Duke women’s basketball got to take on rival North Carolina in front of a sold-out home crowd on Sunday, and despite trailing by 12 points at the start of the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils clawed back to win the game in overtime.
The two seemed evenly matched when the day’s game began. The Tar Heels were 15-8 on the season, while the Blue Devils were 15-7. The first two quarters further highlighted how even the two rivals really were, with UNC taking a 26-25 lead into the halftime break.
The game came unraveled for Duke in the third quarter, however. The Tar Heels opened the second half on a 13-2 run to break the game wide open. UNC guard Deja Kelly, who finished with a game-high 20 points, kept offering dagger after dagger. She made three shots in the first four minutes of the quarter, the final of which gave her an additional free throw after a foul. Add in four points from teammate Alyssa Utsby, and the Tar Heels seemed to find the open field.
When the third quarter came to a close, North Carolina led by 12 points, and Duke’s chances seemed to be on life support. An early few points from Blue Devils forward Reigan Richardson marginally cut into the lead, but the Tar Heels still led by eight points with six minutes to play.
Then the Blue Devils came alive.
Duke rattled off eight unanswered points in the next two minutes to tie the game, spearheaded by a 3-pointer from Oluchi Okananwa. Duke’s Delaney Thomas finished through a foul for an and-one, and the ensuing free throw tied the game at 48 points apiece with four minutes of game time.
UNC responded with another basket, but Blue Devils guard Taina Mair nailed a 3-pointer to hand her team its first lead of the second half.
After trading free throws and no points over the last 90 seconds of regulation, the sold-out home crowd was treated to free basketball, and the home team looked to be playing with house money.
With the game still tied and a little more than two minutes on the clock, the Blue Devils seemed to channel the last burst of energy they needed. They went on a 9-2 run over the next minute-and-a-half, cemented by another massive shot from Mair.
The sophomore fired off a stone-cold 3-pointer from the corner, giving Duke the seven-point lead with less than a minute to play.
The dagger! 😈@DukeWBB with the clutch comeback for the dub over Carolina! https://t.co/qODfYZ3yOn pic.twitter.com/OVBW8pwEY9
— Duke Athletics (@DukeATHLETICS) February 11, 2024
Mair finished the game with 13 points, second on the team only to Thomas’s 19-point performance. The Blue Devils outscored UNC by 20 points over the final 15 minutes for the 68-60 win.
The victory moves Duke to 16-7 on the year and 8-4 in ACC play, and the team has now won 11 of its past 14 games.