senior Brittany Waters posted her third double-double of the year as Wake Forest closed-out non-conference play with a 62-49 victory over Hampton on Thursday night at the Joel Coliseum.

Waters has been the Deacons' offensive catalyst the last four games and on Thursday, she came up big from the free throw line in the second half. With the Deacs marred in a field goal drought, Waters made six-straight free throws to help keep Wake in front. She finished the game with 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.

Sophomore Sandra Garcia scored in double-figures for the second-straight game, finishing with 12 points and five boards while junior Secily finished with 10 points and six rebounds. Mykala Walker had another solid game inside for the Deacs, pouring in nine points to go along with seven rebounds.