Duke women's basketball hosts North Carolina coming off first ACC loss

The Devils took down the Florida State Seminoles, previously undefeated in the ACC, Saturday at Indoor Cameron Stadium
The Devils took down the Florida State Seminoles, previously undefeated in the ACC, Saturday at Indoor Cameron Stadium

It’s only March, but exams are now in session for the Blue Devils.

Without injured star point guard Chelsea Gray, No. 5 Duke dropped its first ACC game of the season Sunday to Miami. And now the Blue Devils finish their regular season today against No. 15 North Carolina at 4 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The game pits not only two heated rivals, but also two teams looking to pick up some momentum going into the postseason.

“You can count this game as a postseason game,” Peters said. “It’s senior night, it’s Duke-Carolina, it’s our last game at home… if our focus is not here now, it will be the end of the year for us.”

The Blue Devils already clinched the ACC regular season title but they are still a team in flux. Thursday’s 65-69 defeat at the hands of Miami—Duke’s second loss all season—shows the Blue Devils still need time to figure out how to adjust without Gray. Head coach Joanne P. McCallie admits that injury has set the team back.

“We’re a December team when everyone else is March first,” McCallie said. “[Conformability] doesn’t come that quickly. There haven’t been enough games and game experiences together…. this isn’t like magic.”

While the Blue Devils scramble to find a post-Gray identity, North Carolina will bus into Durham riding a three-game win streak and hungrily seeking revenge for the 84-63 loss doled out by Duke in early February. Senior guard Tierra Ruffin-Pratt, who hung 18 points on Chelsea Gray in the Tar Heels’ home loss, will likely be even more problematic for Duke’s patchwork backcourt.

The Blue Devils will look for strong performances from scoring leaders Elizabeth Williams, Tricia Liston, and Peters in their quest to defend Cameron Indoor Stadium. Liston, shooting 46.8 percent from beyond the arc in ACC play, has the potential to stretch North Carolina’s defense while lighting up the scoreboard. Williams will police the boards and hope to provide easy buckets for Duke.

Peters, who averages 12.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, will be needed just as much for her energy as for her production.

“Haley’s great. She just fights,” McCallie said. “She’s gotten better and better each year, more physical… I think she’s somebody we really to feed off—her energy and the way she fights on the floor—because these games are very physical.”

Peters’ ability to fight will be critical for a Duke team that hosts North Carolina at a dangerous time.

“It would be nice if we could just stop the season, just halt it, and go back and practice for month,” McCallie said.

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