No. 13 Duke Rallies for Ally ACC Tournament Quarterfinal Win Over North Carolina

Friday, March 3

Greensboro, N.C.

6:00 PM

Duke University

25-5,14-4ACC

North Carolina

21-10,11-7ACC

North Carolina

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 13 Duke Rallies for Ally ACC Tournament Quarterfinal Win Over North Carolina

3/3/2023 11:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – No. 13 Duke outscored No. 18 North Carolina 10-4 in the fourth quarter, including a 6-0 run down the stretch, and sophomore Reigan Richardson made a game-clinching block with four seconds remaining to lead the second-seeded Blue Devils to a 44-40 victory over the seventh-seeded Tar Heels in the Ally ACC Tournament quarterfinals Friday evening at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Elizabeth Balogun led the Duke (25-5, 14-4 ACC) offensive charge, finishing with 11 points, four rebounds and two assists. Richardson joined Balogun in double figures as the sophomore tallied 10 points, also adding two rebounds and a pair of blocks to her statline. Celeste Taylor also turned in another solid all-around performance with a near double-double of eight points and seven boards.

Deja Kelly paced North Carolina (21-10, 11-7 ACC) with 11 points and three assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Richardson opened up the game's scoring with a jumper from the right baseline, then Balogun swished home a three for an early, 5-3, Duke lead.
Another Richardson jumper and a pretty finger roll by Vanessa de Jesus after refusing the screen and splitting the double team gave the Blue Devils a 9-5 lead at the 4:35 mark.
Duke opened the second quarter with a lefty hook from Kennedy Brown and a three from Taylor off an offensive rebound and assist from Shayeann Day-Wilson to level the score at 14-all.
North Carolina managed to extend its lead to eight, 24-16, with 1:10 to go in the first half, but Balogun cashed in a triple with eight seconds remaining in the period to cut the Duke deficit to five, 24-19, at the break.
The Tar Heels pushed their lead back to nine early in the third quarter, but the Blue Devils refused to back down as they delivered a counter of their own, beginning with a 7-0 run midway through the quarter.
The run began with a turnaround jay from Brown and was followed by another trey from Balogun, before Day-Wilson netted a pullup jumper to pull Duke within a pair, 30-28.
Graduate student Mia Heide ignited the squad late in the third, swishing a pair of free throws before grabbing the offensive rebound on Taylor's missed free throw and sticking it back to tie the game at 34 with just over a minute to go in the period.
Taylor started the fourth quarter with back-to-back pullup jumpers to give Duke its first lead since the first period, 38-36, at the 7:11 mark.
North Carolina scored the next four to regain a 40-38 advantage, but that would be the last lead the Tar Heels would hold.
Richardson cashed in another midrange jumper from the right wing, then Balogun and Day-Wilson combined to go 3-of-4 at the line to put Duke in front by three with 30 seconds to go.
The Tar Heels had one more chance to send the game into an extra session, but it was to no avail.
Richardson thwarted the visitor's attempt with her second block of the game, then Day-Wilson knocked down another free throw to seal the four-point win for the Blue Devils.

GAME NOTES

With the win, Duke improves to 25-5 overall this season and 50-36 all-time in the ACC Tournament.
Duke advances to the conference tournament semifinals for the first time since 2017.
The Blue Devils improve to 5-0 this season in games immediately following a loss.
Head coach Kara Lawson picks up her first victory over North Carolina while the Blue Devils snap a four-game skid to the Tar Heels.
The Blue Devils held an opponent to 50 points or less for the 16th time this season.
North Carolina's four points in the fourth quarter tied the second-fewest point total in the respective period by a Duke foe all-time.
Friday's game proved to be a defensive slugfest – Duke's 44 points scored were the lowest by a winning team in the ACC Tournament all-time, while the 84 combined points was tied for the fewest points scored by two teams in a tournament game.
Two players finished the game in double figures – Balogun (11) and Richardson (10)
The Blue Devils owned the glass against North Carolina, outrebounding the Tar Heels 47-31.
Duke assisted on 63 percent of its field goals, dishing out 10 assists on 16 made baskets.
Graduate student Mia Heide provided a spark off the bench with a season-high eight rebounds, pairing that with four points and a pair of rejections.
Sophomore Shayeann Day-Wilson had a solid all-around effort as well as she finished the game with five points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

UP NEXT:
Duke advances to play No. 3 seed Virginia Tech in the Ally ACC Tournament semifinals on Saturday, March 4 at 2:30 p.m., live on ACC Network.

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