Blue Devils’ Late Rally Falls Short at No. 17 North Carolina

Thursday, January 19

Chapel Hill, N.C.

8 p.m.

Duke University

16-2,6-1ACC

North Carolina

13-5,4-3ACC

Duke

North Carolina

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils’ Late Rally Falls Short at No. 17 North Carolina

1/20/2023 1:17:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Coach Lawson Presser Highlights Photo Gallery

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Sophomore Shayeann Day-Wilson netted a season-high 24 points and helped spearhead a furious fourth-quarter rally by the 13th-ranked Duke women's basketball team, but the Blue Devils ultimately fell short as they were edged, 61-56, at No. 17 North Carolina Thursday night at Carmichael Arena.

Facing a 10-point deficit midway through the final quarter, the Blue Devils refused to go away and battled back to cut the margin to three, 56-53, with 23 seconds to go in regulation behind 13 points from Shayeann Day-Wilson, including 10 straight, a three-point play by Reigan Richardson and a Celeste Taylor jumper.

Duke (16-2, 6-1 ACC) also went 3-of-4 from the charity stripe across its subsequent two possessions with 11 and five seconds remaining, respectively, to pull within three again. That was as close as the team would get, however, as North Carolina sealed the win with a pair of free throws with two seconds remaining.

In addition to Day-Wilson's 24 points, Richardson also finished in double figures with 12 points. Junior Kennedy Brown led the rebounding and assist efforts for Duke with five boards and three helpers.

Deja Kelly led North Carolina (13-5, 4-3 ACC) with 19 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The home team held a 12-5 lead at the end of one. Jordyn Oliver got the Blue Devils on the board at the 2:07 mark and Vanessa de Jesus cashed in a three from the left corner to pull Duke with five with 1:17 to go.
Duke battled back in the second, outscoring the Tar Heels 16-9 in the period.
The quarter featured a 10-2 spurt that saw the Blue Devils turn a seven-point deficit (16-9) into a one-point lead, 19-18, with 2:42 remaining in the half. At the break, Duke and North Carolina were deadlocked at 21.
A 7-0 run early in the quarter gave the Blue Devils a 28-25 lead, but North Carolina answered with an extended run of its own to close the quarter and surge in front, taking a nine-point lead into the fourth.
The home team led by as many as 11 in the final period but Duke refused to back down, launching a furious rally with 6:51 to go in the quarter.
Day-Wilson scored the next 10 Duke points, Richardson completed an old-fashioned three-point play, Taylor added a jumper and Day-Wilson capped the stretch with a triple from the right-bench side to bring the Blue Devils within three, 56-53, with 23 seconds remaining.
Duke pulled within three two more times with 11 (58-55) and five seconds (59-56), respectively, left to go in the game but couldn't get any closer.
North Carolina iced the game with a pair of makes at the line, securing the five-point victory.

GAME NOTES

Two Duke players finished the game in double figures – Day-Wilson (24) and Richardson (12)
The 24-point outing was Day-Wilson's fifth 20-plus point scoring output of her career.
She scored 14 of in the fourth quarter. The 24 points is two short of her career high while her fourth period point total is tied for the second most all-time at Duke.
The Blue Devils held a 15-6 advantage over North Carolina in second chance points and outrebounded North Carolina 31-29.
Duke forced a pair of shot clock violations in Thursday's game, pushing its season total to 22.
The Blue Devils held North Carolina to nine points in the second quarter, which ties the Tar Heels' lowest scoring output for any quarter.

UP NEXT:
Duke opens a two-game homestand, playing host to Syracuse on Sunday Jan., 22 at 12 p.m., live on ACC Network.

To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."

#GoDuke