DURHAM — The North Carolina women’s basketball team (17-13, 8-8 ACC) fell, 62-44, to Duke (14-14, 6-10) on Sunday afternoon. With the loss, UNC will be the eighth seed in next week's ACC Tournament.
What happened?
The Tar Heels spent a majority of the game playing from behind. They held the lead for just over two minutes, while Duke dominated the other 35:21 and a tie for a little over a minute.
The Blue Devils got on the board quickly after two free throws due to a personal foul by junior Taylor Koenen. After a missed layup by redshirt senior Paris Kea, Duke found their way onto the board again, setting the tone for the rest of the afternoon. Sophomore Leah Church led the offensive effort for UNC, making the team’s only two 3-pointers of the first quarter.
UNC was behind, 16-10, going into the second period. Duke’s Leaonna Odom fired off two quick jumpers, pushing their lead to 20-10. Due to a series of miscommunications and the inability to contain Odom, UNC only made four baskets in the second quarter, two of which were 3-pointers by Church as well as one 3-pointer by Kea. Heading into halftime, Duke held a 35-21 lead.
Duke came out firing in the second half with Jade Williams making two quick layups. While the Blue Devils scored 17 in the third period, the Tar Heels followed closely with 16. Duke broke through in the fourth quarter, continuing to clog the paint and disrupt UNC’s zone. UNC played strong defense, limiting Duke to 10 points, but only scored seven points. Kea scored five of those points.
With two minutes left, a scuffle broke out between Church and Duke’s Williams over a rebound. A comment from the Blue Devil led sophomore center Janelle Bailey to charge a Duke player, eventually being restrained by referees. She was ejected from the game.
Duke outrebounded UNC, 53-34, and brought in 17 offensive boards. Height played a big factor in the loss, primarily disrupting UNC’s zone and limiting its ability to move in the paint. UNC shot 18 percent in the paint, only making eight points, while Duke was at 58 percent with 36 points. Three different Blue Devils finished the day with a double-double while UNC had none. The last time that Duke had three players with a double-double was in Jan. 2015.
