DURHAM -- This one was one-sided.
Early in the first half Monday night, the Duke women's basketball team decided to attack North Carolina - in the paint with strong-armed defense, on the boards with hustle, in the lane with well-timed passes and from the 3-point arc with accurate shooting. The No. 5 Blue Devils succeeded on every front.
They railroaded No. 22 North Carolina - their heated rivals - and rode the energy inside Cameron Indoor Stadium to a thoroughly impressive 96-56 victory before a national television audience and an announced crowd of 8,595.
Using a highly effective 2-3 match-up zone, the Blue Devils (19-3, 10-0 ACC) slowed the Tar Heels (17-6, 7-3) and then shredded their opponents with 54.4 percent shooting from the field. They finished with the second-largest margin of victory against UNC in school history.
The Devils, who led 50-24 at halftime, scored the most points in the first half against the Tar Heels since 2000. They capitalized on the Tar Heels' inability to score and kept ripping the net cords with jump shots - they made eight 3-pointers in the first half and finished 10 of 20.
"We were knocking down shots like it was nothing," Duke sophomore guard Chelsea Gray said.
Five Duke players scored in double figures. Sophomore guard Richa Jackson finished with 17 points, and sophomore guard Tricia Liston tied a career-high 23 points - hitting four of six 3-point attempts and scoring 16 points in the first half.
Duke freshman center Elizabeth Williams secured her fifth double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. She added six blocks and set the ACC freshman blocks record with 85.
Everything went right for Duke.
With 10 minutes, 30 seconds remaining, Jackson nailed a 15-foot jumper with the shot clock expiring. That shot extended the Devils lead to 36.
Then with 34.6 seconds left, Liston struck again, hitting her fourth 3-pointer of the night.
"Everyone was going off each other," Liston said. "The energy I felt was awesome."
Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said her team played some of its best basketball, creating without play calls and finding each other. The Blue Devils fed off defense. "Pretty good defensive effort anytime you hold somebody to 56 points," she said.
Over the past three seasons, these teams have split their regular-season meetings. Last season, the Blue Devils won the third matchup - an 81-66 victory in the ACC tournament final. The home team has held the advantage in the regular-season series over the past two seasons. North Carolina last won at Duke in 2008.
These teams will play again Feb. 26 in Chapel Hill.
Monday night's game started as one might expect when rivals come together. The teams jostled for position and exchanged some bumps and blocks inside. North Carolina held a 10-9 lead early.
A 3-pointer by Liston handed the Blue Devils a 12-10 lead with 11:25 left in the half. From there, they built an insurmountable advantage and marched on for a 28th consecutive home win against ACC opponents.
By the time Liston's next 3-pointer fell through the nets, the Blue Devils were ahead 31-16 with 5:22 left before halftime.
Duke kept to its goal of attacking the basket. Organized by Gray, the Blue Devils attacked the tar Heels' zone.
There were simple plays,such as Gray driving the middle and finding Williams with a bounce pass near the end of the first half. Williams, with her 6-foot-3 frame, turned inside and finished over North Caorlina's 6-6 center Waltiea Rolle.
Driving the lane, the Blue Devils went to the free-throw line, converting 12 of 18 attempts. They outscored the Tar Heels in the lane 44-26.
Finishing inside, the Devils opened the outside and found their range from the arc.
Gray knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers with 1:16 remaining in first half, followed by a third consecutive 3-pointer from Liston with 45.6 seconds left. That put the Blue Devils ahead 48-22.
"I think we're a better team than we showed tonight," North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "I just kept thinking they've got to miss some shots. But they hardly missed."
The Tar Heels struggled to find consistent offense, waylaid by Duke's aggressive match-up zone. The TarHeels held their own rebounding but shot just 28 percent in the first half and 32.3 percent overall.
"They changed defense," Tar Heels senior Chay Shegog said of Duke's zone. "They really threw a lot of different things at us. ... They just took off. Great teams do that."
