In the biggest rivalry in college sports and the pressure high, veteran graduate student Lexi Donarski did not back down. Just as the shot clock was about to expire and the score still tied in overtime, the former Iowa State player — who had not made a field goal all game — moved back to launch a step-back three.
As the ball swooshed through the net, the Tar Heels burst with excitement as the contest only had 1:16 left. With the Blue Devils still wishing to crawl their way back to a comeback, Taina Mair dished the ball off to Ashlon Jackson but it got picked away by Donarski. She held the ball and celebrated with her team after making the most crucial play of the night.
With North Carolina winning three years in a row at home, the Tar Heels kept their streak alive after a high-intensity 53-46 win.
“I made a lot of mistakes tonight, and we all did right? Whenever you play a game, there's a share of who made mistakes, and so I've got to be better for them and I have to be accountable for those,” head coach Kara Lawson said. “That's what this is about. It's about growing them individually and then growing our team to see if we can improve.”
Entering the fourth quarter, bright phone lights illuminated Carmichael Arena as North Carolina fans wanted to set the tone for the closing quarter, up by six. North Carolina (14-3, 2-2 in the ACC) started the second half on a 16-0 run but Duke (12-4, 3-1 in the ACC) responded with a 19-4 run.
Reigan Richardson, who had a quiet night, hit a jab-step 3-pointer, erupting Duke fans with its loudest cheers of the night with the score being 38-38 with 3:38 left of the contest. Tar Heel sophomore Reniya Kelly hit a clutch basket at the 2:25 mark but Jackson went 2-for-2 at the line with 42.2 seconds left, tying the score at 40 apiece.
Duke had a chance to win the game with 21 seconds left. However, Richardson’s shot swirled out of the hoop, forcing the highly-energized game into overtime. While the Blue Devils retained the lead for a good portion of overtime, the tide soon shifted, and North Carolina made the biggest plays at the end of the game.
With the score 16-16 at half, the Tar Heels put their foot on the gas. Once again scoring on their first possession, they continued to excel from there. The Blue Devils could not connect on any possession, going 0-for-9 in field-goal attempts and remaining at 16 points even at the 5:14 mark of the third quarter. Graduate Alyssa Utsby had five points within the first five minutes of the second half; she connected for the layup off a rocket pass making the Tar Heels lead 25-16 at the 5:50 mark.
Blanca Thomas scored to bring the Tar Heels to a 11-point lead — their largest of the night — forcing Lawson to call a timeout. After Toby Fournier missed a basket near the rim, junior Indya Nivar hit a huge three, making Carmichael the loudest of the night as the Tar Heels expanded to a 16-point lead with 3:17 minutes in the third quarter.
Just as the North Carolina fans were getting as rowdy as ever, Jadyn Donovan broke the Blue Devils' 8:11 run of scoreless basketball. Lawson looked for a spark by putting Emma Koabel in; after the Port Colborne, Canada, native checked in she banked a three with just over a minute left making the score 32-21. Following Duke’s first triple of the night, Jackson followed with a 3-pointer of her own. In the closing seconds of the third quarter, Donovan finished with a nice layup bringing North Carolina’s lead to just six before entering the fourth.
“We try to be in problem-solving mode at halftime. I don't know that there's a ton of value in just getting frustrated over what had already happened, because it's already done,” Lawson said. “I did think we let some of their shooters get loose there in the first half for a couple open threes. And so we talked about why that happened, and how do we fix that?”
As highly anticipated as the Duke vs. North Carolina game is, it started off slow. With powerhouse freshman Toby Fournier missing the last game against Pittsburgh, Lawson did not hesitate putting her into the game, checking in at the 9:09 mark. The Tar Heels took the lead to start the game but Richardson made a tough spin move at the basket tying up the contest. But to the Blue Devils’ dismay, they were not able to score a field goal for over five minutes.
After only finishing 10 minutes of action, the Blue Devils and the Tar Heels had three and four turnovers respectively, and Duke led 8-6. Although these rivals have different shades of blue, their similarities after the first quarter persisted with both only having a 21% field-goal clip.
Hoping to see a burst in energy for both teams in the second quarter, it was met with a similar story as the first quarter. During the Tar Heels’ first possession, they tied the score to make it 8-8. Towards the start of the second quarter, Delaney Thomas went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe and made a strong spin move in the paint at the 6:59 mark to elevate the Blue Devils to a 11-8 lead. A minute later, Jackson snatched the ball from North Carolina and took the ball all the way down to court to make the score 13-9 in the Blue Devils’ favor.
With the North Carolina blue quiet for some time, Fournier committed a foul allowing the Tar Heels to connect at the charity stripe and eventually take a 14-13 lead at the 4:33 mark. However, Duke never could take back the lead for the rest of regulation.
The Blue Devils will stay on the road as they looks to bounce back against Virginia Sunday at noon.
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