The scenario was well-scripted for the women's basketball team on Saturday-or at least so it seemed.
With a season-high crowd of 5,478 mostly partisan fans filling the Cameron stands, the stage was set for the 19th-ranked Blue Devils to knock off rival North Carolina, the Atlantic Coast Conference's current standard bearer.
But, despite rallying from nine-point deficits twice, Duke (11-6, 3-4 in the ACC) was unable to counter the play of UNC's big stars and dropped its third straight contest, 87-73.
"I'd like to give Carolina a lot of credit," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "I thought they came in very focused and prepared. I don't think we played poorly today. We didn't do some little things well, but we did not play a poor game."
The key turning point in the game came with just under 10 minutes left and the 10th-ranked Tar Heels (14-1, 5-0) leading 57-56. Blue Devil senior guard Kira Orr, who led Duke with 22 points, substituted out and UNC proceeded to go on a 9-1 run that increased the North Carolina lead to nine-a deficit from which Duke never recovered.
Though Orr re-entered the contest and scored eight points to pull the Blue Devils back within three at 72-69, North Carolina ran off the next six points, effectively ending the game. The last basket came on a controversial steal and breakaway layup by Marion Jones.
"When Kira went out, we were trying to penetrate more," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "We were trying to take advantage of some mismatches by posting up our perimeter players."
North Carolina's attack was paced by a four-headed monster. Four players scored all but four of the Tar Heels' 87 points. Tracy Reid led the way with 26 points and Jones, who hadn't practiced in a week due to an injury, chipped in 18.
They were expected to set the pace, but the biggest performances on Saturday came from Chanel Wright and Jessica Gaspar. Wright scored 19 of her 22 points in the second half, making seven of her last 11 shots.
Meanwhile Gaspar, who came in averaging just six points per game, came off the bench to contribute 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting in a season-high 31 minutes of play. The guard also recorded three steals and three assists.
"I think everybody played a great game," Gaspar said. "As an individual I did alright. I felt my shot was on and I was taking it when I was open."
Perhaps Gaspar's biggest stat-six rebounds-was most indicative of UNC's second half effort. The Tar Heels out-rebounded Duke 20-11 in the second stanza, with eight of the 20 boards coming on the offensive glass. Among the eight were three offensive putbacks.
In the last 20 minutes of play, Reid and Wright, who finished with 11 and eight rebounds, respectively, took control of the glass. North Carolina's inside dominance allowed it to break open a two point game at the half.
After Orr opened the second half with a three-pointer to give Duke a 39-38 lead, Wright scored off an offensive rebound and UNC never trailed again.
"In the second half they didn't do anything different," Goestenkors said. "They just continued to attack the glass. They are relentless on the boards. I think in the second half that wore us down a little bit and finally they got their rebounds."
It took a big rebounding effort by the Tar Heels to overcome a strong outside shooting performance from Duke. The Blue Devils nailed 10-of-22 shots from beyond the three-point arc. Orr led the way with five, while sophomore guard Hilary Howard and senior Windsor Coggeshall chipped in two apiece.
Duke's outside shooting kept the game close, as the Blue Devils' inside offense had somewhat of an off night. UNC's defense often forced Duke to use bounce passes on the perimeter, freeing up the guards for outside shots but limiting the inside game. Sophomore Payton Black and senior Tye Hall still scored 13 and 12 points, respectively, but were not pleased with their inside efforts.
"I'm just in a slump right now and trying to get out," Black said. "I need to get my act together a little bit."
The rest of the Blue Devils are in a similar predicament. Despite not playing poorly over the past few weeks, Duke has dropped five of its last seven games. Three of the opponents, all from the ACC, are ranked in the top 15 in the country.
"I think we're close," Goestenkors said. "The effort's there. We need to get back to basics if we're going to be successful.
"I don't think we're out of it. I just don't think we've put together a full game yet. We're playing hard-we've got to begin to play smart."
The loss also ended an eight-game winning streak at home-ironic considering the volume of the crowd. Both teams pointed to the effect of the crowd, though it was the faithful from Chapel Hill who were crowing in the end.
"It's great to play in Cameron," Jones said. "It's a great basketball experience. We just tried to channel all the energy of the fans and gear it towards ourselves."
While UNC hopes to maintain the momentum of the big win, Duke now has six days to recoup as it prepares for a Friday home contest with Clemson. Goestenkors hopes to return the Blue Devils to the basics of the game as they head into the last month of the season.
"It's hard," Howard said. "We played well and yet we're still not winning. But I think we know that this is a tough conference and there are going to be a lot of upsets. We're still in this."
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