GREENSBORO, N.C. -- When Duke, trailing N.C. State by three, looked up in disbelief at the scoreboard with just under eight seconds left after Abby Waner's failed three, they realized their worst fears.
The perfect record, along with a shot at the ACC Championship--and perhaps the top seed in the NCAA Tournament--was gone.
Despite leading the Wolfpack by eight with about six minutes left to go, Duke (30-1, 14-0 ACC) could not stave off N.C. State (23-8, 10-4), as the Wolfpack went on a 17-5 run to close out the game and shock the Blue Devils 70-65.
"This game to me was like a 15-round fight," N.C. State Head Coach Kay Yow said. "We were on the ropes a lot but at the end we were able to get the knockout."
At the end of the game, Duke certainly had its chances to deliver the knockout punch.
With Duke ahead by one with just under two minutes to go, Ashley Key, who had the burden of defending Harding and being the primary offensive threat for N.C. State, drove underneath the basket in an attempt to put the Wolfpack ahead.
Like she had done so many times over her career, Alison Bales used her six-foot-seven length to stretch out and smack the ball down, much to the delight of the Duke fans present. Harding scooped up the loose ball, and after the Blue Devils called timeout, it appeared that Duke would at the very least prevent N.C. State from taking the lead.
Then it started to unravel very quickly.
Freshman Joy Cheek threw a bad pass to Harding out of bounds, and the frustration showed as it had all day on Harding's disgusted face. Key immediately took advantage and nailed a running jumper in the lane with 1:18 left to give the Wolfpack a one-point lead.
"They just put their heads down and penetrated to the middle," Duke Head Coach Gail Goestenkors said. "It's something we've been focusing on and we're usually pretty good with, and just didn't do a good job today. They made us pay for it today."
The crowd began screaming and jumping, with N.C. State, UNC, and Maryland fans all celebrating in union in the anticipation of perhaps the upset of the year.
Wanisha Smith looked to silence them with a three, and she may have done just the opposite by having it rim out. Fortunately for Duke, Cheek made up for her earlier mistake and the Blue Devils called timeout with 50 seconds left.
Again, though, Duke could not convert as Bales missed a layup in the post and the Wolfpack made both subsequent free throws with 18 seconds left.
Still, the Blue Devils had a chance to tie the game and keep their hopes for an unblemished record alive.
Harding dribbled the ball down the side of the court as the clock began ticking. With around 10 seconds left, she handed the ball off the Waner, who had shot 5-7 from three point range up to that point.
Waner, who admitted she was unaware that she had more time than she thought, dribbled, took a couple of steps back, and launched the shot that could have hit nothing but net.
It hit nothing but air, setting off jubilation both in the stands and on N.C. State's sideline.
"It was a stupid shot," Waner said. "It was a decent look, but I probably could have created a better look with eight seconds left on the clock, for me or for somebody else."
The Wolfpack clinched it with two more free throws, and after the buzzer sounded, N.C. State's players dived on the ACC logo at midcourt, as the Blue Devils could do nothing but grimace and stare at the reality that for the first time this year, they had wound up on the short end of the scoreboard.
"It hurts my heart," Goestenkors said. "But we know that we'll learn from it and get better. So it's definitely better now than later."
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