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 No. 1 seed South Carolina in Sunday’s regional final. The Gamecocks (33-3) edged No. 4 seed Maryland 71-67 later Friday.
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
