The No. 11 Duke Blue Devils held off a late surge from the No. 21 North Carolina Tar Heels to secure a women’s Battle of the Blues win 72-68 Sunday afternoon in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
It was a heated matchup from opening tip to the final buzzer, with 16 lead changes between the two games. The Blue Devils (19-6, 14-0 ACC) were powered by a 13-0 run at the end of the first half for the lead, which the Blue Devils held onto until the end.
As a team, the Tar Heels (21-6, 10-4 ACC) did everything they could to find open players on the court, tallying 19 assists on the day. Elina Aarnisalo and Lanie Grant had five each, tying Grant’s career-high and Aarnisalo’s season-best.
After North Carolina made it a two-point game late in the 4th quarter, Ashlon Jackson drained her lone three of the day to stretch Duke’s lead back to five, 61-56. However, Grant responded with three of her own to make it a one-possession game again with over seven minutes to play.
The Blue Devils then buckled down on defense for the final seven minutes of the game, holding the Tar Heels to just 11 points in that stretch, including five points in the final two minutes of the game.
Up next, the Tar Heels travel to Blacksburg for a Thursday night showdown at Virginia Tech, while the Blue Devils close their three-game homestand against NC State on Thursday at 7 p.m.