UNC women’s basketball gets redemption: 3 takeaways from Tar Heels’ win over rival Duke

Duke and North Carolina played each other for their final game of the regular season Sunday, and it was everything you’d expect from a rivalry game going into the postseason. The host Tar Heels came out on top, 63-59.

The Tar Heels (19-11, 11-7 ACC ) jumped out to a 15-point lead at 8:11 in the second quarter, but the Blue Devils (19-10, 11-7 ACC) came storming back. They put together an 8-0 run and a 9-0 run shortly thereafter to take the lead. Duke had a one-point advantage going into the locker room.

Of course UNC didn’t want to go down on Senior Day. It outscored the visitors, 16-15, in the third quarter to tie the game at 46 and scored nine straight to start the fourth.

Duke, once again, responded. Reigan Richardson hit a jumper to cut Carolina’s lead to two. The two traded punches in the final minute, Ashlon Jackson making three free throws with 15.8 seconds left.

“We’ve worked really hard to try to start better on the road; to play better and compete to the end,” Blue Devils head coach Kara Lawson said. “I’m disappointed. I’m not discouraged, because we did do that today in a hard environment.”

The win snapped Duke’s three-game winning streak and gives the Tar Heels momentum going into the ACC Tournament this week.

Deja Kelly finished with 18 points to lead all scorers. She added seven rebounds, three assists and a block in her Senior Day game.

“I really think we brought it. We were intense. We were like, ‘We’re winning this game,’” said Lexi Donarski. “We all went out there, we played together and it wasn’t gonna go any other way. That senior class, they just put their minds to it, and it was a lot of fun.”

Here are three takeaways from the Tar Heels’ win.

Duke struggles with size inside

The Blue Devils trailed by 15 points early, and a lot of it came down to its success in the lane.

Kennedy Brown struggled against the size of Maria Gakdeng and Anya Poole in the one-on-one matchups in the post. At the half, she was limited to a pair of jump shots.

Brown wasn’t the only one unable to get through the traffic, though. The Blue Devils finished the first half 4 of 11 on layups, with just 10 points in the paint.

UNC, by comparison, went into the locker room 7 of 12 on layups and had 18 points inside.

The Blue Devils’ ability to come back relied on their 3 ball. They shot 5 of 12 from deep in the first half, including 4 of 8 in the second quarter.

Its challenges in the paint continued after the break, though. Duke’s 3-point efficiency dropped to 3 of 10 and it finished 8 for 21 on layups.

Experience overpowers youth

Lawson said last week that her team, which features 11 underclassmen, was forced to grow up quickly.

“It’s not easy to grow in the midst of the ACC, because you’re getting your head beaten almost every night,” Lawson said. “It’s hard to navigate when you’re a senior. It’s hard to win in this league when you’re experienced, let alone young.”

Despite being shorthanded, the Tar Heels have maintained the majority of their healthy players with at least three years of experience. In fact, all five UNC starters have at least four years on their resumes.

That maturity became clear down the stretch. Duke held Kelly to just four points in the first half. She finished with 18, despite going 4 of 9 from the free-throw line.

Meanwhile, Alyssa Ustby hit some unlikely shots and dove for loose balls. She contributed 17 points, six rebounds and four steals. Alexandra Zelaya knocked down a handful of triples.

On the other end, the Blue Devils collapsed under the pressure. After committing just four turnovers in the first half, they recorded 13 in the second. UNC scored 16 points off those mistakes. By comparison, Carolina committed fewer turnovers in the second half and didn’t allow Duke to capitalize.

“Missing those opportunities [from turnovers] and giving them those field goal attempts, I thought really hurt our offense more than being able to get in there,” Lawson said. “I thought we got in there, but we turned it over. That was an issue.”

Add in a handful of free throws under pressure and the Heels had a recipe for success.

“[Kelly] just loves the ball in her hands. That kid’s had to play through a lot of her teammates,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said, noting new players and injuries. “She’s had an ebb and flow this year with what we’ve needed from her. We finally got to a point where we said what we need from her is find ways to help us win. She did that tonight.”

A defensive battle

Coming into the game, Duke averaged 69.5 points per game. Carolina clocked in at 69.4. Unsurprisingly, both teams’ defense made things difficult for the opponent and held the other under their season average.

Shots didn’t come easily and neither got very many attempts off; many misses could be attributed to one wearing down the other.

At halftime, the teams had 14 turnovers combined — 10 for Carolina — and finished with a combined 36. Some of the turnovers came via sloppy play, but many were because of aggressive pressure.

Ustby and Indya Nivar led the Tar Heels with four steals apiece, while the Blue Devils had a more rounded approach. Six Duke players recorded a steal.

UNC’s defense continued its stifling performance, holding Duke to 28 second-half points.

“It was a full team effort. We were in a zone for almost the entire game,” Donarski said. “That’s just knowing where the shooters are, making them take tough contested shots. Yeah, we had a couple of defensive breakdowns that we wish we could change, but for the most part, I thought we did a really good job, knowing their personnel and acting on that in live play.”

The Blue Devils’ defense, though imperfect at times, should also be proud of its ability to disrupt the Heels’ offense. Duke forced eight straight UNC misses in the fourth quarter and held Carolina to six assists, far below its average of 13.