Feeling Elite: Duke women defeat UNC in rivals' first NCAA Tournament meeting

By Brian Murphy, WRAL

North Carolina Tar Heels	38
Duke Blue Devils	47
Final

Duke guard Vanessa de Jesus (2) lays in a basket as North Carolina forward Maria Gakdeng (5) defends during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Duke is headed to the Elite Eight, and North Carolina is headed home.

The No. 2 seed Blue Devils defeated the third-seeded Tar Heels 47-38 in a NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game in Birmingham, Alabama on Friday afternoon. It was the programs' first meeting in the NCAA Tournament.

Duke (29-7) advanced to its first regional final since 2013 and will meet the defending national champion and No. 1 seed South Carolina for a spot in the Final Four. Duke, which won the ACC Tournament title, has won nine games in a row.

The 85 total points were the fewest in a Sweet 16 game or later in the NCAA Tournament.

"Exactly how we expected the game to go," Duke coach Kara Lawson said. "It's how these games are, if you've watched these games over the last few years, it's competitive and really gritty."

North Carolina scored the game's first 11 points, but Duke grabbed the lead in the second quarter and never relinquished it. The Blue Devils went on a 21-2 run spanning the first and second quarters.

"I was worried down 11-0 if we would score at all in the game but I don't think there has ever been a shutout in the tournament," Lawson said. "So felt pretty good that we could score at some point."

UNC center Maria Gakdeng injured her right ankle early in the second quarter and struggled in limited minutes in the second half. Her absence helped open the paint for Duke's offense.

"When you lose Maria early in the game, that's a big loss," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said.

The Tar Heels turned the ball over 15 times and shot less than 30 percent from the floor against the Blue Devils' stingy defense.

"Details are a part of it but, most importantly, it's your want," Duke's Oluchi Okananwa said. "You either want to play defense or you don't. And playing under Coach she has done a great job of creating that culture where we want to because it's such a big part in how we win."

Okananwa, the MVP of the ACC Tournament, paced Duke with 12 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. It was her third double-double of the season. She knocked down two 3-pointers in the first half at a time when Duke was struggling to score.

"Big to give us confidence and, obviously, she carried the day with the rebounding," Lawson said.

The Blue Devils also got a boost from reserve Vanessa de Jesus, who scored eight points in 21 minutes. Duke outscored UNC by 16 points when she was on the floor.

"Vanessa changed the game when she came in," Lawson said. "Just her fearlessness attacking, ball screen action, getting to the rim and loosening up their defense to give us confidence and her composure running the team was huge."

Ashlon Jackson added 10 points on 3-of-16 shooting. Duke forward Toby Fournier, the ACC Rookie of the Year, returned to the court after missing the Blue Devils' previous game due to illness. Fournier had three points and seven rebounds.

Alyssa Ustby led UNC with nine points and 10 rebounds in her final collegiate game. She was 3-of-10 from the floor. Reniya Kelly, who grew up near Birmingham, was 2-for-13 from the field.

"We really didn't shoot the ball well enough," said Banghart, whose team held a third straight NCAA foe to fewer than 50 points.

It was the 111th all-time meeting between the rivals, but the first in the NCAA Tournament. The teams split two regular-season meetings with each winning on their home court.

"What you're chasing has to take precedence over who you have to go through," Lawson said. "We try to focus on that. We have great respect for them and great respect for every team we've played, but I've always felt like that focus is it's best to do your job, not worry about who, but worry about what you need to do to win."

Duke could place both its basketball teams in the Final Four. The Duke men advanced to the Elite Eight on Thursday night.

Duke and UNC's men's basketball teams met for the first time in the NCAA Tournament in 2022 in the Final Four.

UNC (29-8) was seeking its first Elite Eight appearance since 2014.

"You can't go to a national championship from never going to the Final Four, from never going to the Sweet 16," Banghart said. "So going to two Sweet 16 in four years, there is a culture now, there is an expectation. It lets you speak louder. It lets you speak more directly, right, to your team.

"But in college athletics now everything is a "turn the page." This particular year has two years worth of seniors. So you're not going to see it this pretty for a long time. This is pretty remarkable. There will be a wash out for a lot of teams of great talent. Our job as coaches is to put another great product on the floor."