BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In every year of head coach Kara Lawson’s tenure thus far, Duke women’s basketball’s finish to the season has improved. Two years ago, it was a second-round exit of the NCAA Tournament. Last season, the Blue Devils went down to UConn in the Sweet 16.
She’s starting to run out of space.
Despite being just 20 minutes apart from each other, Duke and North Carolina faced off not at a venue in the two squads’ shared home state, but in Birmingham with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line.
The Blue Devils rode their stifling defense and crashed the boards en route to a 47-38 win against the Tar Heels, reaching the Elite Eight for the first time since 2013 and retiring several longtime foes in the process.
“Exactly how we expected the game to go. It's how these games are,” Lawson said after the game. “If you've watched these games over the last few years, it's competitive and really gritty, and I thought both teams played with great effort.”
Duke entered the fourth quarter up 37-32, and the final period was more of the same. The Tar Heels looked to Alyssa Ustby to lead them, although Duke did a better job shutting down the dynamic forward than it had in previous games. The Blue Devils collapsed on the graduate whenever she caught it down low, forcing jump balls and ugly shots. The Duke defense was out in force when it mattered, and the Blue Devils worked hard on the boards. Jadyn Donovan grabbed more than one physical offensive rebound against tough competition, creating second chances against a Tar Heel squad that was now playing against the clock as much as against Duke.
Graduate guard Vanessa de Jesus continued to have herself a game, racking up the assists as well as points. She drove to the basket, finding Ashlon Jackson open on the perimeter to push the lead to 12 points. The Blue Devils took a 10-2 run to gain separation and prevent any hopes of a Tar Heel comeback. While North Carolina pushed back late with strong defense and tough baskets, it wasn’t enough. Fittingly, Duke gathered three consecutive offensive rebounds late to run down the clock, and that was all she wrote.
The Tar Heels went on a 11-0 run to start the game; the Blue Devils were held scoreless through six minutes — shooting an uninspiring 0-for-9 from the field.
“I will be honest, I was worried down 11-0 if we would score at all in the game but I don't think there has ever been a shutout in the tournament,” Lawson said. “ … I thought Vanessa changed the game when she came in. Just her fearlessness attacking, ball screen action, getting to the rim and loosening up their defense to give us confidence and her composure running the team was huge.”
Duke showed some life late in the period, as forward Jordan Wood got the offense going with some free throws and a jump shot while freshman Toby Fournier helped out down low. After a de Jesus layup to end the quarter, it was a 13-9 game in favor of North Carolina.
That’s when the Blue Devils made their run. It was a low-scoring second period, too. Neither team had found the bucket by the seven-minute mark, until de Jesus caught one at the elbow and buried it. Delaney Thomas followed that up with some bully ball down low to tie the game at 13 apiece.
On the next North Carolina trip down the floor, Duke forced the Tar Heels to run down the shot clock, then swarmed guard Lanie Grant to snatch the ball. Reigan Richardson dropped off a bounce pass at the other end for guard Oluchi Okananwa, and she gave Duke the lead. Emma Koabel drew a charge then forced a travel from Ustby on back-to-back trips down the floor as the Blue Devil bench exploded heading into the media timeout. The Tar Heels were scoreless for 7:29. To make matters worse for head coach Courtney Banghart’s squad, 6-foot-3 forward Maria Gakdeng injured her ankle in the second quarter and was limited the rest of the way.
“[Gakdeng] is a rim protector, she is an elite rebounder and she is your late clock,” Banghart said. “When you lose Maria late in the game, that's a big loss.”
The run continued into the latter half of the period, led largely by de Jesus. A player who has not scored with much regularity after missing all of last season with an injury, she already had eight points in the half. North Carolina battled back to end the half with consecutive threes, but Duke was in the driver’s seat. Okananwa fired back with two deep shots of her own, and it was 28-20 at half in favor of the Blue Devils. Duke had gone on a 28-9 run to close out the first 20.
The second half started strong as the Blue Devils moved the ball well against a new-look 1-2-2 zone defense. Jackson found Thomas down low for the easy lay. From there, the defense continued to shine. Donovan played strong down low, picking up two early blocks on Gakdeng and Ustby.
As the quarter went on, the resistance from North Carolina got stronger. A deep bucket from Kelly shrank the lead back to just four points, and Fournier traveled on the other end to up the pressure on Duke. Grant took Blue Devil guard Taina Mair on in isolation and got the tough bucket, making it a one-possession game. This time, it was Jackson to the rescue. She took the ball up the court and buried a three without hesitation to push it back to five points by the end of the quarter. Regardless, it was clear this one would be neck-and-neck down the stretch, but the Blue Devils emerged ahead. While it may have made the win better for fans, the rivalry never crossed Lawson’s mind.
“I think what you're chasing is more important than who you have to go through,” Lawson said. “… We try to focus on that. We have great respect for them and great respect for every team we've played, but I've always felt like that focus is it's best to do your job, not worry about who, but worry about what you need to do to win.”
Duke will take on the winner of No. 1-seed South Carolina and No. 4-seed Maryland in the Elite Eight Sunday at 1 p.m.
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Martin Heintzelman is a Trinity junior and Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.