By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — No. 19 Carolina has flexed its defensive muscle many times this season, but none more impressively than Thursday night against No. 14 Duke.
UNC left the Blue Devils out of sorts and disjointed on offense, but the problem was that the Tar Heels were willing participants in this rock fight with plenty of offensive issues and sloppy play.
But 16 straight points to start the second half and nine in a row in overtime powered the Tar Heels to a huge 53–46 victory at Carmichael Arena.
“It was another top 20 win at home [against] a really good team with a lot of physicality and toughness, a lot of emotion in a rivalry game coming off of a loss that hurt our heart,” said UNC coach Courtney Banghart, whose team lost to No. 3 Notre Dame on Sunday. “The nuance of whatever happened here? I don’t have a lot of answers for that.”
Freshman guard Lanie Grant (9 points), who was 7 of 7 from the free-throw line, put away UNC’s fourth consecutive home win over Duke with four free throws in the final 45 seconds.
Recent UNC-Duke games — notably a pair of games two seasons ago when both teams scored in the 40s — haven’t been offensive masterpieces, but Thursday’s meeting had all the offensive aesthetics of a kid’s fingerpainting art at times.
It was so bad that Banghart said she wasn’t sure whether she’d make her team watch the tape again. Watching it in real time was probably painful enough.
“I really might not make them watch it back. I don’t think this is us offensively,” said Banghart, adding that she definitely wouldn’t watch the tape Thursday. She’d see that her team made only 12 of 27 layup attempts and shot a season-low 32.1% from the floor.
Alyssa Ustby was the only Tar Heel to score in double figures, with a dubious triple-double: 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 of UNC’s season-high 26 turnovers (previous high was 17 against Ball State). That came two games after UNC committed a season-low four turnovers in a win at Miami.
The crowd roared when Lexi Donarski beat the shot clock with 1:15 left in overtime on a contested 3-pointer to give UNC the lead for good.
“Everyone was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s three whole points going on the scoreboard at one time,’ ” Banghart said. “It was just huge. I think the whole crowd was like, ‘hallelujah.’ I mean, it was like a combination of a breath of fresh air and like, ‘Yes!’ all at once.”
Carolina (14–3, 2–2 ACC) mostly did it without star center Maria Gakdeng, who got into early foul trouble and fouled out with only four points in 17 minutes. Freshman center Blanca Thomas gave UNC a huge boost without Gakdeng, putting up a game-high 10.2 game score, the only player on either team in double digits, in a season-high 24 minutes.
“That’s a tough game all the way around for us,” said Duke coach Kara Lawson, whose team scored .605 points per possession and made only 7 of 24 layup attempts. “This wasn’t really of the pleasurable viewing variety, probably for everybody. It was a grinding out game.”
Duke (12–4, 3–1), which was averaging 78.7 points per game, was held to a season-low scoring output (10 points under its previous low in a 65–56 Dec. 21 loss at South Florida). The Blue Devils also recorded season-lows of 23.5% shooting (previous low 38.9% vs. South Florida; tied for the lowest by a UNC opponent with Villanova) and five assists (previous low 11).
“I thought we were really good at the point of the screen, our post play with their hands on the screens,” said Banghart, whose team blocked seven shots and had a 57.0 defensive rating, both season-highs against power conference opponents. “We switched the coverages from switching to hedging.”
With Gakdeng mostly on the bench, Banghart called on Thomas to play in her first ACC game after not playing since the Dec. 21 win over Norfolk State.
It took her a few minutes to find her rhythm, but UNC wouldn’t have won without her, as she collected seven points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals, and was a presence inside defensively.
“Definitely a little bit of nerves, but I know that I’m here for a reason, and Coach Banghart brought me here to do what she knows I can do,” Thomas said. “So just going out there and being able to give my all, whether it’s rebounding, defense, scoring, anything. I’ve just felt very confident in myself because my coaches have allowed me to do these things in practice, and just knowing that when it’s my time, it’s my time.”
It was the second consecutive game that was extremely physical, which created challenges.
“The physicality, that’s why what Blanca did today was so special, because the physicality she had to learn in live time,” Banghart said, adding that the male players the team practices against are physical.
During the amazing run to start the second half, UNC went from a tie game to doubling it up on Duke 32–16 when Indya Nivar scored a bucket then hit a 3-pointer with 3:25 left in the third quarter.
Getting that buffer was important because UNC blew the lead with more sloppiness and poor offensive decisions.
“We deserved to score,” said guard Indya Nivar, who finished with seven points, nine rebounds, a team-high four assists and two steals. “I feel like we put so much effort on that defensive end. To get rebounds, we just started pushing the ball in transition, and that got us some easy looks. Then, we got into a little flow in that third quarter. I feel like we needed that. I feel like that’s what separated this game.”
