The Duke women’s basketball team already notched multiple ranked victories this season, but the biggest game of the year thus far awaits in Chapel Hill on Thursday evening.
The No. 14 Blue Devils (12-3, 3-0) visit the No. 18 North Carolina Tar Heels (13-3, 1-2) for a top-25 showdown on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time, and the winner gets both early bragging rights along Tobacco Road and a boost in the conference standings.
Duke ended the 2024 calendar year with a surprise low point, getting upset 65-56 by South Florida on the road, but the Blue Devils rebounded with two of the best defensive performances of the season. Head coach Kara Lawson’s squad held Boston College to two second-quarter points last Thursday in an 86-59 win before holding Pittsburgh to 31 points at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
The Tar Heels won 10 of their first 11 games this season, only dropping a neutral-site game to the Connecticut Huskies before December 15, but an 82-76 home loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets that night gave UNC an early conference loss. North Carolina lost again to Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sunday, although it’s worth pointing out that UConn and the Irish are second and third in the USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll.
The Blue Devils split the season series with UNC in 2023-24, dropping a March game in Chapel Hill but winning in overtime 68-60 in Durham a month earlier.