CHAPEL HILL — Duke may have secured the top seed in the ACC tournament with Friday’s win over Miami, but it took a road victory Sunday over North Carolina to clinch the ACC title outright.
The regular season title is the first during head coach Joanne P. McCallie’s five-year tenure, and the win also marks the first time McCallie’s Blue Devils have beaten North Carolina at Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill.
Duke registered one of its most balanced offensive outputs of the season with Elizabeth Williams, Allison Vernerey, Tricia Liston and Chelsea Gray all reaching double-figure scoring, while Haley Peters and Shay Selby finished with 9 and 8 points, respectively, in a 69-93 win.
“It’s about time,” McCallie said of her first victory in Chapel Hill. “I can thank the team for that.”
On senior night in Chapel Hill, the Tobacco Road showdown between Duke (24-4, 15-1 in the ACC) and the Tar Heels (19-10, 9-7) was tightly fought at the start. North Carolina guard She’La White’s 3-pointer gave the Tar Heels an 11-10 lead with 14 minutes left in the first half.
North Carolina’s lead did not last long, though. Sophomore point guard Chelsea Gray fired up the Duke offense, recording five of her seven assists in the first half, giving her the Duke single season record for assists at 173. Duke’s frontcourt finished consistently in the interior, which allowed Duke to build a comfortable advantage. The Blue Devils were 18-of-32 from the field in the first half, mostly coming from shots in the paint.
“That’s our post players working their tails off. That’s our guards working their tails off to get the ball [inside],” McCallie said. “Chelsea sees a lot of pressure naturally, but still executing and getting paint points, that’s the difference in the game.”
Duke’s thin roster got even thinner for a while Sunday when Haley Peters was forced to leave the game with 2:30 left in the first half after taking an elbow to the face.
With a tight six-player rotation, Gray’s scoring ability allowed Duke to extend its lead at the beginning of the second half. She hit a step-back jumper, and then on the ensuing Duke possession stole the ball and converted the three-point play after being fouled on the layup to put the Blue Devils up 53-37 with 16:34 remaining in the game. Williams’ offensive board and put-back gave Duke a 17-point lead, its largest in the contest.
Despite getting 20 stitches in her lip, Peters returned to the game midway through the second half.
“She’s a warrior,” Gray said. “She’s the backbone of this team.”
At about the time Peters returned to the court, North Carolina started to make its run. Guard Brittany Rountree heated up from long range to cut Duke’s lead to eight points with about eight minutes to go. The freshman hit four of her five 3-pointers in the second half, the last bringing the Tar Heels within five points of the Blue Devils.
Duke’s sloppy play down the stretch also opened the door for North Carolina to make its run. The Blue Devils were just 7-of-17 from the charity stripe and had 12 turnovers in the second half.
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