North Carolina
#16 Duke
The Rivalry Continues, No. 8 WBB Visits No. 16 Duke Thursday
February 26, 2025 | Women's Basketball
No. 8/9 NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS
25-4, 13-3 ACC
Head Coach: Courtney Banghart (Dartmouth, 2000)
Record at North Carolina: 121-60 (6th season)
Career Record: 375-163 (18th season)
No. 16/15 DUKE BLUE DEVILS
21-7, 12-4 ACC
Head Coach: Kara Lawson (Tennessee, 2003)
Record at Duke: 89-50 (5th season)
Career Record: Same
TIPPING OFF
• Facing off for the 51st time in a ranked showdown and for the second time this season, North Carolina makes the short trip up the road to Durham to take on No. 16 Duke.
• Carolina faces no fear on the road, sitting at 9-0 overall in true road games to remain the lone team in the nation yet to falter on an opponents' court.
• Overcoming a 12-point deficit to come back and defeat Louisville from the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday, the Tar Heels jumped up to No. 8 in Monday's edition of the AP Poll.
• Freshman Lanie Grant showed out in Sunday's win, with the 17-year-old scoring a career-high 19 points.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
Earning its first home loss of the season by falling to Louisville, Duke bounced back with a 31-point win against Syracuse on Sunday.
The Blue Devils run deep, leading the ACC and ranking third nationally with an average of 32.4 points per game from their reserves.
Standout freshman Toby Furnier paces the Blue Devils in scoring with an average of 13.4 points per game.
SERIES HISTORY VS. DUKE
In the series dating back to 1975, Carolina owns a narrow advantage in the matchup 56-53.Â
Duke owns the advantage on their home court, leading 29-17 despite Carolina winning the last two out of three meetings in Cameron Indoor.
The contentious series has reached overtime seven times throughout the years including the previous meeting in January. Carolina owns two wins in overtime against the Blue Devils.
Thursday's meeting is the 51st between the teams when both programs are ranked in the top-25 of the AP Poll.Â
WE MEET AGAIN
Trading punches in a defensive battle for the ages, Carolina withstood the Blue Devils from Carmichael Arena to earn a narrow 53-46 victory over Duke on Jan. 9.Â
In a physical affair, Carolina took 25 trips to the free throw line in a complete team win with eight Tar Heels finding their way to the basket.Â
LAST TIME OUT
With its back against the wall, North Carolina fought again for all 40-minutes to come from behind and take down Louisville on its home court 79-75.
Highlighted by season-high performances from Trayanna Crisp and Lanie Grant with 19-points each, the Carolina bench scored an ACC-game best 38 points over the Cardinals.
Facing a 12-point deficit in the second quarter, Carolina shot the lights out in the second half going 68% from the field to aid in its comeback efforts.
Draining 10 overall threes as a team, Carolina out-gutted Louisville for its first program win over the Cardinals on their home court in a game where UNC only led for a total of 58 seconds.
COMEBACK KIDS
Facing a 12-point deficit in the second quarter and trailing by six at the half, Carolina clawed its way back to come from behind for its 13th ACC win this season.
Coming back by 12 is the largest deficit any Tar Heel team has overcome since a 13 point comeback win against Vermont in November of 2023.
Down through three quarters, the Tar Heels earned their lone win this season when trailing after 30 minutes and their first to comeback and win after the third since at Notre Dame in January of 2024.
CONSULT YOUR CARDIOLOGIST
The Tar Heels continue to give their fans near heart attacks with multiple tight games this season.
Carolina is 3-1 in games decided by 5-9 points and 4-1 when decided by 1-4 points.
THE NEXT
Scoring a career-high 19 points in the win at Louisville, freshman Lanie Grant continues to rise with her ninth game of the season in double-figure scoring.
Grant's 19 points were the most by a Tar Heel freshman since Reniya Kelly scored 20 against Virginia last season.
THE TAR HEEL STATEÂ
A win on Thursday would give Carolina a sweep over all in-state ACC foes for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
It would also move UNC to 8-0 this season against schools in North Carolina.
