Duke Gets No. 2 Seed; Hosts Hampton on Sunday

There's no doubt about it—Durham has fantastic basketball teams and March Madness is their time to shine.

The fifth-ranked Duke women’s basketball team received its 19th straight NCAA Tournament selection on Monday.  The Blue Devils (30-2) were seeded No. 2 in the Norfolk Region and will play 15th-seeded Hampton (28-5) in the first round on Sunday, March 24, 2013 in Cameron Indoor Stadium.  The game will be televised live on ESPN2 and will tip at 12:05 p.m. (EST).

The Blue Devils have earned one of the top eight seeds in 12 out of the last 13 years in the NCAA Tournament and are coming off three straight Elite Eight appearances.  Duke has been a No. 2 seed in each of the last four years.

Hampton advanced to the NCAA Tournament after claiming the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament championship for the fourth straight year with a 59-38 victory over Howard on March 16.  The Lady Pirates enter the NCAA Tournament winners of 19 straight games under head coach David Six.  Hampton features four double-figure scorers on the season – Keiara Avant (16.1), Nicole Hamilton (12.2), Alyssa Bennett (10.2) and Olivia Allen (11.8).

Duke and Hampton will meet for the second time over the last four years in the NCAA Tournament.  The Blue Devils downed the Lady Pirates, 72-37, in 2010 in Cameron Indoor Stadium.  Overall, Duke and Hampton have met on four occasions with the Blue Devils holding a 4-0 advantage.

The winner of the Duke/Hampton game will advance to face the winner of the No. 7 seed Oklahoma State vs. No. 10 seed DePaul game, which will tip at approximately 2:30 p.m., on Sunday.  The second round contest will be played on Tuesday, March 26 at 7:00 p.m., in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Blue Devils received an automatic invitation to the 2013 NCAA Tournament after claiming their eighth ACC Championship on March 10 with a 92-73 victory over 15th-ranked North Carolina.  Duke has registered 30 wins for the 10th time out of the last 13 years, including three out of the last four.  The Blue Devils claimed the ACC regular season title outright for the second straight year and the fourth consecutive season.

Entering the 2013 NCAAs, the Blue Devils own an all-time record of 49-19 in NCAA Tournament play and are 50-20 in all postseason action.  The Blue Devils feature a 16-game winning streak in Cameron Indoor Stadium in NCAA Tournament action.  Duke has advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 14 out of the last 15 years and reached the NCAA Final Four in 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2006.  As a conference, the ACC received five bids in 2013 -- Duke, Maryland, Miami, Florida State and North Carolina.

Tickets can be purchased by heading to online or calling the Duke Ticket Office at (919) 681-2583.

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