University of North Carolina Athletics
Thursday, January 27
Durham, N.C.
7 PM
North Carolina
78
at
62
Duke
Alyssa Ustby led UNC with 20 points in Thursday's win at Duke.
Photo by: Jerome M. Ibrahim
WBB Uses Balanced Scoring To Topple No. 21 Duke
January 27, 2022 | Women's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina women's basketball team left Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium Thursday night with a win for the first time since 2014 and the Tar Heels did so in convincing fashion, beating the 21st-ranked Blue Devils 78-62.
"This is a great environment for a college basketball game," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "This Duke-Carolina rivalry means a lot to a lot of people, especially those involved in it. I'm happy we get to bring home a win on the road."
UNC improved to 16-3 overall and 6-3 in ACC play heading into Sunday's matchup with third-ranked NC State. Duke, which plays at No. 5 Louisville on Sunday, fell to 13-5 (4-4).
Alyssa Ustby led UNC in scoring with 20 points on 9-15 shooting and Kennedy Todd-Williams added 15, shooting 7-11 from the field and leading the team in rebounds with seven. Anya Poole was 3-4 from both the field and the foul line to add nine and Carlie Littlefield hit both of her three-point attempts and finished with nine as well. Alexandra Zelaya tied her season high with seven points, Deja Kelly added seven to go with five boards, and Eva Hodgson also had seven along with a team-high six assists.
The Tar Heels took the lead for good at the end of the first quarter, when a four-point play by Littlefield with five seconds on the clock made it 19-18 at the break. UNC then turned up the volume, opening the quarter on an 9-0 run and outscoring Duke 28-8 in the period to put the game out of reach. The Tar Heels shot 75 percent (12-16) in that period, their best by far in Atlantic Coast Conference play this season. They were up 47-26 at halftime and the Blue Devils never got closer than 14 in the second half.
"Coach said before the game, 'throw the first punch,'" Ustby said. "We took that to heart. We looked at our five starters like, 'we start the game off, we start the tempo,' and that's what we did. We set the game on a trajectory that we were in control of every possession, offensively and defensively. We were being active, not reactive. We just trusted one another, and that's what it takes to win a big ballgame like this."
UNC committed a season-low six turnovers while forcing 18, which they then turned into 27 points. The Tar Heels outscored Duke 40-24 in the paint and 19-12 in transition.
"This game was fun," Todd-Williams said. "We had fun, share the ball and we just had a lot of energy."
The win was UNC's first against Duke since an overtime win in Chapel Hill during the 2017-18 season. The Tar Heels had lost five in a row to the Blue Devils since then and had lost six in a row in Durham since beating the Blue Devils at Cameron on Feb. 10, 2014.
UNC shot 45.1 percent for the game, its best percentage in ACC play this season.
The Tar Heels picked up the win coming off a 55-38 loss on Sunday at No. 15 Georgia Tech in which they shot .291 from the field.
"This group has put a lot of time in to keep getting better, and some of the lessons along the way can be a little bit painful," Banghart said. "We thought against Georgia Tech we just weren't good enough on the offensive end. We were really lackluster, with a lack of purpose and lack of pace. We really worked on offense over the last two days, and I couldn't be prouder for them. It's really fun to be their coach."
Gallery: (1-27-2022) Tar Heels Down Blue Devils 78-62 In Durham
"This is a great environment for a college basketball game," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "This Duke-Carolina rivalry means a lot to a lot of people, especially those involved in it. I'm happy we get to bring home a win on the road."
𝑇𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑊𝑖𝑛, 𝑇𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝐶𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 🎉#GoHeels x #BeatDuke pic.twitter.com/V2VKNcQ9gG— Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) January 28, 2022
UNC improved to 16-3 overall and 6-3 in ACC play heading into Sunday's matchup with third-ranked NC State. Duke, which plays at No. 5 Louisville on Sunday, fell to 13-5 (4-4).
Alyssa Ustby led UNC in scoring with 20 points on 9-15 shooting and Kennedy Todd-Williams added 15, shooting 7-11 from the field and leading the team in rebounds with seven. Anya Poole was 3-4 from both the field and the foul line to add nine and Carlie Littlefield hit both of her three-point attempts and finished with nine as well. Alexandra Zelaya tied her season high with seven points, Deja Kelly added seven to go with five boards, and Eva Hodgson also had seven along with a team-high six assists.
The Tar Heels took the lead for good at the end of the first quarter, when a four-point play by Littlefield with five seconds on the clock made it 19-18 at the break. UNC then turned up the volume, opening the quarter on an 9-0 run and outscoring Duke 28-8 in the period to put the game out of reach. The Tar Heels shot 75 percent (12-16) in that period, their best by far in Atlantic Coast Conference play this season. They were up 47-26 at halftime and the Blue Devils never got closer than 14 in the second half.
"Coach said before the game, 'throw the first punch,'" Ustby said. "We took that to heart. We looked at our five starters like, 'we start the game off, we start the tempo,' and that's what we did. We set the game on a trajectory that we were in control of every possession, offensively and defensively. We were being active, not reactive. We just trusted one another, and that's what it takes to win a big ballgame like this."
UNC committed a season-low six turnovers while forcing 18, which they then turned into 27 points. The Tar Heels outscored Duke 40-24 in the paint and 19-12 in transition.
"This game was fun," Todd-Williams said. "We had fun, share the ball and we just had a lot of energy."
The win was UNC's first against Duke since an overtime win in Chapel Hill during the 2017-18 season. The Tar Heels had lost five in a row to the Blue Devils since then and had lost six in a row in Durham since beating the Blue Devils at Cameron on Feb. 10, 2014.
UNC shot 45.1 percent for the game, its best percentage in ACC play this season.
The Tar Heels picked up the win coming off a 55-38 loss on Sunday at No. 15 Georgia Tech in which they shot .291 from the field.
"This group has put a lot of time in to keep getting better, and some of the lessons along the way can be a little bit painful," Banghart said. "We thought against Georgia Tech we just weren't good enough on the offensive end. We were really lackluster, with a lack of purpose and lack of pace. We really worked on offense over the last two days, and I couldn't be prouder for them. It's really fun to be their coach."
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