Associated Press
Mar 28, 2025, 04:57 PM ET
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Oluchi Okananwa had her third double-double of the season and Duke beat Atlantic Coast Conference rival North Carolina 47-38 in a grind-it-out defensive battle Friday, sending the Blue Devils to the Elite Eight of the women's NCAA tournament.
The second-seeded Blue Devils climbed out of an early 11-0 deficit to advance to the 12th regional final in program history and first since 2013. Duke will play either No. 1 seed and defending champion South Carolina or fourth-seeded Maryland.
"I'll be honest. I was a little worried down 11-0 and we hadn't scored at all in the game," Duke coach Kara Lawson said. "But I don't think there's ever been a shutout. I felt pretty good we could score at some point."
That didn't come until the four-minute mark of the first, when Jordan Wood drew a foul and made one of two free throws.
Okananwa, a reserve, scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half and had 10 rebounds. Duke got 26 points from its bench compared to North Carolina's six.
Ashlon Jackson finished with 10 points, and Toby Fournier, Duke's leading scorer this season who was sidelined for the Blue Devils' second-round win over Oregon with an illness, was held to three points.
Fifth-year senior Alyssa Ustby had nine points on 3-of-10 shooting for the third-seeded Tar Heels, who were seeking their first Elite Eight appearance since 2014. Led by Ustby, who averaged 10.9 points per game, the Tar Heels had reached their second Sweet 16 in the past four years.
"Sitting up here after a loss is disappointing," North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart said, "especially when you hold your third straight tournament team below 50 points and you don't win the game."
Neither team shot the ball well. The 85 points were the fewest combined ever in a regional semifinal. Duke shot 31% after missing its first nine attempts. North Carolina shot 28% from the field.
The last time a team won in the women's tournament with just 47 points was in the 2008 Final Four when Tennessee beat LSU 47-46. That was also the previous lowest-scoring game in the Sweet 16 or later.
Lawson said it was exactly the type of game you would expect from rivals that are so familiar with each other. It was their third meeting of the season. They last faced each other less than a month ago, with North Carolina winning 68-52 on Duke's home floor.
"That's just how these games are," Lawson said. "If you've watched these games over the last few years, it's competitive, really gritty. I thought both teams played with great effort. It wasn't our best night offensively, that's for sure."
But this was also two of the top defenses in the country going at it, forcing turnovers, errant shots and desperate heaves late in the shot clock.
"Those that love offense, this probably isn't that game that you'll DVR," Banghart said. "But those that like defense, you should watch it again."
After North Carolina fell behind by 10 points in the third quarter, Reniya Kelly knocked down a 3-pointer and Lanie Grant made a driving layup to pull the Tar Heels within two at the end of the period.
That was the closest they got. Duke scored seven straight at the start of the fourth, highlighted by Jackson's 3-pointer with five minutes remaining. Jackson scored five of Duke's 10 fourth-quarter points, while North Carolina only managed six in the fourth.
It was the first NCAA tournament meeting between the teams, which have played each other 111 times. North Carolina holds a 56-55 edge.
Lawson downplayed the rivalry, emphasizing that her team's focus was to simply survive and advance, no matter the opponent.
"What you're chasing is always more important than who you have to go through," Lawson said. "What you're chasing has to take precedence. We try to focus on that."