FEELING IT IN FEBRUARY
Sitting at 6-0 this month and riding a seven game winning streak, Carolina has the chance to go perfect in February since 2007-08.
The 2007-08 Tar Heels went 7-0 in February en route to UNC's last Final Four appearance.
HOT AT THE RIGHT TIME
Lighting it up at the right time, Carolina shot a half season high of 68% in the second half at Louisville to assist in its comeback win over the Cardinals.
In the fourth quarter, Carolina shot 80% from the field off of 8-of-10 shooting for its season quarter high.
THAT'S OUR PG1
Recording back-to-back 20-point performances for the first time by a Tar Heel this season, Reniya Kelly is hitting her stride heading into crunch time of the season.
Tying her then career-high with 20 points against Virginia Tech and following that up with 23 points against NC State, Kelly was then named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week.
Kelly picked up conference accolades for the first time in her career, becoming the fourth player under Banghart to earn the distinction and the first since 2022.
STACKING WINS
Earning its 25th win of the year on Sunday, the Tar Heels have tied the most overall wins in a season in the Courtney Banghart era.
Carolina now boasts eight 25-win regular seasons.
The victory over Louisville gave Carolina its most wins in a regular season since the 2012-13 Tar Heels notched 26.Â
KEEP ON CLIMBING
In the latest edition of the AP Poll, Carolina came in at No. 8 for its highest ranking of the season.
The No. 8 slot is the highest for the Tar Heels since the 12/19 edition of the poll in 2022 where Carolina came in ranked No. 6.
Carolina was last ranked in the top-10 of the AP Poll at this point of the season at No. 10 on 2/16/09.Â
ROAD WARRIORS
Moving to 9-0 in true road games with the victory at Louisville, the Tar Heels are now off to their best start away since the 2005-06 season. Carolina has now won its first nine true road games for the second time in program history.
Sitting at 8-0 on the road in ACC action is Carolina's best start within the conference in program history.
The Tar Heels are the only team in the nation to not falter on the road this season.
AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Under Banghart, the Tar Heels are 20-28 overall against AP Top-25 teams.
This season the Tar Heels are 4-3 against ranked foes, previously taking on then No. 2 UConn, No. 14 Kentucky, No. 25 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 14 Duke, No. 19 California and No. 10 NC State.
LYSS KEEPS ON CLIMBING
Each game, Alyssa Ustby keeps inching closer and closer to numerous marks in the Carolina history books.
She currently ranks No. 16 in career points at Carolina with a total of 1,722. Ustby needs three points to eclipse the top-15 threshold.
In double-figures off the glass against Virginia Tech, Ustby crossed the 1,200 career rebound mark and passed Charlotte Smith (1992-95) to move into No. 2 at UNC with 1,210 rebounds
Ustby is 41 away from becoming the all-time rebounding queen at Carolina, on the brink of passing Bernadette McGlade (1977-80) who accumulated 1,251 boards as a Tar Heel.
10-WIN ACC SEASONS
By defeating Virginia Tech, Carolina reached the 10-win mark in ACC action for the fourth straight season. The Tar Heels have now registered 25 seasons with double-digit conference wins.
The win over Virginia Tech gave Carolina its longest streak in 10+ ACC win seasons since 2002-09 when Carolina met the mark for seven consecutive seasons.
BAY AREA BEASTS
Doing what no other ACC men's or women's basketball team had yet done, with two wins in the Bay Area, the Tar Heels became the first team in the conference to win both games out West.
In the new iteration of the conference, teams have struggled in crossing time zones yet Carolina prevailed despite the circumstances.
NO I IN TEAM
Coming away with back-to-back wins in the Bay Area, the Tar Heels found themselves garnering acclaim from across the country.
The Tar Heels were named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association's Team of the Week.
Carolina also became the first ACC team to reach 20-wins and became the fastest Tar Heel team to reach the mark since the 2012-13 season.
TAR HEEL TERRITORY
By securing the 13-point victory over the then No. 19 ranked Golden Bears, Carolina has now earned a ranked win on the road in each of the last four seasons.
