Duke got the best of the University of North Carolina women’s basketball team on Thursday night, as the Tar Heels fell to the No. 13 Blue Devils in Durham with a 70-58 loss.
On the UNC side, redshirt sophomore Paris Kea led the team with 16 points and six rebounds. Sophomore Stephanie Watts closely followed in points, with 15, while also contributing 11 rebounds.
It was the 16th time Watts has scored in double digits in 17 games. With the completion of her ninth double-double this season, Watts leads the ACC.
Leaonna Odom led Duke (15-2) with 15 points and seven rebounds.
The game started out on even footing, with Duke leading 18-17 after the first period.
The downfall for UNC (12-5) came in the second, when the Tar Heels were outscored 20-4 in what otherwise would have been a close game.
During that period, North Carolina went 1-for-14 in field goal attempts, shooting an abysmal seven percent, while Duke held a 47 percent clip throughout the entire first half. Entering halftime, Duke led 36-21.
As for the rest of the game, the most Duke outscored UNC in a period was the one point lead the Blue Devils gained after the first period.
Despite trailing 42-57 entering the final period, the Tar Heels were not deterred, as they outscored the Blue Devils 16-13. UNC also increased the tempo, shooting about 47 percent in the second half, compared to the first half’s 29 percent.
However, North Carolina’s improved efforts were not enough to overcome their disastrous second period.
A major problem for the Tar Heels came in the form of missed 3-pointers. In 26 attempts, UNC found the net only four times. Combine that with making only 57 percent of the team’s free-throws in the game and UNC will find it difficult to beat competitive conference opponents.
UNC next plays in Pennsylvania for a conference game against Pitt on Sunday, Jan. 15 at two o’clock p.m. for a quick turnaround.
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