ACC WBB: #12 Duke cruises past North Carolina 70-58

Cheryl Treworgy, TSN via PrettySporty.com

DURHAM, N.C. – Fueled by double-digit performances from three players, dominating low-post defense, and productive bench play, the 12th-ranked Duke Blue Devils posted a 70-58 win over Tobacco Road rival North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday.

Freshman forward Leaona Odom posted 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, Kyra Lambert scored 13, and Lexie Brown contributed 12 points to the winning effort while 6,718 looked on.

The Tar Heels’ Paris Kea led the charge early and finished with 16 points and six rebounds while Stephanie Watts’ double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds) supported throughout.

However, it was not enough as Duke (15-2, 3-1) topped UNC (12-5, 1-3) for the sixth-straight meeting between the two programs.

Taking advantage of its length, led by Kendall Cooper’s nine points and eight rebounds, Duke outrebounded (44-39), out-blocked (7-2), and easily picked off the Tar Heels, stealing the ball 10 times to score 25 points off 20 UNC turnovers.

Offensively, the Blue Devils doubled up UNC in the paint by a 36-18 margin, and had a more productive bench contribution led by Oderah Chidom (8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks) and Erin Mathias (5 points, 7 rebounds).

Critical to the outcome was a 9:49 scoreless stretch in the second quarter that the Tar Heels endured, and allowed Duke to establish a double-digit lead which it managed for the remainder of the contest.

“We had a hard-working game with good defense and I was happy to see the rebounding margin grow a bit,” Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie said.

“Obviously we took care of the ball a little better and moved it better…In the second quarter, we shut the gaps down. They gapped us pretty well in the first quarter. We started to pick it up and play better with one-on-one stops. There was better defensive tenacity and offensively, we were more aggressive.”

For Odom, her finish was just a matter of playing to expectation.

“Coach said I needed to dominate the post position so that’s what I did,” she said matter-of-factly.

On the other bench, UNC head coach Sylvia Hatchell concurred that the game got away from her squad in the first half, particularly in being unable to convert beyond the arc.

“Second quarter was the thing that made the difference,” she said.

“Our three-point shooting – we’ve been knockin’ down some 3s, usually Stephanie and Jamie (Cherry) and Destinee (Walker) – they’re all really good three-point shooters. But we were 4-for-26, so if we had knocked down a few of those 3s, then we would have been real happy right now.”

While Cherry and Walker were held to single digits, scoring seven and six points respectively, freshman guard Taylor Koenen, contributed inside with seven points and eight rebounds to make up for some of the Tar Heels’ offensive and defensive shortfalls.

Kea, a Tarboro, N.C. native, was on pace to score substantially more points than she did, but the Blue Devils adjusted defensively, and made it difficult for her to do so.

“They definitely changed their defense,” Kea pointed out.

“They clogged the middle a lot more. Somebody was on me the whole time.”

On the flipside, Duke’s leading scorer Rebecca Greenwell finished with only six points – all scored in the second period – her second straight game tallying less than 10.

The Blue Devils didn’t dominate from the perimeter either as they finished 3-of-17 from the distance.

Thus, making the offensive and defensive work in the paint the deciding factors in this one.

“We know that they are a quick team, and we didn’t want to get into a running race with them,” Brown said.

“We knew we had to get solid stops on the defensive end.”

Top Scorers

Duke: Leaona Odom – 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals; Kyra Lambert – 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals; Lexie Brown – 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals

UNC: Paris Kea – 16 points, 6 rebounds; Stephanie Watts – 15 points, 11 rebounds; Taylor Koenen – 7 points, 8 rebounds

Halftime Report

Duke 36, UNC 21

Duke converted on 47 percent (16-34) of its shots, while UNC shot a lowly 29 percent (9-31).

The Blue Devils held a 23-19 edge on the boards and outscored the Tar Heels in the paint by a 24-6 margin.

Turning point

A seven-percent shooting performance (1-14) by the Tar Heels in the second quarter enabled the Blue Devils to take control of the game.

They didn’t look back from there as they outrebounded, outblocked and stole the ball numerous times that led to an 18-4 period of dominance.

Highlights: Duke 70, UNC 58 – ACC Digital Network (TheACC.com)

1st Quarter

Both teams traded baskets for the first five minutes of play.

Kea started if off and scored a quick seven points for UNC.

Odom and Cooper helped to put and keep Duke ahead, leading 12-11 with 4:24 to play.

Walker put up a high-arching jumper that gave the Tar Heels the lead back.

Productive work from Chidom along the baseline helped to pull back ahead 18-15 while UNC went scoreless to two minutes.

Duke led 18-17 at the end of the period.

2nd Quarter

After going scoreless during the first 10 minutes, a layup and a jumper from Greenwell helped keep Duke ahead 22-19.

A layup from Brown soon gave the Blue Devils their largest lead up to that point.

A 10-3 run helped create an eight-point separation (28-20) by the midway point of the period.

UNC continued to struggle from the field, enduring a 9:49 scoreless stretch.

Duke took advantage of it and looked more comfortable moving the ball while leading 30-20 with 2:30 to play.

A turnover and steal by Suggs dished the ball to Greenwell and her layup pushed the Blue Devils further ahead.

While the Tar Heels hit the first field goal of the period, they went scoreless for the duration and Duke held firm control of the game leading 36-21 at the half.

3rd Quarter

Cherry ended the Tar Heels’ 10-minute-plus drought with a three in the first minute.

Taking a hard charge, Lambert came up the better following a collision with Watts that left the UNC guard winded and forced Hatchell to take a timeout.

Watts left the game for a short time.

Duke’s length, particularly in the paint, proved suffocating for UNC as Cherry then Koenen was stuffed on successive possessions.

Both teams started to trade baskets with a highlight push-pass from Brown to Cooper put the Blue Devils up 45-27 at the 6:11 mark.

UNC didn’t relent as two straight scoring drives to the hoop showed that the Tar Heels were fighting to stay in it.

Matching a three with Greenwell’s, Watts showed she was ready to challenge.

However, another three from Lambert kept Duke ahead 51-34.

Even with a more productive period, North Carolina couldn’t gain much back from the Blue Devils as the home side carried a 57-42 lead into the final period.

4th Quarter

North Carolina managed to put up some points early, but once again was silenced and didn’t score for upwards of four minutes.

Though it seemed as though Duke’s offensive pace slowed, the Blue Devils worked the shot clock and didn’t rush its opportunities, and held a comfortable 65-48 lead with 4:19 to play following a layup from Odom.

Whatever North Carolina posted, Duke matched and continued to hold a significant double-digit advantage until the final horn sounded.