By R.L. Bynum
DURHAM — No matter how many players are out, No. 8 North Carolina just keeps putting up a fight, regardless of the opponent.
Against No. 16 Duke, freshman Lanie Grant — in her first college start — did her best to make up for playing without stars Reniya Kelly and Alyssa Ustby as UNC led by one at halftime. But the Blue Devils had too much firepower at the end, pulling away for a 68–53 victory Thursday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The depleted Tar Heels (25–5, 13–4 ACC) seemed to run out of gas in the third quarter when Duke (22–7, 13–4) scored the final 11 points of that quarter.
“I think the fatigue sort of set in halfway through,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. “At halftime, I felt like they were locked in. Some mental-energy mistakes, some lack of quickness and separation, the things that we know we need. It was a big push for a lot of young guys.”
Senior Reigan Richardson scored 16 of her game-high 23 points in the second half as Duke ended a seven-game win streak for UNC, which became the final women’s team in the country to lose a road game.
Banghart said that Ustby (left knee) and Kelly (undisclosed injury) will both return. She called Kelly “minute-to-minute” but wanted both to be ready when postseason play starts.
“These are not kids that are rolling over and saying, ‘Coach, I don’t want to play,’ ” Banghart said of Ustby and Kelly, who watched from the bench. “But they do see the big picture.”
Banghart said that the testing metrics from the sports science program showed that their explosiveness and balance were not the same as before, meaning that fatigue has set in.
“That doesn’t put them in the best position to be successful; it puts them in an injury risk,” Banghart said. “If this was an NCAA tournament game, [it] might be a little bit different.”
Grant came out confidently and aggressively, scoring UNC’s first five points. She scored 10 of her team-high 17 and two of her three 3-pointers in the first half.
“With Reniya out, she brings some points as well as Alyssa,” Grant said. “So, I knew that that gap was going to have to be filled somewhere.”
Since UNC decided Wednesday morning to hold Kelly out of the game, Grant said Banghart told her “about 30 times” what she needed to do.
“Just attack, be aggressive, take space,” Grant said. “She poured so much confidence into me. So, it was just like finding the flow within the offense.”
Although Grant wishes the Heels could have won, she was happy to start her first college game in a rival game.
“That’s definitely the loudest gym I’ve ever played in,” Grant said. “Special environment, special rivalry. To be able to do it on that stage, it meant a lot, and it shows the trust that [Banghart] has in me, and I really appreciate that.”
Duke showed why it’s one of the best defensive teams in the country. UNC’s two highest turnover totals this season are 25 in its win in Chapel Hill and 20 on Thursday. Duke scored 16 points off those UNC turnovers while only committing eight turnovers.
“There’s a rhythm to your offense,” Banghart said. “So then when you take someone who sort of runs the tempo of the team, and you have her on the sideline, that rhythm is already a bit disrupted.”
While Duke only won the rebounding battle 33–30, the Blue Devils had a 14–6 advantage on the offensive end.
The challenge got bigger with Maria Gakdeng battling foul trouble again. She fouled out with 1:59 left with eight points, seven rebounds and five turnovers.
Lexi Donarski and Indya Nivar were the only other Tar Heels to score in double figures, each finishing with 10 points.
Grace Townsend started for the first time since the season’s first two games, finishing with four points and four assists but a game-high six turnovers.
Grant’s five early points gave the Tar Heels an early lead, but Duke led for the rest of the opening quarter. Toby Fournier (19 points, 10 rebounds) scored 12 of her 19 points, including eight on a 12–4 run to take an eight-point lead, and the Blue Devils led 24–17 after one quarter, outrebounding Duke 11–5 in the period.
In the second quarter, UNC went to two post players for 4½ minutes when Ciera Toomey came in after missing the game at Louisville with the flu.
In a rare first-half appearance, redshirt freshman Laila Hull hit a 3-pointer during an 11–4 run, giving UNC a one-point lead on Nivar’s transition layup with 2:24 left in the first half. Neither team scored for the rest of the half and UNC led 32–31 at halftime after shooting 58.3% (7 of 12) in the second quarter.
Duke scored the first nine second-half points, all from Richardson, including a 3-pointer, to give the Blue Devils a 39–32 lead. Lexi Donarski’s 3-pointer, followed by Grant’s steal and layup with 3:49 left in the third quarter ended a 9–2 run to tie it at 41.
Richardson outscored UNC in the quarter with 13 points (compared to nine for the Tar Heels) and Duke scored the last 11 points to take a 52–41 lead into the fourth quarter.
A 13–3 Duke run pushed its lead to 18 with 1:59, with UNC’s only getting a Grant 3-pointer.