Gakdeng picked up her third foul with 8:11 left in the first half and was scoreless in five first-half minutes.
Both teams started sloppy, and the game was tie at 4 through the first seven minutes. UNC had six turnovers and was fortunate to only trail Duke 8–6 after one quarter after both teams were 3 of 14 from the floor.
An Ashlon Jackson steal and layup gave Duke a 13–9 lead, but UNC scored seven in a row to take a three-point lead, getting three Grant free throws, a Kelly drive and a Thomas inside bucket. Duke tied it at 16 on an Oluchi Okanawa free throw with 1:15 left, which was the halftime score.
“We showed clips of what we weren’t doing on the offensive end,” Banghart said of what she did with her team at halftime. “I thought Blanca was doing a good job creating separation, and we just were a little tentative on making the passes. We were allowing ourselves to play in a crowd. Our guard-to-guard exchanges were at medium speed. It wasn’t necessarily problem-solving. It was more like, ‘let’s get back to what we want to do.’ “
An inside bucket by Duke’s Jadyn Donovan with 1:50 left in the third quarter ended a nearly 9½-minute Blue Devils scoring drought and started a 10–0 run to trim UNC’s lead to 32–26 after three quarters.
A Nivar drive ended a four-minute UNC scoring drought in the first minute of the fourth quarter. Taina Mair’s short jumper and an Emma Koabel free throw capped a 7–0 Duke run to cut UNC’s lead to one with 5:41 left.
After two Tray Crisp free throws for UNC, Duke’s Reigan Richardson tied it on a 3-pointer with 3:38 left in regulation.
Kelly regained the lead for UNC with a baseline jumper with 2:29 left, but UNC missed chances to add to it when Kelly missed two free-throw attempts, and Ustby missed a transition layup attempt. That gave Duke a chance to tie it at 40 on two Jackson free throws with 42.2 seconds left.
After Kelly turned it over on an errant pass with 21 seconds left, Richardson missed a jumper with four seconds left, sending the game into overtime.
Delaney Thomas gave the Blue Devils their first lead since the second quarter, 42–40, on a drive in the first minute of overtime.
But UNC’s Thomas hit three free throws to start nine consecutive Tar Heels points. Donarski’s huge 3-pointer and two Grant free throws gave Carolina a 49–43 lead with 45.8 seconds left.
A 3-pointer by Duke’s Thomas ended a more than 3-minute field goal drought for the Devils to cut it to three, but Grant made two more free throws with 39.2 seconds left. Kelly added two free throws with 15 seconds left.
Jackson led Duke with 11 points and Thomas added 10.
NOTES — Carolina plays Boston College at 2 p.m. Sunday (ACCN) for its third consecutive home game. The Eagles (10–7, 1–3) haven’t played since a 91–52 Sunday loss at No. 21 N.C. State for their third consecutive loss. BC hasn’t beaten a power conference team since Dec. 8, a 72–57 win at Virginia. … UNC’s league schedule is front-loaded, facing three teams in the top of the league in the first four games (Georgia Tech; tied for second in loss column; Notre Dame; 1st place; and Duke; tied for second in loss column) and facing teams lower in the league for the next three games (BC, tied for 15th place; SMU, tied for 9th; Pittsburgh, tied for 16th/last; and Wake Forest; tied for16th/last). … It was UNC’s first overtime win since winning 67–60 at Georgia Tech on Jan. 23, 2020. … Carolina equaled its first-half point total in the third quarter (16) and scored 13 in overtime. … Duke turned the ball over on 27.6% of its possessions and UNC on 34.7% of its possessions. … UNC outrebounded Duke 47–43 with a season-high total against a power conference opponent, but rebounded 32.4% of its misses compared to Duke pulling down 38.2% of its misses. Despite that, the Tar Heels led in second-chance points 10–4. … This was the 50th meeting with both UNC and Duke ranked. … It was the third time in the last five meetings that UNC has held Duke under 50 points. … Carolina has won the last two meetings with Duke and leads the series 56–53, including 29–16 in Carmichael. … Banghart is 6–3 vs. Duke, and Lawson is 2–7 vs. UNC. … UNC last won four consecutive home games against Duke from 2008 to 2011. Those Tar Heels teams went 33–3, 28–7, 19–12 and 28–9. … Kelly and Ustby played all 40 minutes. … The game drew a crowd of 4,296. … UNC was 17 of 25 at the free-throw line (68%), the 11th time the Tar Heels have shot poorer than 70%. … Freshman Jordan Zubich, redshirt freshman Laila Hull and sophomore Sydney Barker haven’t played in the last three games (since the Norfolk State game on Dec. 21). … Elliot Cadeau, Ian Jackson and Cade Tyson were at the game. … Kelly and Ustby played nearly 40 minutes.
