Oluchi Okananwa had 12 factors and 12 rebounds off the bench and second-seeded Duke used a stifling protection to subdue third-seeded North Carolina 47-38 within the Candy 16 of the Girls’s NCAA Match within the Birmingham 2 Area on Friday afternoon.
Ashlon Jackson scored 10 factors for Duke, which received regardless of capturing 31 % from the sphere and going 5-for-24 on 3-pointers.
The Blue Devils (29-7), who’ve received 9 in a row, will meet the winner between Maryland and South Carolina in Sunday’s regional last.
North Carolina (29-8) shot 28.3 % for the sport and 3-for-11 on 3-pointers. The Tar Heels, who dedicated 15 turnovers, additionally suffered on the free-throw line, going 5-for-10.
Alyssa Ustby’s 9 factors and 10 rebounds and Indya Nivar’s eight factors paced North Carolina.
Duke scored the primary seven factors of the fourth quarter to construct a 44-32 lead. It took the Tar Heels almost 5 minutes to attain within the fourth, and so they had simply two area objectives in that quarter — a kind of coming within the last seconds.
It was a surprising reversal from the primary quarter, when North Carolina led 11-0 till Jordan Wooden acquired Duke on the board six minutes into the sport on a free throw, adopted by a jumper.
Duke’s reserves offered a 26-6 scoring benefit in bench factors.
Duke’s Toby Fournier, the Rookie of the Yr within the Atlantic Coast Convention, was again after a one-game absence attributable to sickness. She scored three factors, all on free throws.
By halftime, Duke led 28-20 as Okananwa had 10 factors. North Carolina shot 29.6 % from the sphere within the first half earlier than it acquired even worse for the Tar Heels within the second (20 %).
It marked the primary assembly in NCAA Match play between the longtime neighboring rivals. North Carolina and Duke break up two regular-season conferences, every successful at residence.
–Discipline Degree Media