CHAPEL HILL - Six minutes into the game, junior Abby Waner set up behind the arc and let her shot fly. It looked true, but it hit the rim, rolled around twice, and spun out into the hands of North Carolina's Erlana Larkins. The forward then found teammate Heather Claytor open at the opposite arc and she buried her three to put the Tar Heels up 15-8.
Things only got worse for the Blue Devils.
No. 2 North Carolina pummeled No. 12 Duke 82-51 Sunday night in Carmichael Auditorium. The 31-point deficit was the most lopsided Blue Devil loss in 15 years and was the Tar Heels' largest margin of victory over their Tobacco Road rivals since 1982.
Duke (21-8, 10-4 in the ACC) struggled in all aspects of their offensive game, shooting just 30 percent from the field and failing to sink any threes for the first time in 109 games. The Blue Devils finished 0-for-12 from downtown, and their 12 total assists paled in comparison to North Carolina's 21.
After the game, head coach Joanne P. McCallie had little to say, clearly displeased with the team's leadership and focus.
"We should have been more patient, we should have controlled the tempo more, and we needed a lot more leadership on the floor in order to do that," McCallie said. "That did not occur.
"I really think it's a focus thing. You have to come ready to play, and you have to have an attitude about your game. I look at the assist number, and we need to be a team. It's pure and simple. A team on the bench, a team on the court, a team all the time."
While they only lost the turnover and rebounding battles by one and two respectively, the Blue Devils fell into a familiar trap and allowed the Tar Heels (27-2, 14-0) to take 30 free throws, more than twice Duke's 14. Once again, McCallie attributed this season-long problem to her team's frame of mind.
"There are multiple issues there," McCallie said. "To me, it all spells attitude and decisiveness and a firmness about our game, and we have got to find that for next game because you cannot be successful going to the free throw line 10 to 12 times a game. We should have one player doing that, not an entire team."
Junior center Chante Black registered a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Indicative of a game where nothing went completely right for the Blue Devils, though, North Carolina's formidable frontcourt shut down Black in the second half. She only scored two points and collected three rebounds when Duke needed her to help mount a comeback.
Black acknowledged that she did not get the ball much in the game's latter half, but put the blame for not forcing the issue on herself.
"That's one thing I want to take away from this game-to be more demanding of the ball," Black said. "Especially when I am hitting [shots]."
The Blue Devils admittedly put themselves in a tough spot heading into postseason play. Senior Wanisha Smith acknowledged that such a big loss had shaken the team's swagger.
"It kills it a little bit," Smith said of the team's confidence. "You do not ever want to come out and get beat this bad on someone else's floor."
Unfortunately for Duke, they do not have much time to rebound from this loss with the first round of conference play Thursday. From McCallie's point of view, it will be one of the final mental tests for her team in their rollercoaster season.
"It's a test of our character, for sure," McCallie said. "We will find out what kind of character we have."
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