The margin of victory marks the largest ranked road win in the Courtney Banghart era and ties for the largest in program history since 2019 at No. 7 NC State.
ON POINT AND ON TARGET
Shooting at a 61.2% clip from the field this season, Maria Gakdeng is one of the most dominant presences throughout the ACC on the court and is extremely efficient in the paint.
Throughout her career, Gakdeng is shooting 59.8% from the field and has the chance to end her career in the top-five in ACC history.
A HELPING HAND
Dropping 20 assists total as a team against Florida State, the Tar Heels notched their most against an ACC opponent to date this season.Â
Led by Grace Townsend with six helpers, Carolina earned its third 20+ assist game of the season and the sixth in ACC action under Courtney Banghart.
THE BEST KIND OF HEIST
It's no secret that Carolina's defense can limit its opponents, yet the Tar Heels have been taking what's theirs in the three game stretch against SMU, Pitt and Wake Forest with 10+ steals in each.
This defense is doing what few other Carolina teams have done, earning 10+Â steals in three straight ACC games for the first time since the 2015 Tar Heels did so in six consecutive games.
Indya Nivar has been leading this charge, averaging 2.0 swipes per outing.
CAN'T TOUCH THIS
Shutting down Wake Forest off the glass, Carolina limited the Demon Deacons to only 20 rebounds in the outing.
It marks the fewest rebounds allowed in a single-game since only giving up 18 boards in 2021 against UNC Asheville and the fewest against an ACC opponent in the Banghart era.
ALL THINGS CLICKING
With the win over Wake Forest, Carolina cemented its best start in the Courtney Banghart era with 18 wins through 21 games.
It also marked the best start since the Tar Heels began the 2012-13 season at 19-2.
The Tar Heels have also earned 12 wins by 20+ points this season, the second most in the Banghart era. The 2021-22 Carolina squad defeated 13 opponents by a 20+ margin.
WHEN YOU'RE HOT, YOU'RE HOT
Heating up from beyond the arc, Carolina felt the energy throughout the team from beyond the arc with six Tar Heels combining for an ACC game-high 13 three's against Pitt.
The 13 made triples for the Tar Heels tied the most in an ACC game since draining 14 in 2019 against Georgia Tech.
Lexi Donarski felt it all week, draining a team-high five triples for the first time in her career making five or more three's in back-to-back games.
Donarski followed this up with five threes against Wake Forest to extend her streak to three consecutive game with five made triples.
This season, Carolina has drained 10 or more triples in eight games this year for the most in a single-season in the Banghart era.
JUMPED OUT THE GYM
As a team against SMU, Carolina grabbed a total of 52 rebounds for the second most in a single-game this season and the most since an ACC squad since facing off against Duke in 2022.
The feat was the seventh time a Banghart team had collected 50 or more rebounds against an ACC team.
Alyssa Ustby led the charge, tying her career-high with a total of 18 boards. Her performance was the most rebounds in a single-game by any ACC player this season.
Crushing Clemson off the glass, the Tar Heels snagged 42 rebounds to the Tigers 25 for a margin of +17 for the best against an ACC team this season.
MAKE IT COUNT
Any win in the ACC is crucial to a team's NCAA Tournament chances and Carolina made a statement in its victory over SMU.
The 31-point victory over the Mustangs was UNC's third ACC win by 30 plus points in the Courtney Banghart era.
This season when facing off against unranked opponents, Carolina is 20-1.
LOCK 'EM UP
Carolina limited SMU to very few good looks from the field, shutting down the Mustangs to a field goal percentage of 19.4%.Â
The defensive mark is the best against an ACC foe in the Courtney Banghart era.
WE'VE GOT A NEW TAR HEEL!
Enrolling early at UNC to join the Tar Heels for the spring semester, Taissa Queiroz will join the fold and practice with the team for the remainder of the season.
A four-star prospect by ESPN, a native of Belo Horizonte, Brazil prepped in the Bay Area before signing with the Tar Heels.
The 6-1 guard was named the San Francisco Chronicle Co-North Bay Player of the Year and was ranked a Top-Five Player on the West Coast by Preps-Bay Area.
