LIVE BLOG: No. 9 Duke vs. No. 13 North Carolina

Final: No. 9 Duke 66, No. 13 North Carolina 58

A bizarre play—on which Shay Selby passed up on a fast-break opportunity to run the clock down further but then threw the ball away—kept the game going a little longer. But the score remained the same. The Blue Devil hugs a small child and the bulding nearly explodes with excitement. Game over. Check tomorrow's Chronicle for more coverage!

0:35 2nd Half: No. 9 Duke 66, No. 13 North Carolina 58

Jasmine Thomas (who else?) ends up with the ball in her hands and gets fouled. She hits the first shot but misses the second. Christmas completes her double-double by getting the offsive rebound but she gets tied up. Carolina ball but this one's basically over.

0:39 2nd Half: No. 9 Duke , No. 13 North Carolina

The crowd goes into a tizzy as a UNC shot from well behind the arc air-balls with only 38.9 seconds left. That was a huge stop, but this game isn't over, especially if the Blue Devils get careless.

1:02 2nd Half: No. 9 Duke 65, No. 13 North Carolina 58

After using up almost the entire shot clock, Duke manages to get the ball to Christmas on the low block. She's fouled as she attempts a layup. She misses the first free throw but swishes the second one to make it a three-possession game.

3:47 2nd Half: No. 9 Duke 60, No. 13 North Carolina 52

Although the Blue Devils came up with a stop on the last possession, there's a real sense of urgency now in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Freshman Tricia Liston steps up and delivers with a beautiful shot fake, dribble side-step and a three from the right wing. Tar Heel She'la White knocks one in from the corner to cut the lead back to eight. This one looks like it's coming down to the wire.

5:18 2nd Half: No. 9 Duke 57, No. 13 North Carolina 49

Don't count out the Tar Heels yet. Italee Lucas hits a deep three and just like that the lead is down to single digits. Krystal Thomas gets called for traveling on the ensuing possession and UNC can cut this  game down to two possessions with a three.

6:02 2nd Half: No. 9 Duke 57, No. 13 North Carolina 46

After a Peters shot from the lane rims out, several players dive for the ball, but UNC comes up with possession. Good hands on the other end from Krystal Thomas to force a deflection, which Jasmine Thomas eventually picks up and runs with. She's fouled on the breakaway and hits one of two from the line.

7:16 2nd Half: No. 9 Duke 56, No. 13 North Carolina 46

Duke is now feeding off the crowd's energy, but it's apparent that the team is quite tired. Seniors Jasmine Thomas and Karima Christmas now share the team lead with 13 points each. Jasmine Thomas's three is the only points the Blue Devils have over the past four minutes, but their defense has been tenacious enough for them to maintain a double-digit lead. Still, they'll need to start scoring again to win this game.

9:11 2nd Half: No. 9 Duke 56, No. 13 North Carolina 44

No more than ten seconds after I wrote that, Jasmine Thomas hit a three pointer to reignite the crowd, but a foul on the other end allows UNC to ostensibly end the run.

9:46 2nd Half: No. 9 Duke 53, No. 13 North Carolina 42

While Duke is still technically on its 11-2 run (which started when it had a 42-40 lead) the momentum has subsided considerably as nearly a minute and a half pass between Blue Devil baskets.

11:18 2nd Half: No. 9 Duke 53, No. 13 North Carolina 42

Haley Peters, who sat out most of the first half with foul trouble, has picked up right where she left off—grabbing rebounds, hitting layups in traffic and hustling for loose balls.  Jasmine Thomas makes a spectacular steal and save on the other end and Duke converts on the other end with a Karima Christmas three-pointer. Timeout UNC. On the ensuing possession, Jasmine Thomas draws a charge and the building nearly explodes.

13:20 2nd Half: No. 9 Duke 46, No. 13 North Carolina 40

After playing the first part of the half at a breakneck pace, Duke slows down a bit after a UNC basket cuts the lead to two. Haley Peters's layup attempt falls after teetering on the rim for a moment. That draws a huge roar of approval from the crowd. Jasmine Thomas adds fuel to the fans' fire by deflecting a pass and almost taking it the other way. A Shay Selby pull-up jumper from just above the free throw line is the third big play and the crowd goes into a frenzy. Timeout Tar Heels. Crazy Towel Guy gets on his feet to keep the crowd going.

15:30 2nd Half: No. 9 Duke 40, No. 13 North Carolina 38

UNC just had to deal with its first bit of foul trouble, as Chay Shegog—who led the Tar Heels with 10 points in the first half—picked up  her third while defending Krystal Thomas. So far the player of the game for Duke has been Karima Christmas, who has 10 points and seven boards.

