In its largest loss to North Carolina at home since 1993, No. 9 Duke fell to the high-powered Tar Heels 93-76 Monday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils (16-6, 5-2 in the ACC) had not given up more than 90 points to their rivals since 1995.
Third-ranked UNC (20-2, 7-0) entered the game leading the nation in scoring and the Blue Devil defense did little to halt the prolific attack. Senior LaToya Pringle and freshman Cetera DeGraffenreid torched Duke for 18 points each, and Pringle added 11 rebounds and four blocks to finish off her dominant performance.
"I would call that very bad defense," head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "There should have been more bodies flying, putting bodies in front of people and instead, we watched people go by."
UNC, which entered halftime up 10 after a 6-0 run to end the period, refused to relinquish its momentum and came out of the locker room continuing to push the ball. Behind a pair of quick layups from junior Rashanda MCants, a three from Heather Claytor and two free-throws from Pringle, the Tar Heels extended their lead to 57-43 at the 17:04 mark.
Duke would pull back to within 10, but would never recover in its largest home defeat to its rival since the first year of former head coach Gail Goestenkors' tenure.
A scoring drought of 4:35 midway through the second half prevented any lingering chance of a comeback and left the Blue Devils trailing 74-58 with 6:51 remaining.
A final deep 3-pointer from the corner at the 2:53 mark twisted the dagger for good and put the Tar Heels ahead 85-69.
UNC finished the game shooting an impressive 7-for-11 from beyond the arc, while the Blue Devils made just two of 17 attempts.
"We cannot be giving up 93 points-I don't care who we play, where we play, how we play," McCallie said.
Duke managed to share scoring streaks with the Tar Heels in the first half to hang close, trailing by only four points with just under two minutes remaining. But then the UNC offense finally overwhelmed the Blue Devils.
In the final 1:53, the Tar Heels dropped six quick points to go ahead 10 heading into the half. Indicative of UNC's torrid shooting night, three of those points came on a trey from the 6-foot-3 center Pringle-the first 3-pointer of her career.
"There's no telling what [Pringle] might do next, she may want to play point guard," UNC head coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "There are a lot of ways to get the milk in the jug, and I like how we play."
Duke has now played each of the top five teams in the country and has lost to all but No. 5 Rutgers.
The common denominator in those losses, rebounding, continued to plague the Blue Devils. And Monday, those rebounds helped the Tar Heels finish with 25 second-chance points. Not that they needed the extra opportunities-they shot 51 percent for the game.
The Blue Devils countered UNC's collective hot hand by shooting 39 percent and a mere 11 percent from 3-point range.
"It's definitely not a good idea to be 2-of-17," McCallie said. "That's not going to help you out."
For the Blue Devils, senior Wanisha Smith battled cramps to lead the way with 17 points and eight rebounds. Junior Chante Black, who was hindered by foul trouble, chipped in 15 points of her own.
Abby Waner added 13 points but continued to struggle with her shooting, going 0-for-5 from behind the arc. She has now shot 6-for-47 on threes in her last 8 games. Even so, Waner fought her long-range shooting woes by making shorter jump shots and handing out four assists.
NOTES: The loss Monday snapped Duke's 16-game ACC win streak in Cameron Indoor Stadium..... With her 13 points, Waner needs 18 to join Duke's 1,000-point club. The junior would be the 23rd player in program history to reach the milestone.... The reported sellout crowd was Duke's second this season, with the other being the Jan. 28 matchup with Tennessee.
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