CHAPEL HILL—Duke knew that last night’s match-up against rival North Carolina at Carmichael Arena would be tough, even if the numbers didn’t indicate it.
The No. 5 Blue Devils (21-2, 7-1 in the ACC) have been ranked higher than their opponents for nearly the entirety of the season and had suffered only one loss—to traditional powerhouse Connecticut—while remaining undefeated in the conference until Monday night.
The Tar Heels (21-3, 7-2) had one thing going for them—home court advantage. Duke had not been able to come away with a victory in Chapel Hill since 2007, and yet again, the Blue Devils were unable to put away No. 13 North Carolina at Carmichael Arena, falling 62-60 in a thriller that went down to the final possession.
“It was a great basketball game, and it’s a good experience for our team to understand what it takes to play on the road and to demand of each other,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “We won the rebounding battle, but we didn’t win the battle of being smart.”
Though the Blue Devils dominated the beginning of the first half, sprinting out to an 11-2 lead, the home team was able to quickly make up for the deficit with a 9-0 run of its own that eventually led to the Tar Heels taking the lead 21-20 with 8:22 left in the half. From there, North Carolina just kept up its momentum.
“Our team’s got to change. You can’t just keep coming out and saying that your team’s not playing with enough heart and you’re not fighting,” said senior Jasmine Thomas, who ended the game with 18 points. “That’s something you shouldn’t have to coach.”
Both sides were plagued with poor shooting—under thirty-eight percent for both teams in the first half—but the Tar Heels managed to step it up in the second half, shooting 15-for-28 and unlocking an ineffective Duke press. Behind for the vast majority of the second half, the Blue Devils often forced quick shots, hoping to trim the deficit all at once.
“We didn’t need 69 shots; that’s not what we needed,” McCallie said. “We could’ve moved the ball a bit more and been a little bit more patient. And the fact that we did not get to the free throw line probably was another determining factor.”
The Blue Devils were 6-of-12 from the free throw line and defensively gave up several and-ones in the final minutes of the game—something that hurt Duke immensely in the end.
“I think there were three or four and-ones called at the end of the game,” McCallie said. “It’s one thing to let a team score, but it’s another thing to foul them on top of that.”
Defensively, Duke had one of its poorest outings of the season. The Tar Heels overshadowed the Blue Devils with 14 fast break points to the Duke’s six, negating the full-court press that usually cripples offenses.
Duke’s interior defense fared no better. A lack of additional help in the post position when sophomore center Allison Vernerey was off the court keyed 34 points in the paint for North Carolina. Vernerey was one of the team’s top performers with 13 points and four rebounds, three of which were offensive.
With just 43 seconds left in the game and North Carolina up 62-57, senior Jasmine Thomas stole the ball and proceeded to make a bomb from behind the arc, closing the lead to two. The Blue Devils played stellar defense to force a missed Tar Heel shot, and freshman Chelsea Gray had the ball in her hands with under ten seconds left.
Gray ran the length of the floor and attempted an acrobatic lay-up to tie the game, but her shot was blocked by North Carolina’s Waltiea Rolle just before the buzzer.
“I really appreciate our team’s last two minutes,” McCallie said. “I thought that was the best we played all game.”
Despite the coach’s encouraging words, however, the Blue Devils couldn’t help but feel like they managed to let a victory escape.
“On that last play, I should have dished it to Kathleen Scheer—period,” Gray said. “And we would have went into overtime.”
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