By Neil Offen

noffen@heraldsun.com; 419-6646

DURHAM -- Duke students had more trouble getting a bonfire started Monday night than the Blue Devils women's basketball team had with Carolina.

After the Devils whomped the Heels at Cameron Indoor, the students tried toilet paper, paper towels, newspapers and assorted other paper products to ignite a couple of benches that had been dragged to the center of the West Campus residential area.

Finally, after about 15 minutes, the benches caught fire, sending sparks high into the frigid night air, and the 200 or so students who had come for the celebration of the victory were able to exult.

They chanted "Go to hell, Carolina, go to hell," and snapped as many pictures of the flames as they could with their cell phone cameras.

"This is pretty good," said sophomore Lauren Anderson. "They had a little problem getting it started, but it's pretty good now. I'm glad I came."

Anderson and fellow sophomore Tiffany Dinkins had been waiting by the chalked circle -- the allotted place for the bonfire -- from about the halfway point of the second half of the game.

"We really want a bonfire," Dinkins said. "We haven't had once since we've been here. Why else would we be out here when it's 25 degrees?"