NOTES — Carolina finishes the regular season with a senior day game at 2 p.m. Sunday against Virginia (15–14, 7–10). The Cavaliers won 63–51 at SMU on Thursday night. … The NCAA revealed the top 16 seeds as they stood Thursday, with Notre Dame 4, N.C. State 8, UNC 10 and Duke 11. … Ustby missed her third consecutive game after coming out early in the N.C. State game. … It was the second time in ACC play that Hull played more than three minutes (11 against Wake Forest). … Duke snapped a two-game losing streak to trim its series deficit to 56–54, and leads in games in Durham 30–17. … UNC fell three spots in the NET rankings to 18th.
No. 16 Duke 68, No. 8 UNC 53
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 6 Louisville | 11–0 | 21–3 | 8 |
| No. 17 Duke | 11–0 | 16–6 | 14 |
| N.C. State | 8–2 | 15–6 | 28 |
| Syracuse | 8–3 | 18–4 | 40 |
| Virginia Tech | 8–3 | 18–5 | 42 |
| No. 25 North Carolina | 6–3 | 17–5 | 22 |
| Virginia | 7–4 | 15–7 | 37 |
| Clemson | 7–4 | 16–7 | 38 |
| Notre Dame | 6–5 | 14–8 | 31 |
| Georgia Tech | 5–6 | 10–13 | 91 |
| Stanford | 4–5 | 15–7 | 36 |
| California | 4–6 | 13–10 | 54 |
| Miami | 4–7 | 12–10 | 45 |
| Florida State | 2–8 | 7–15 | 109 |
| Wake Forest | 2–9 | 12–11 | 118 |
| SMU | 1–9 | 8–14 | 180 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–9 | 8–15 | 260 |
| Boston College | 0–11 | 4–20 | 250 |
* — Through Saturday games
Sunday’s results
No. 17 Duke 80, Wake Forest 44
No. 6 Louisville 71, California 59
Virginia Tech 76, Virginia 64
Syracuse 65, Miami 60
Georgia Tech 70, Boston College 60
Notre Dame 78, Stanford 66
Clemson 77, Florida State 58
Monday’s game
No. 25 North Carolina at N.C. State, 6 p.m., ESPN2
Thursday’s games
Syracuse at Boston College, 6 p.m.
Stanford at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Clemson at No. 25 North Carolina, 6 p.m., ACC Network
No. 17 Duke at No. 6 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN
Virginia Tech at Notre Dame, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at Virginia, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
California at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Wake Forest at SMU, 7:30, ACCN Extra
Florida State at N.C. State, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Sunday’s games
No. 6 Louisville at Syracuse, noon, ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Virginia Tech, noon, ACC Network
California at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. ACCN Extra
No. 25 North Carolina at Wake Forest, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at No. 17 Duke, 2 p.m. The CW
Notre Dame at Virginia, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at Florida State, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Stanford at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Boston College at Clemson, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 3 South Carolina in Atlanta | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 90–42 | vs. N.C. Central | 1–0 |
| 6 | Thursday | W, 71–37 | vs. Elon | 2–0 |
| WBCA Challenge Las Vegas | ||||
| 13 | Thursday | L, 78–60 | vs. No. 2 UCLA | 2–1 |
| 15 | Saturday | W, 82–68 | vs. Fairfield | 3–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 20 | Thursday | W, 85–50 | at N.C. A&T | 4–1 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 94–48 | vs. UNCG | 5–1 |
| Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico | ||||
| 27 | Thursday | W, 83–48 | vs. South Dakota St. | 6–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 85–73 | vs. Kansas State | 7–1 |
| 29 | Saturday | W, 80–63 | vs. Columbia | 8–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 79–64 | at No. 4 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 78 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 84–34 | vs. UNCW | 10–3 |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 93–74 | vs. Charleston Southern | 11–3 |
| 29 | Monday | W, 90–38 | at Boston College | 12–3, 1–1 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–1 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–2 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 73–50 | at Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–3 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–3 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 82–55 | at Florida State | 15–5, 4–3 |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 54–46 | at Georgia Tech | 16–5, 5–3 |
| 25 | Sunday | W, 77–71, OT | vs. Syracuse | 17–5, 6–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 6 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 5 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ACCN |
| 8 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 12 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. SMU | ACCN |
| 15 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at No. 20 Duke | ABC |
| 19 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Virginia Tech | ACCN |
| 22 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Pittsburgh | ACCN |
| 26 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Virginia | ACCN Extra |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | Noon | vs. No. 20 Duke | ESPN |
| ACC tournament | ||||
| 4–8 | Wed.-Sun | Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga. | ||
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 20–24 | Fri.-Mon. | First, second rounds | ||
| 27–30 | Fri.-Mon. | Regionals Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, Calif. | ||
| April | ||||
| 3, 5 | Fri., Sun | Final Four Phoenix |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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