It’s supposed to always deliver.
A Duke-North Carolina matchup, in any sport, usually provides a best-on-best contest and comes down to late game heroics that go down in campus lore.
But on Thursday night in a rocking Cameron Indoor Stadium, only one team delivered its best performance, as the UNC women’s basketball team saved its best game for its biggest rival. The Tar Heels blew out the Blue Devils, 78-62, for its first win in Durham since February 2014.
“This Duke-Carolina rivalry means a lot to a lot of people, especially those involved in it,” head coach Courtney Banghart said. “We have great pride that we get to go on the road and bring home a win. It was really fun to be their coach tonight.”
A polar opposite performance from the loss in Atlanta on Sunday, Banghart’s team delivered an offensive explosion, led by sophomore guard Alyssa Ustby with 20 points and 15 from fellow sophomore Kennedy Todd-Williams. Five other Tar Heels recorded at least seven points, contributing to the all-around dominant offensive performance.
“This was one of the best games we’ve played in, and it comes down to being connected and trusting each other,” Ustby said. “Coach wanted us to throw the first punch and we took that to heart. We were being active, not reactive.”
Both teams traded baskets until the final minute of the first quarter, when the Blue Devils went on a 6-0 run that looked to give them the lead going into the second.
UNC graduate guard Carlie Littlefield, though, would have none of it, and delivered a timely and-one three with just four seconds remaining. The Iowa native’s made free throw completed the four-point play and gave the Tar Heels a 19-18 lead after one.
UNC took that shot and used it to deliver its best overall quarter of the season, outscoring Duke 28-8 in the next ten minutes. Making 12 of 16 shots, holding Duke to 3-10 shooting and going on a 13-0 run helped put the game out of hand.
