Duke women’s basketball stuns UNC. Three takeaways from the Blue Devils’ overtime win
Ashlon Jackson walked over to the Blue Devils student section to celebrate their win on Sunday, feeling far better than her counterparts in light blue.
Duke (16-7, 8-4 ACC) defeated UNC (15-9, 7-5 ACC), 68-60, after overcoming a 14-point deficit.
Freshman Delaney Thomas led the Blue Devils with a career-high 16 points. She finished 8 of 10 from the field after starting a perfect 5 for 5. The rookie also added six boards.
“It’s super exciting, just celebrating with the team in the locker room for the little bit we had,” Thomas said. “It was not easy, especially in the third quarter. We fell down a bit, but we stuck together and we’re able to get the win.”
The Blue Devils did it while celebrating their National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
Young girls in blue, light-up devil horn headbands cheered as Duke entered the court on Sunday as part of the celebration.
They were joined by Duke’s female alumni, staff, and players from other Blue Devils women’s programs who made appearances during timeouts. Two different all-girl dance groups performed at halftime.
“It’s great that they can see and interact with these players, and have those types of role models and goals to be able to do this,” Duke head coach Kara Lawson said. “I know for me, when I was a young player, going to games and watching games on TV and seeing female athletes playing basketball at a high level was really inspiring for me.
“It gave me something to shoot for, something I wanted to work toward and something that I wanted to achieve. Now, my players are the ones that are those role models and the ones that the little girls — and boys — look up to.”
Here are three takeaways in the first round of the Duke-UNC series.
Blue Devils block the Heels
Duke led the ACC in blocks per game and ranked No. 3 in the nation, averaging 6.3 per game. The Blue Devils’ numbers will go up after Sunday.
They made a statement early, recording four blocks in the first quarter, five in the first half. Then, it added its sixth just 2:47 into the third quarter.
The Blue Devils finished with nine blocks, including three by Kennedy Brown.
Duke limits UNC scoring threats
Duke’s game plan focused on taking Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby out of the scoring equation, and it succeeded in spurts. The Tar Heels relied on eight different players to score against the Blue Devils’ tough defense.
Freshman Reniya Kelly led North Carolina after the first half, recording seven points. Ustby and Deja Kelly scored two points each. The two veterans went a combined 1-9 from the field early on.
Even with Reniya Kelly’s early buckets, the Heels did little scoring before the break. North Carolina didn’t score a field goal in the final 5:35 of the first quarter. The team also missed seven straight shots between the end of the first and start of the second.
Duke deserves credit for shutting down the interior early, with its defense in the lane weakened in the third quarter as players got into foul trouble.
The Blue Devils, however, maintained their aggressive nature. They held the Heels to 14 points in the fourth quarter and overtime period, with Ustby not scoring.
UNC senior Deja Kelly led all scorers with 20 points. Ustby finished with six points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Capitalizing on opportunities
In a game determined by defense, the outcome was always going to come down to which team was capable of making most of its opportunities.
UNC’s ability to draw contact and keep plays alive helped the team significantly. The Tar Heels went 18 of 21 at the free-throw line, drawing 20 Blue Devils fouls. By comparison, Duke went to the line for 11 free throw attempts. It made eight.
Additionally, Carolina pulled down 15 offensive rebounds and scored 18 second-chance points. One of the Heels’ best second-chance plays came with 6:45 in the first half. Brown blocked Ustby’s shot at the rim, but the senior pulled down the offensive rebound and kicked the ball to Reniya Kelly on the perimeter for a 3.
The Tar Heels definitely had their moments, but Duke came storming back and UNC got into foul trouble of its own.
“We weren’t good enough,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. “Obviously we had a chance to win it. Then, in overtime, they made more plays than us. We’ve got to get better late or this is a feeling we’re going to continue to feel.”
When it came down to it, the Blue Devils made the most of their late-game opportunities. Duke scored 19 points in the fourth quarter and 15 in overtime, all while holding the Tar Heels to just seven in each period.
It made the shots down the stretch, hitting 4 of 7 from the field and 14 shots from the free-throw line.
Duke also limited its turnovers, especially in the final 15 minutes, committing just one while forcing the Heels to take contested shots.