KEYS TO A DUB
When it comes to the Tar Heels earning a win, 19 of their 25 wins have had multiple correlations.
Carolina's defense must get it done, holding all victories but three under 60 points or less and provide a little breathing room with all wins but five by 10 points or more.
DEFENSE IN OUR DNA
Carolina's defense has been one of the strongest in the country this season, ranking in the top-25 in multiple statistical categories.
The Tar Heels currently rank second in the ACC and sit 14th nationally in holding its opponents to a 35.9% clip from the field.Â
In holding five of of its opponents this season under 40 points, UNC ranks 30th in Division I basketball in scoring defense and once again leads the ACC by keeping its opponents to an average of 56.4 points per game.
BOUNCE BACK
Under Banghart, the Tar Heels are now 32-23 in their next game when coming off of a loss.
SHINING BRIGHT UNDER THE LIGHTS
The Tar Heels proved that they can handle the spotlight in its win over No. 14 Kentucky and sure made a statement of it.
The 19-point win over the Wildcats was the largest win against any AP Top-25 opponent since 2020 and its largest win over a top-15 ranked opponent since 2011.
In Carmichael Arena, the Tar Heels are 12-7 against ranked opponents under Banghart.
RUNNING DEEP
The 2024-25 Tar Heel roster is full of talent, as Banghart can go deep in the roster in any game situation.
This season, UNC's bench has outscored 25 out of of its 29 opponents and averages 23.5 points per game from its reserves.
Seven Tar Heels currently average 5.0 points per game or higher.
BROUGHT THE FIREWORKS
The Tar Heels put on a memorable offensive performance against N.C. Central, recording a Banghart era high 119 points for the third most in program history.
Six Tar Heels scored in double-figures, with Alyssa Ustby leading the way with a season-high 24 points.
Carolina dished out a Banghart era best 28 assists, the most in a single-game in the past 20 seasons.
119 points tied Florida State in the most scored by an ACC team in a single-game this season.
DOUBLE-TROUBLE
As two of Carolina's fifth-year players, the duo of Lexi Donarski and Alyssa Ustby feed off one another's successes on the court.
When the pair both score in double-figures, the Tar Heels are 16-5 overall.
LET IT FLY LEX!
As one of the nation's best active three-point shooters, as she averages 2.24 triples per game to rank 8th among players in the ACC.
Overall, Donarski sits at No. 6Â among active career leaders with 335 threes made.
WE'LL SWIPE THAT
The Tar Heels have been aggressive on the defensive end this season, powered by Reniya Kelly and Indya Nivar.
The Tar Heels have swiped 10 or more steals in 10 out of 29 games this season.
At Pitt, Nivar tallied a career-high seven steals for the most in a single-game in the Banghart era and the most by any player in an ACC game this season.
Nivar currently ranks 10th in ACC games with an average of 1.94 steals per contest.
THE BEST OF THE BEST
A mixture of youth and experience can be found throughout the Tar Heel roster, yet some of the vets on the team have proven their skills on a national level.
The duo of Donarksi and Ustby make them one of the most experienced pairs in the country, ranking in the top-10 in multiple categories among active players in Division I Basketball.
As a sharpshooter, Donarski currently sits at No. 6 in made three's with a total of 333. With 156 career appearances, she also ranks No. 6 in active games played.
A walking double-double, Ustby's 1211 career rebounds have her fifth nationally. Her 47 double-doubles have her seventh nationally among active players.
MILESTONE TRACKER
LEXI DONARSKI
• 11 assists from 300 career.
• 12 points away from 1900 career.
• 2 steals away from single-season best.
ALYSSA USTBY
• 41 rebounds from No. 1 in program history.
• 4 points from cracking the top-15 in scoring at UNC.
• 10 assists from 400.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Tar Heels return to Carmichael Arena for their final home game of the season, hosting Virginia on Sunday. Tip from Carmichael is set for 2 p.m. ET, airing on The CW.
Carolina will honor its five seniors on Sunday in Lexi Donarski, Maria Gakdeng, Kayla McPherson, Grace Townsend and Alyssa Ustby.
