RALEIGH, N.C. – The 18th-ranked Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels both suffered tough road losses in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play on Sunday.
Duke fell 65-48 to the Louisville Cardinals, and North Carolina was dominated by the third-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish 88-54.
The Blue Devils return home to host the N.C. State Wolfpack on Thursday, while the Tar Heels continue on the road, traveling to tip off against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets that night.
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No. 3 Notre Dame dominates North Carolina in 88-54 win
NOTRE DAME, IND. – The third-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish placed four players in double figures in an 88-54 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels at Purcell Pavilion on Sunday.
Notre Dame (15-1, 4-0) benefitted from a balanced scoring attack all game long to post the win which snapped North Carolina’s recent season-best six-game win streak.
Arike Ogunbowale paced the Fighting Irish with 16 points off the bench.
Destinee Walker led North Carolina with 12 points in its first conference loss of the season.
Jamie Cherry added 10 points, while Xylina McDaniel hauled in a season-high 12 rebounds to go with 10 points for her sixth career double-double.
Though the Tar Heels (12-6, 2-1) were within arm’s reach of the Irish early on, a 9-0 run in the late stages of the first quarter gave Notre Dame a 23-15 lead.
An 11-2 run increased Notre Dame’s advantage as the Irish eventually led 47-27 at halftime.
The Irish lead grew to as many as 36 points in the final minute of play as Notre Dame had a soft landing and claimed the win.
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No. 18 Duke loses at Louisville, 65-48
LOUISVILLE, KY. – The 18th-ranked Duke Blue Devils dropped a 65-48 decision to the Louisville Cardinals at the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday.
The Blue Devils (12-5) fell to 1-2 in ACC play, suffering their fourth consecutive road loss.
Duke’s 17 first-half points was the second-fewest recorded in the opening 20 minutes of play in any game this season.
It was an opening-half start that was compounded by the Cardinals posting 27 points off 22 Duke turnovers, and claiming a 42-36 edge in rebounding.
Sophomore Azurá Stevens posted her ninth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Oderah Chidom pulled down 11 rebounds.
Myisha Moore and Asia Durr led Louisville with 15 points apiece.
Duke fell behind early as Louisville took a quick 8-2 advantage, and the Cardinals recorded 13 of their first 20 points off turnovers.
Durr’s second three of the game made it 23-12 with just over four minutes remaining in the half.
Lyneé Belton laid one in and snapped a nearly a four-minute scoring drought for Duke, but Louisville maintained a double-digit lead through the remainder of the period for a 31-17 advantage at halftime.
Duke strung together six unanswered points early in the third quarter and continued to trim the deficit from the free throw line, going 5-for-5 from there at the time.
The Blue Devils cut the margin down to 10 with 4:24 to play in the period, but Louisville responded with a scoring burst that put the game at 51-34 heading into the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately, the Blue Devils’ 4-of-14 work at the free throw line down the stretch denied them any chance to complete a successful comeback.
Louisville won its ninth straight and improved to 4-0 in conference action.