18:04 2nd Half: No. 9 Duke 35, No. 13 North Carolina 35

Duke starts the second half with possession and easily breaks a UNC press, as Liston finds Vernerey for an open layup square up the game at 31. After letting up a jumper from the wing, Jasmine Thomas comes off a Krystal Thomas screen and hits from the elbow. After trading baskets, the game is tied again. Two minutes into the half, the offenses are running the show.

Halftime: No. 9 Duke 29, No. 13 North Carolina 31

After a physical 20 minutes marked by huge swings in momentum, both teams are out on the floor warming up for what figures to be an exciting second half. Vernerey and Krystal Thomas share the team lead with seven points apiece. Duke has the advantage in fast break points and has forced UNC into more turnovers. But the Blue Devils are losing the battle of the boards and are being outscored 8-2 on second chance points. That's something they'll need to fix if they want to win this game.

Halftime: No. 9 Duke 29, No. 13 North Carolina 31

Halftime could not come soon enough for the Blue Devils. They caught a break when Chloe Wells got fouled making a defensive rebound with four seconds remaining. She missed her first free throw but got the second.

0:49 1st Half: No. 9 Duke 28, No. 13 North Carolina 31

Duke can't catch a break right now and the UNC fans in the building are making themselves heard. The Tar Heels regain the lead at the 1:33 mark and the Blue Devils are looking—and playing—incredibly tired right now. With less than a minute left Carolina is once again at the line and Broomfield connects on both free throws to extend the lead to 3.

3:27 1st Half: No. 9 Duke 28, No. 13 North Carolina 26

Whatever UNC head coach Sylvia Hatchell said to her team in the timeout worked. The Tar Heels are hitting their shots, and their intensity is back. This has been a game of runs and Duke is on the wrong end of this one. Selby fouls on the fast break and the layup goes in anyway. I've always been of the opinion that light fouls are never an option; foul hard or don't foul at all—no easy buckets!

5:30 1st Half: No. 9 Duke 26, No. 13 North Carolina 19

Duke has shifted to a zone defensively, which has completely disrupted what little offensive rhythm UNC had left. The Tar Heels commit two consecutive offensive fouls trying to separate from Blue Devil defenders, then travel. Even their fast-break opportunities have come up short. When Jessica Breland finally gets an open look under the basket as a result of patient passing, she misses from point blank range and again on the follow up. Duke runs out the rebound and Selby hits a three from the wing. Timeout Carolina.

7:46 1st Half: No. 9 Duke 20, No. 13 North Carolina 19

North Carolina has been crushing Duke on the boards, but the Blue Devils are starting to show signs of life. Christmas knocks down a three from the corner off a dish from Jasmine Thomas. Now that Duke is hitting from the outside, maybe there will be more room for them to operate in the paint. Right now, though, the Blue Devils best offense seems to be their defense, as Duke's last five points have come directly from steals. And following a Jasmine Thomas "And-1" gives them the lead, they institute their vaunted press. The game has, for now, turned in Duke's favor.  Head coach Joanne P. McCallie exhorts the crowd to stand up and cheer. The excitement is palpable.

11:41 1st Half: No. 9 Duke 10, No. 13 North Carolina 15

Coming out of the media timeout, the Tar Heels work the ball inside and then come up with several consecutive offensive boards. North Carolina eventually tips a miss out of bounds and Duke takes advantage on the other end with Jasmine Thomas 3-pointer. Haley Peters is exhibiting excellent hustle and seems to have inspired her teammates. Unfortunately, all she gets for her efforts are two quick fouls called against her. She heads to the bench and the Tar Heels once again start to out-hustle the Blue Devils.

After forcing a shot on offense, Jasmine Thomas comes up with a steal on the other end of the court and fires it ahead to Tricia Liston. Liston hits the layup and draws a foul. Maybe that will shift momentum.

15:42 1st Half: No. 9 Duke 5, No. 13 North Carolina 9

Tricia Liston, who is making only her second career start, leads off the scoring with a layup. So far the Blue Devils look to be going into the post, where they clearly feel they have an opportunity to do some damage. So far, things aren't looking good for Duke, which seems to have come out of the gates a little to excited. Through more than four minutes of play, all of the Blue Devils' points have come from the low post while North Carolina is scoring from long range, mid-range, and even has a breakaway layup.

Pregame:

Starters:

Duke—Karima Christmas, Jasmine Thomas, Allison Vernerey, Tricia Liston, Krystal Thomas

UNC—Laura Broomfield, Chay Shegog, Jessica Breland, Cetera DeGraffenreid, Krista Gross

Pregame:

The last time these two teams met, the Tar Heels eked out a 62-60 win over the Blue Devils in Carmichael Coliseum. Duke will be looking for revenge today, which also happens to be senior night. Jasmine Thomas, Krystal Thomas and Karima Christmas are being honored at mid-court and Cameron is getting loud. There's still more than 10 minutes until game time, so I can only imagine what the intensity is going to be like once the game gets started!