Duke tries to keep focus on the court

Blue Devils coach Gail Goestenkors may bolt to Texas after the season.
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -- As her name keeps surfacing in connection with coaching vacancies, Gail Goestenkors is trying to keep Duke's focus on the court.
Goestenkors said Friday that Texas hasn't contacted her about its opening. Several newspapers in that state have called her the leading candidate to replace retired Hall of Famer Jody Conradt as the Longhorns' coach.
"I really haven't had to take any measures" to maintain her team's focus, Goestenkors said. "I talked to the team early on when I first heard rumors, and I told them 'You're going to hear rumors. You're going to read things in the paper. But that's just everybody's attempt to try and keep us from our focus and our energy.'
"All of our focus, all of our energy, all of our interest is only in one place, and that's with this team, and that's in accomplishing our goals and getting back to the Final Four," Goestenkors said.
Guard Abby Waner insisted the Blue Devils' attention is on their Greensboro Regional semifinal against Rutgers today, and chasing Duke's fifth Final Four and first national title.
"The question of whether or not she's going to leave is not a concern right now," Waner said. "Our concern right now is playing Rutgers and then from there, winning three more games to get the national championship. That is also Coach G's only concern right now. Whatever she chooses to do once these two weeks are up, I know that she'll make the best choice for her. It's not a thought. It's not a concern."
Schedule
Duke (32-1) plays Rutgers (24-8) at 2:30 p.m. today, following Bowling Green (31-3) against Arizona State (30-4).
Today's other regional semifinals are in Fresno, Calif., where Connecticut (31-3) plays North Carolina State (25-9) at 9 p.m., followed by LSU (28-7) against Florida State (24-9).
On Sunday, Tennessee (30-3) plays surprising Marist (29-5) at noon, and Oklahoma (28-4) follows against Mississippi (23-10) in Dayton. Later in the day in Dallas, Georgia (27-6) meets Purdue (30-5) at 7 p.m. and George Washington (28-3) takes on North Carolina (32-3).
It's already been an unprecedented season for third-seeded Arizona State (30-4). The Sun Devils easily surpassed their season record of 25 victories and reached their highest ranking at No. 8 in The Associated Press Top 25 earlier this month.
A win against the seventh-seeded Falcons (31-3) -- who upset second-seeded Vanderbilt in the second round -- would give Arizona State its first trip to the regional championship in program history.
Courageous story
In Fresno, Geno Auriemma isn't expecting much support for Connecticut against North Carolina State and coach Kay Yow.
Yow's courageous fight against cancer and the way the Wolfpack have rallied around her cause is the most compelling story in the tournament. Yow's plight has turned nearly every neutral observer into an N.C. State fan and might have even won over a few partisans heading into tonight's game.
"There's a pretty good chance that if the game goes down to the wire, there will be some people in my family who might not be rooting for me," Auriemma said Friday.
The Wolfpack have won 12 of 14 games since Yow returned from a 16-game leave because of cancer treatment.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and it first recurred during the 2004-05 season, forcing her to miss two games. She is coaching in the tournament despite enduring chemotherapy sessions that have weakened her, forcing her to leave one practice on a stretcher.
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