It was the perfect end to a perfect regular season.
As the buzzer sounded Sunday evening in Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke ran onto the court to celebrate sealing its undefeated season, the final game at home for its two seniors and a bonfire-worthy victory over North Carolina.
Going into the matchup with an undefeated record and a No. 1 ranking, the Blue Devils (29-0, 14-0 in the ACC) were ready to play their final conference game, feeding off the support of its sellout crowd.
The No. 4 Tar Heels (27-3, 11-3) did not make it easy, but after eight lead changes and seven tie scores the Blue Devils delivered with the 67-62 win. Seniors Alison Bales and Lindsey Harding were honored in a postgame ceremony.
"The thing that means the most to me is that it's something special for these two seniors, because nobody else can top that," head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "They've put so much into this program, and they've been willing to be role players for several years, and now it's been their time to shine. That's what makes me feel best about this season-is that it's something more than any other team has done."
Bales and Harding combined for 31 of Duke's 67 points and 20 of the team's 45 rebounds, while Abby Waner added 13 points for the Blue Devils. Midway through the first half, Bales scored off a rebound to mark her 1,000th career point. The senior center also added a three-pointer just over five minutes into the game.
On the defensive end, Duke continuously switched its strategies to keep the Tar Heels from finding their rhythm in the second half. The Blue Devils' zone defense gave North Carolina trouble, despite the Tar Heels' usual comfort playing against it.
"When I saw them go zone, I actually was very happy, because we have been great against zone all year," North Carolina head coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "I was really disappointed that we didn't attack it the way we should have."
Seeing increased playing time due to sophomore Carrem Gay's recent shoulder injury, freshman Joy Cheek played 24 minutes, pulling down 14 rebounds for Duke. The Blue Devils, however, did not execute without flaws. Despite Duke's aggressive play-which Hatchell said her team struggled with-the Blue Devils' shots would not fall, shooting just 37.7 percent on the night.
"This wasn't one of our best games," Goestenkors said. "I think we struggled a little bit offensively-I give [North] Carolina credit for that. I thought their defense was really good. But once again, we did what was necessary to win."
Duke also faltered from behind the charity stripe, particularly in the second half. After the break, the Blue Devils went 12-for-27 from the free throw line.
"Unfortunately, we didn't make our free throws," Goestenkors said. "We're usually an excellent free throw shooting team, so that was a little disheartening. But it feels good to be able to shoot as poorly as we did from the free throw line and still come away with the win."
Down to the very end, Duke played with the heart it needed to clinch the first undefeated season in the history of the ACC.
The regular season behind them, the Blue Devils can now focus solely on their ultimate goal-winning the program's first national championship.
"We knew we were going to be good going into the season, and I don't think undefeated changes what we want," Bales said. "At the end of the season we want to be national champions."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.