No. 16 Duke women's basketball powers past No. 8 North Carolina 68-53, Richardson scores 23 on senior night
Last time the two Tobacco Road rivals played against each other, it was on North Carolina’s turf and ended in a heartbreaking overtime loss for the Blue Devils. But Duke played right at home Thursday night, ready for sweet revenge.
The Blue Devils left the Tar Heels in the dust in Cameron Indoor Stadium, winning 68-53. They were led by 23 from Reigan Richardson and 19 from freshman Toby Fournier.
From the start of the game, everything seemed to be headed in Duke’s favor. The team had a 12-1 home record, seniors Vanessa de Jesus and Richardson were honored at the start of the game, North Carolina’s second and third leading scorers, Alyssa Utsby and Reniya Kelly, were out for the game and it was sophomore guard Oluchi Okananwa’s birthday.
However, after 20 minutes of tight play, the second half opened with North Carolina (25-5, 13-4 in the ACC) up 32-31. A jumper from Richardson brought Duke (22-7, 13-4) up by one point. Soon after, the senior guard made a much-needed shot from deep. North Carolina barely had time to recover before Richardson stole the ball away and ran down the court to hit a three once again. The Tar Heels called a timeout, and the Charlotte native was smiling wide as her team held a 39-32 lead.
North Carolina tried to regain its footing after the timeout, but sophomore forward Jadyn Donovan fought for the defensive rebound and the ball was out of Tar Heel hands. Richardson came back for more, sinking a jumper for her team. But then, North Carolina’s Lexi Donarski made two impressive fast-break shots in a row, gaining them seven points in total, and the crowd swelled. With less than three minutes left in the quarter, the teams were tied at 41.
With 1:35 left in the third, Oluchi Okananwa made an impactful steal, throwing it to Taina Mair who missed from the 3-point line. But after the ball found its way into junior guard Ashlon Jackson’s hands, the next attempt from deep was gold. Then, it was like watching the same clip over and over again. Duke stole it three more times for fast-break opportunities and knocked down two 3-point shots and a birthday layup by Okananwa. The third quarter ended with Duke up 52-41.
The home team completely capitalized on steals, going for 16 fast-break points compared to North Carolina’s seven. Not only did it bolster their score, it made for an up-tempo and exciting game.
Before the final quarter started, “All I Do is Win” blasted in Cameron Indoor. With the help of free throws, North Carolina tried to put up a fight, but it wasn’t enough. Donovan made a layup of her own, and Jackson stole the ball to make a bucket, bringing the score to 59-47.
And all they did was win. With 2:43 left, Richardson made her fifth 3-pointer of the game on senior night. Two free throw shots for Fournier secured Duke’s win.
Just like the crowd, the Blue Devils and the Tar Heels were neck-and-neck for most of the first half. North Carolina opened up the scoring, but Donovan was quick to answer with a jumper to tie the teams. Then, Fournier stepped in the game, and in Fournier fashion, immediately scored, driving her way into the paint for a layup.
The teams’ twin defensive strength was not up to par. North Carolina as well as Duke would often drive into the paint with little difficulty to make easy layups. In the first half, more than half of each teams’ total points were scored in the paint.
Duke pulled ahead for the first time with a little help from Fournier, who sank a layup with 4:32 left in the first quarter. Afterwards, Donovan connected on a layup while being fouled and made the shot from the line.
The Blue Devils seemed to gain their bearings after that. A Fournier bucket on the fast break brought Duke further up, and Richardson drove her way into the paint for a pretty layup. With 35 seconds left in the quarter, the Tar Heels took the ball down to the other side of the court, and Donovan jumped in the air and delivered an earth-shattering block that sent the Crazies completely wild, ending the quarter 24-17.
With 4:39 left in the half, it was a 28-23 Duke lead. The away crowd was chanting “Tar Heels!” The Crazies tried to yell “Blue Devils!” louder. By the end, it sounded like a cacophony of jumbled sounds competing with one another. With nine seconds left, Okananwa was on the ground, fighting with a Tar Heel for the ball — and then the buzzer sounded. Two late buckets by North Carolina gave it a 32-31 lead at the break. However, a strong Blue Devil second half — with 16 from Richardson — gave them the marquee ranked win.
Next up for Duke is its last regular-season matchup against No. 24 Florida State Sunday night.
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