CHAPEL HILL - Among the many moments that stood out on a truly remarkable evening for the women's basketball team, perhaps none resonated as loudly as one of Duke's seven three-pointers midway through the second half.
North Carolina made an 8-0 run 11 minutes into the second half, cut Duke's lead to 64-47 and appeared to finally be making a move back into the contest. The Tar Heels for once gave their rabid crowd of 10,000 a reason to erupt.
So what happens next?
On the Blue Devils' subsequent possession, Duke calmly works the ball around the basket until Michele VanGorp draws a double team and finds Naz Medhanie wide open near the top of the arc.
Medhanie shoots, hits and UNC never threatened again.
Symbolic, perhaps, because Medhanie is a reserve not always on the court when the game is on the line. More meaningful, unquestionably, because Medhanie is another one of Duke's veterans, a senior, who has chipped in during the Blue Devils' 11-game winning streak.
As Duke closed out the first half of the conference season undefeated Friday, it served notice to its top-10 rival that this team is unflappable, even in the most hostile of conditions.
"I have to give the credit to all of my players; they really came in ready to play," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "They were excited to play in front of a huge crowd. That's what you want women's basketball to be all about. It was a great atmosphere for basketball."
Goestenkors was the first to admit she wouldn't expect her team to turn the ball over 26 times and escape Carmichael Auditorium with a win, much less one by 22 points. But as UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell pointed out after the game, more significant than the turnovers were the assists.
Duke made 31 baskets, assisting on 25 of them.
"When you have that many assists, that's just great teamwork," Hatchell said. "They just do a nice job with that."
At the center of the activity was VanGorp. Not only did the senior finish from the post, she scored on the go as well as she has all season.
Just as importantly, VanGorp helped Duke escape the Tar Heels' trap, as the Blue Devils used the 6-foot-6 center as a focal point to move the ball upcourt.
"She knows what she's able to do," UNC center Yanick Clay said. "She knows her weaknesses and knows her strengths. She just uses those to her advantage."
Clay and her teammates were unable to use their strengths to any advantage. When they found themselves open, they missed open shots. Leading scorer Nikki Teasley was rejected by the rim on one memorable fastbreak in the first half.
And from the perimeter, the Tar Heels hit just 12-of-49 shots, including one of 17 attempts from beyond the arc. Offensive struggles went a long way toward limiting UNC's ability to press.
"Because of the size difference, we have to be able to trap," Clay said. "When we don't have those opportunities, it kind of makes it a little bit difficult."
Goestenkors mentioned the importance of getting a squad of men back in practice to prepare the Blue Devils for UNC. Duke practiced against the trap and got used to the kind of defense on display Friday night.
Early in the game, as Duke was pulling away, the Blue Devils avoided costly turnovers and seemed to know where every pass was headed. Several times they found the shot clock winding down, only to make the extra pass and score on an open layup as if the entire 35 seconds was perfectly scripted.
Peppi Browne dished out five assists, as did Krista Gingrich against no turnovers.
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Duke's 26 turnovers deserve attention heading into tonight's game, and Goestenkors admitted the Blue Devils still have much to work on. But with eight ACC wins already under their belt, none bigger than the last one, it is much easier to overlook a few negatives.
"I just wanted to come in here and win," VanGorp said. "I didn't care how many points I had. Everyone wanted to talk about, 'Oh, they have the fourth-biggest winning streak in the country' and I wanted to end that."
VanGorp has 10,000 witnesses that the Blue Devils did just that.