Seniors Karima Christmas, Jasmine Thomas and Krystal Thomas stood before a sellout crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium, tears of joy flowing down their faces as they addressed family, friends and fans.
All three would later be integral in No. 9 Duke’s 66-58 win over No. 13 North Carolina—Christmas had 14, Jasmine Thomas scored 17 and Krystal Thomas grabbed 13 rebounds. The three helped the Blue Devils take a share of the ACC regular-season title, the number one seed in the conference tournament and an undefeated regular-season home record for the third time in five years.
The Tar Heels (22-7, 8-6) took advantage of Duke’s initial anxiety to take a 31-29 lead heading into the second half. After they left the locker room, though, the Blue Devils got off to a hot start in the second period by slowing the pace and exhibiting better patience on offense. Duke (26-3, 12-2 in the ACC) used an 11-2 run with 10 minutes left in the contest to take control of a physical game that had featured wild momentum swings and four lead changes.
“It seemed like we were rushing a great deal—it was hard not to, with such a great crowd,” head coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “I think [the emotional atmosphere] works to your disadvantage unless you have an incredibly focused team with great leadership, which we do.”
Karima Christmas notched her fourth double-double of the season while tying her career high with six assists. She and fellow senior Jasmine Thomas also combined to harass Italee Lucas—UNC’s leading scorer—into 6-for-20 shooting with six turnovers and only three assists. Krystal Thomas was, for the most part, held in check on the offensive end and struggled from the free throw line. But her defense against the Tar Heels’ post players and team-high 13 rebounds were essential to the win.
“I thought everyone did a great job playing defense against their bigs,” Thomas said. “We let them be a factor too much when we played them at Chapel Hill, and we really tried to neutralize their effectiveness this game.”
“I think it comes down to rebounding to be honest with you. I think that was the difference in the game tonight,” Tar Heel head coach Sylvia Hatchell added. “We missed some shots and they made some, but the rebounding is always big.”
Duke was able to gather those rebounds, not as a result of a natural height or athleticism advantage, but as a result of pure effort and physical play. In a game that both coaches likened to an NCAA Tournament game as a result of its physicality, the Blue Devils were able to take control in the second half, partly behind the energy of the home fans.
“I think a lot of teams would not have handled this well tonight,” McCallie said. “Our seniors were able to take [that energy] and stay in the moment,”
The seniors were particularly moved by the crowd’s support, but they weren’t the only ones who played with energy. McCallie repeatedly praised the effort of freshmen Haley Peters—who contributed six points and seven boards in just nine minutes of action—and Tricia Liston, who made just her second career start.
While this is just a prelude to the team’s ultimate goal—success in the postseason—this game was an emotional conclusion to the regular season and one that has the team energized heading into tournament play.
“I think this is definitely one of the best games in my four years,” Jasmine Thomas said. “[Senior night] brings all those emotions, all the energy together, and everyone realizes that you only get one chance to have this team. So I think that it’s good to have this game going into the tournament because everyone is realizing this is our last chance to do something great with this team. In that sense, I think we do have the momentum. It brings everyone to realize that it’s time to really focus and get things done.”
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