Fast-Starting Duke Pounces on Loyola

Fourth-ranked Duke overwhelmed Loyola Marymount with an airtight defense in the first half and cruised to an 81-53 victory Monday in the championship of the Marina Beach Classic, before 912 at Gersten Pavilion.

Two-time All-American guard Alana Beard had 26 points and six assists in 28 minutes for the Blue Devils (9-1), who have won nine in a row since losing their season opener to Texas. Monique Currie had 14 and six assists.

Loyola (9-3) got 13 points from Bianca Ziemann and 11 from Kate Murray. But what the Lions got most of all was an education on what it takes to be a top-level team.

“Our [nonconference] season is to prepare us for the West Coast Conference; to try and win the conference championship, get into the NCAA tournament and compete,� Loyola Coach Julie Wilhoit said. “Along the way we need to test ourselves against teams who have been there and know what it’s like.�

Any thoughts of a possible upset Monday evaporated within the first 10 minutes as Duke burst to a 26-4 lead.

The Blue Devils smothered the Lions defensively with their quick hands and aggressiveness. It was difficult for Loyola to even take a shot. Loyola also had 11 first-half turnovers and 17 in the game.

“I thought this was one of our better team defensive efforts,� Duke Coach Gail Goestenkors said. “We put a lot of pressure on them, got in the passing lanes and got them out of their rhythm.�

On offense, 24 of Duke’s first 28 baskets were layups. The only Loyola defender who bothered the Blue Devils was forward Adrianne Slaughter, who had five blocked shots.

Duke’s biggest first-half lead was 42-9 with 2:51 to play. Loyola never got closer than 20 points.

-- Mike Terry

No. 1 Connecticut 87, North Carolina State 53 -- The top-ranked Huskies (9-0) won a record-tying 69th straight game at home, getting 20 points from Ann Strother and 18 from Diana Taurasi in a victory over the Wolfpack (7-5) at Hartford, Conn.

No. 6 Minnesota 73, Virginia 53 -- Lindsay Whalen had 31 points to lead the Gophers (10-0) over the Cavaliers (5-5) at Charlottesville, Va.

No. 9 Stanford 77, Oregon 51 -- Azella Perryman had 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Cardinal (9-2, 2-0) to a victory over the Ducks (8-4, 0-2) in a Pacific 10 Conference game at Palo Alto.

No. 12 Georgia 92, Morehead State 42 -- Kara Braxton scored 17 points to lead the Bulldogs (9-2) over the Eagles (3-5) at Richmond, Ky.

No. 16 Virginia Tech 70, Wake Forest 59 -- Dawn Chriss scored 17 points and Leva Kublina had 15 to lead the Hokies (10-0) over the Demon Deacons (7-5) at Blacksburg, Va.

No. 19 Texas Christian 95, Lamar 50 -- Ashley Davis and Ebony Shaw scored 17 points apiece to lead the Horned Frogs (9-1) over the Cardinals (2-6) at Fort Worth.

No. 21 Auburn 95, Alabama A&M; 28 -- The Tigers (10-2) gave up only eight field goals and were led by Tanesheia Thompson’s 16 points in a victory over the Bulldogs (2-4) at Auburn, Ala.

No. 23 Michigan State 55, Cincinnati 43 -- The Spartans (9-1) limited the Bearcats (7-5) to 31.3% shooting from the field and got 12 points from Lindsay Bowen in a victory at East Lansing, Mich.

Miami 79, No. 24 Vanderbilt 57 -- Yalonda McCormick scored a career-high 28 points to help the unbeaten Hurricanes (11-0) upset the Commodores (10-1) at Coral Gables, Fla.