UNC looks forward after Duke

DURHAM — After a 66-58 loss to No. 9 Duke on Sunday, the North Carolina women’s basketball team wiped its slate clean.

As the Blue Devils cut down the nets on senior night and celebrated a split regular season ACC title with Miami, the No. 13 Tar Heels (22-7, 8-6 ACC) assessed the game’s strengths and immediately set their focus on the upcoming ACC Tournament.

Forgetting about the loss sending UNC into a four-game losing streak and forcing the Tar Heels to play on the first day of the ACC Tournament, North Carolina found peace in a solid first half of evenly matched basketball.

“I was proud of how hard we played,” UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “I thought we played really well in the first half. I thought we battled hard.”

The Tar Heels played their best half of late and took control of the boards 29-25 early in a sold-out Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Forcing an extremely physical and foul-heavy game, UNC took a two-point lead at halftime as Duke’s rushed offense struggled with 24.3 percent shooting.

But that advantage was quick to disappear in the second half.

Duke (26-3, 12-2) found its rhythm with 15-for-32 shooting challenging UNC’s defense and to dominating the game’s tempo.

“It was going back and forth, back and forth and that’s something that we did for the entire game in (Chapel Hill),” Duke senior Jasmine Thomas said. “Recognizing that and really getting those defensive stops and taking our time and getting good possessions on offense led to that run.”

Thomas scored a game-high 17 points, while fellow senior Karima Christmas put up a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Each time UNC connected on a shot to swing momentum back into the hands of the Tar Heels, Duke was there to slow down the pace of the game and regain control.

Capitalizing on UNC’s missed rebounds and lost connections underneath the basket, the Blue Devils built a lead the Tar Heels were unable to challenge.

Junior Chay Shegog led the Tar Heels in the first half, scoring six points in three consecutive possessions. The forward finished with 14 points and eight rebounds after shooting 100 percent from the field in the first half.

But Duke refocused its defense and zeroed in on Shegog’s success to limit open looks for North Carolina’s bigs.

“I don’t know why I shot so well, I was just open,” Shegog said. “Second half, they really kind of collapsed down on the post. In the first half they weren’t really doubling or anything. In the second half, I was surrounded by people at all times.”

Shegog’s offensive game was complemented by senior Italee Lucas’ performance. The shooting guard led UNC with 15 points, while Jessica Breland picked up six boards and four blocks to make her contribution on the defensive end.

But as of now, Sunday’s performance is all but forgotten.

While North Carolina will work on the little details Hatchell believes could have added up to a win, all eyes are set on next week’s play in Greensboro when UNC faces Clemson in the first-round match.

“The regular season’s over — it’s a new season,” UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “We’re ready to go to the tournament. If we play as hard as we did tonight, then I think we have a great shot at it.”

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