No. 19 UNC 53, No. 14 Duke 46, OT
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| No. 3 Notre Dame | 4–0 | 13–2 |
| Louisville | 4–1 | 11–5 |
| No. 13 Georgia Tech | 3–1 | 15–1 |
| No. 24 California | 3–1 | 15–2 |
| Florida State | 3–1 | 13–3 |
| No. 14 Duke | 3–1 | 12–4 |
| No. 21 N.C. State | 3–1 | 11–4 |
| Clemson | 3–2 | 10–6 |
| No. 19 North Carolina | 2–2 | 14–3 |
| Virginia Tech | 2–2 | 11–4 |
| SMU | 2–2 | 10–6 |
| Virginia | 2–2 | 10–6 |
| Miami | 1–3 | 11–4 |
| Stanford | 1–3 | 9–6 |
| Boston College | 1–3 | 10–7 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–4 | 8–9 |
| Wake Forest | 0–4 | 7–8 |
| Syracuse | 0–4 | 6–9 |
Thursday’s results
No. 19 UNC 53, No. 14 Duke 47, OT
SMU 72, Syracuse 71, OT
No. 3 Notre Dame 100, Wake Forest 64
Louisville 65, Pittsburgh 56
Virginia Tech 105, No. 13 Georgia Tech 94, 2 OTs
Virginia 67, Clemson 70
No. 24 California 78, No. 21 N.C. State 71
Stanford 98, Florida State 84
Sunday’s games
No. 14 Duke at Virginia, noon, ACCN
SMU at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m., ACCN Extra
Boston College at No. 19 North Carolina, 2 p.m., ACCN
No. 3 Notre Dame at Clemson, 2 p.m., The CW
Wake Forest at Virginia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
No. 21 N.C. State at Stanford, 3 p.m., ESPN
No. 13 Georgia Tech at Louisville, 4 p.m., ACCN
Florida State at No. 24 California, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at Syracuse, 6 p.m., ACCN
Thursday’s games
No. 13 Georgia Tech at No. 3 Notre Dame, 6 p.m., ACCN
Stanford at Wake Forest, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Virginia at Virginia Tech, 6 p.m, ACCN Extra
Clemson at Florida State, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Pittsburgh at No. 21 N.C. State, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Boston College at Miami, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Syracuse at Louisville, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
No. 24 California at No. 14 Duke, 8 p.m., ACCN
No 19 North Carolina at SMU, 8 p.m., ACCN Extra
| Date | Day/month | Time/ score | Opponent/event (current rank) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | ||||
| 4 | Monday | W, 83–53 | vs. Charleston Southern | 1–0 |
| 7 | Thursday | W, 77–50 | vs. UNCW | 2–0 |
| 12 | Tuesday | W, 66–47 | at N.C. A&T | 3–0 |
| 15 | Friday | L, 69–58 | vs. No. 7 UConn in Greensboro | 3–1 |
| Battle 4 Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas | ||||
| 23 | Saturday | W, 63–52 | Ball State | 4–1 |
| 24 | Sunday | W, 53–36 | Villanova | 5–1 |
| 25 | Monday | W, 69–39 | Indiana | 6–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 29 | Friday | W, 119–43 | vs. N.C. Central | 7–1 |
| December | ||||
| ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | ||||
| 5 | Thursday | W, 72–53 | vs. No. 15 Kentucky | 8–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 8 | Sunday | W, 72–46 | vs. Coppin State | 9–1 |
| 11 | Wednesday | W, 80–56 | vs. UNCG | 10–1 |
| 15 | Sunday | L, 82–76 | vs. No. 13 Georgia Tech | 10–2, 0–1 ACC |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 18 | Wednesday | W, 77–57 | vs. Florida | 11–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 21 | Saturday | W, 90–47 | vs. Norfolk State | 12–2 |
| ACC season | ||||
| 29 | Sunday | W, 69–60 | at Miami | 13–2, 1–1 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 5 | Sunday | L, 76–66 | vs. No. 3 Notre Dame | 13–3, 1–2 |
| 9 | Thursday | W, 53–46, OT | vs. No. 14 Duke | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 12 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Boston College | ACCN |
| 16 | Thursday | 8 p.m. ET | at SMU | ACCN Extra |
| 19 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at Pitt | ACCN |
| 23 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN Extra |
| 26 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Florida State | ACCN |
| 30 | Thursday | TBA | at No. 24 Cal | ACCN Extra |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Sunday | 3 p.m. ET | at Stanford | The CW |
| 9 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at Clemson | ACCN Extra |
| 13 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Virginia Tech | ACCN Extra |
| 16 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. No. 21 N.C. State | ESPN |
| 20 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Syracuse | ACCN |
| 23 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at Louisville | ESPN |
| 27 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at No. 14 Duke | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 2 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Virginia | The CW |
| 5–9 | Wed.–Sun. | ACC tournament Greensboro |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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