Duke women edge UNC, maintain ACC lead. Observations from the Blue Devils’ win

Durham

Duke senior Ashlon Jackson said she’s been “crying all week” in the lead up to her Senior Night clash with No. 21 UNC.

The whole time, she said coach Kara Lawson reminded her to finish on the task at hand: doing enough to ensure the Blue Devils came out on top in the top-25 rivalry clash.

Jackson listened. So did fellow senior Taina Mair. In the No. 11 Blue Devils’ 72-68 win over the Tar Heels, the senior duo scored 14 a piece, part of a strong — and much-needed — showing from the veteran backcourt at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sunday.

“I thought our guards stood tall,” said Lawson. “Obviously, having two seniors in the backcourt gives me a lot of comfort playing in these types of games, because they’ve seen it. They’ve done it.

“And I thought the crowd was awesome… it was a great environment. I mean, you can hear my voice. It’s gone.”

The Blue Devils (19-6, 14-0 ACC) extended their win streak to 16 — among the best in program history — and remain the only unbeaten ACC team in conference play.

The Tar Heels, who rank third in the conference, dropped to 21-6 overall and 10-4 in ACC play.

A 3-pointer from UNC freshman Nyla Brooks cut North Carolina’s deficit to three points with roughly 15 seconds remaining. She pumped her fists as the team called a timeout.

Out of the stoppage, Jackson drained seven seconds off the clock, evading UNC sophomore Elina Aarnisalo before North Carolina’s Indya Nivar swooped in to send Jackson to the line. After Jackson sank one free throw to put Duke up by four, a deep Aarnisalo 3-point attempt was no good, sealing the win for the Blue Devils.

While Jackson and Mair led Duke in scoring, UNC redshirt sophomore Ciera Toomey paced the Tar Heels with 14 points and added six rebounds. North Carolina senior forward Nyla Harris was one rebound away from a double-double with 10 points and nine boards.

Here are some takeaways from the game:

UNC limits Toby Fournier

Perhaps it should come as no surprise, given the way this game was officiated, that Fournier’s first points — after being held scoreless for the opening quarter — came from the free throw line.

Fournier was fouled with three minutes remaining in the first half. She converted one shot from the charity stripe and, soon afterward, made her way back there with an and-one layup through traffic.

The sophomore and returning All-ACC First Team honoree had to battle for every bucket she got — through Tar Heel double teams and, at times, triple teams.

Fournier, who averages 18 points, finished with just six Sunday. She made up for a lack of scoring, though, with game-highs in rebounds (12) and blocks (3).

“She stayed focused the whole game, even though, you know, offensively [it] wasn’t going for her,” Mair said. “She had what, like, 12 rebounds… I think that might be her best one. I know somebody got to go check the history, but she still impacted the game. And that’s all that we asked for her.”

Mair was right. Fournier’s 12 rebounds are her career-best against a power conference opponent.

Jordan Wood sparks crucial second quarter run

Duke junior forward Jordan Wood hit a trio of triples to carry the Blue Devils into halftime. That was part of a 13-0 run in less than three minutes to close the second quarter, with Wood responsible for nine of those points.

Wood took advantage of UNC’s heavy pressure inside on Fournier, causing most of her looks from the perimeter to be wide-open. The junior punctuated each sunk shot with its own celebration: smiling, throwing her hands up, chest bumping her teammates and — after the final 3-pointer of the first half — holding up three fingers to her head and posing for the cameras as time expired.

“Usually we’re supposed to go guard our player, but I went straight to her,” Jackson said. “I was just so happy for her. That was one of the key moments to the game.”

While North Carolina responded with a strong showing in the third quarter — ending that frame by making nine straight field goal attempts — UNC was never able to battle back from the firm lead Wood helped establish entering halftime.

Duke takes advantage of foul disparity

Banghart joked she had predicted improved Sunday’s scoring output — a much more entertaining showing than the rock fights this rivalry has witnessed in recent matchups. But the head coach didn’t hide her dissatisfaction with one glaring disparity in the box score: free throws.

North Carolina didn’t go to the charity stripe once on Sunday, while Duke went 17-of-21 from the line. According to ESPN Insights, it marks just the third time this century an ACC team has not attempted a single free throw in a game.

“I have no choice but to process it,” Banghart said. “I have no choice. I know Lanie (Grant) landed on her (bottom) when she took a 3-point shot. I know Ciera will probably be out tomorrow. She’s been beaten up.”

“I’ve been doing this for a long time, I mean I’ve been doing this so long it’s almost embarrassing,” Banghart later added, “and I’ve just never seen it. It’s fascinating. You guys got to see a treasure.”

The Blue Devils attempted 15 foul shots compared to zero for the Tar Heels entering the fourth quarter, accounting for 14 of Duke’s points entering the final frame. Jackson added three more points from the charity stripe for Duke in the final quarter.

The frustration seemed to reach a boiling point for the team when, in the fourth quarter, Nivar slammed the basketball onto the hardwood after being called for another foul. That earned her a technical.

At the end of the game, Banghart could be seen holding up her hands to form the numbers 21 and zero as she faced one of the officials. UNC had 46 points in the paint, compared to 22 for Duke. And yet the Tar Heels attempted zero free throws in the game compared to 21 for the Blue Devils.

This story was originally published February 15, 2026 at 3:07 PM.