Oluchi Okananwa had 12 points and 12 rebounds off the bench and second-seeded Duke used a stifling defense to subdue third-seeded North Carolina 47-38 in the Sweet 16 of the Women’s NCAA Tournament in the Birmingham 2 Region on Friday afternoon.
Ashlon Jackson scored 10 points for Duke, which won despite shooting 31 percent from the field and going 5-for-24 on 3-pointers.
The Blue Devils (29-7), who’ve won nine in a row, will meet the winner between Maryland and South Carolina in Sunday’s regional final.
North Carolina (29-8) shot 28.3 percent for the game and 3-for-11 on 3-pointers. The Tar Heels, who committed 15 turnovers, also suffered at the free-throw line, going 5-for-10.
Alyssa Ustby’s nine points and 10 rebounds and Indya Nivar’s eight points paced North Carolina.
Duke scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to build a 44-32 lead. It took the Tar Heels nearly five minutes to score in the fourth, and they had just two field goals in that quarter — one of those coming in the final seconds.
It was a stunning reversal from the first quarter, when North Carolina led 11-0 until Jordan Wood got Duke on the board six minutes into the game on a free throw, followed by a jumper.
Duke’s reserves provided a 26-6 scoring advantage in bench points.
Duke’s Toby Fournier, the Rookie of the Year in the Atlantic Coast Conference, was back after a one-game absence due to illness. She scored three points, all on free throws.
By halftime, Duke led 28-20 as Okananwa had 10 points. North Carolina shot 29.6 percent from the field in the first half before it got even worse for the Tar Heels in the second (20 percent).
It marked the first meeting in NCAA Tournament play between the longtime neighboring rivals. North Carolina and Duke split two regular-season meetings, each winning at home.
–Field Level Media
Bryson DeChambeau fired a 5-under-par 66 to maintain his one-shot lead after two rounds Saturday of LIV Golf Mexico City. DeChambeau made eagle for the second consecutive round at the…
Jorge Polanco hit two home runs and Luis Castillo allowed one hit over six scoreless innings as the Seattle Mariners clobbered the visiting Miami Marlins 14-0 Saturday night in an…
Djordje Mihailovic scored his team lead-tying fifth goal of the season on a free kick early in the second half, and the Colorado Rapids earned a rare result against the…
Jorge Polanco blasts 2 homers as Mariners rout Marlins
Djordje Mihailovic scores 5th goal, but Rapids and Sounders settle for draw
Stephen Curry’s 36 points help Warriors rally past Rockets
Dodgers push across 4 runs in eighth to double-up Pirates