The UNC women’s basketball team overcame a historically low offensive output and a seven-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat No. 11 Duke 45-41 Sunday afternoon in Durham. The 45 points scored are the fewest in a win in program history. The victory was also Carolina’s second straight at Cameron Indoor Stadium and secured its second consecutive regular-season sweep of the Blue Devils.

Both teams were stuck in the offensive mud for most of the game, as the Tar Heels scored just eight points apiece in the first and second quarters. Duke wasn’t much better, scoring just six points in the second after 14 in the first to take a 20-16 lead into halftime.

Carolina was slightly better in the third quarter, using five points from Alyssa Ustby to claw back into the game and level the score at 29 heading into the final 10 minutes. UNC shot just 35.7 percent in the period, but it was still an improvement over its marks in the first (28.6) and second (33.3) quarters.

Duke appeared primed to pull away as the fourth quarter began, scoring the first seven points to tie its largest lead of the game at 36-29. The Tar Heels didn’t necessarily light the arena on fire in their comeback attempt, but got back into the game by virtue of a jumper from Ustby and four free throws from Paulina Paris.

Kennedy Todd-Williams evened the score with a three-pointer at the 2:22 mark. It was one of only three threes the Tar Heels hit all day. Todd-Williams then gave Carolina the lead at the foul line, a lead which expanded to four after Deja Kelly scored and was fouled with 1:16 left. Duke cut the 43-38 Carolina lead down to two points with 37 seconds remaining, but two more free throws from Kelly sealed the low-scoring win.

Carolina’s field goal percentage of 34.1 is its second-lowest in a game this season, “topped” only by its 29.7 mark in a win against NC State on January 15. Impressively, the Tar Heels have managed a 5-6 record this season when shooting under 40 percent from the field.

Even more impressive: Sunday’s win over the Blue Devils is Carolina’s sixth against a ranked team this season, and gives the program 20 regular-season wins for the second straight year under head coach Courtney Banghart.

The Tar Heels will be the No. 7 seed at next week’s ACC Tournament in Greensboro. They finished tied with Miami at 11-7 in ACC play, but lost the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Hurricanes. The complete tournament schedule will be released once all of Sunday’s conference games are final.

 

Featured image via The Daily Tar Heel/Ellen Robinson

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.

Related Stories
‹
UNC Men's Basketball to Host Arkansas, Women to Host LSU in 2026 ACC-SEC Challenge
The matchups have been set for both the UNC men’s and women’s basketball programs in the upcoming ACC-SEC Challenge: the men will host Arkansas on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at the Smith Center, while the women will host LSU on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at Carmichael Arena. ACC/SEC challenge is set 🗓️ pic.twitter.com/AWzBSN1Cbv — Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) […]
Multiple UNC Teams Post Perfect Academic Progress Rates, New Report Says
Several UNC sports programs posted perfect single-year and multi-year academic progress rates for the 2024-25 academic year, according to the NCAA’s latest report. Academic progress rate (APR) is used to track performance of scholarship students who compete on varsity teams, and the score measures eligibility and retention each semester. A perfect score is 1000, and […]
Virginia Transfer Gabby White, Daughter of UNC Assistant Joanne Aluka-White, Commits to Tar Heels
Virginia guard Gabby White, who spent her freshman season with the Cavaliers, announced her commitment to join UNC out of the transfer portal Tuesday morning. View this post on Instagram White has strong local connections. A star at Seaforth High School in Pittsboro, White scored more than 1,900 career points and grabbed more than 1,100 […]
Atlanta Dream Select UNC's Indya Nivar in 2nd Round of WNBA Draft
The Atlanta Dream selected former UNC standout Indya Nivar with the 28th pick in the second round of the WNBA Draft Monday night. League HER. Indya is headed to Atlanta! pic.twitter.com/sa5gaRDYy8 — Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) April 14, 2026 Originally from Apex, Nivar was named the North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year and the […]
Stanford Transfer Chloe Clardy Commits to UNC Women's Basketball
A third transfer is joining the UNC women’s basketball program. Chloe Clardy, who spent the first three seasons of her career at Stanford, committed to the Tar Heels Sunday. God’s plan🩵 #committed pic.twitter.com/DA3szvt0Da — Chloe Clardy (@chloeclardy13) April 12, 2026 Clardy became a prominent player in the Cardinal’s rotation as a sophomore, starting 18 games […]
Syracuse Transfer Sophie Burrows Announces Commitment to UNC
Sophie Burrows, who spent her first three college seasons at Syracuse, committed to UNC out of the transfer portal Saturday. View this post on Instagram Originally from Australia, Burrows is an ACC veteran, having started 65 games across three seasons for the Orange. After earning four starts as a true freshman in the 2023-24 season, […]
Oklahoma State Transfer Achol Akot Commits to UNC Women's Basketball
Achol Akot, who spent the 2025-26 season with Oklahoma State, announced her commitment to head coach Courtney Banghart and UNC out of the transfer portal Friday. Akot will have one year of eligibility remaining. View this post on Instagram Before Oklahoma State, Akot spent the first two seasons of her collegiate career at UCF. She […]
UNC's Elina Aarnisalo Entering Transfer Portal After 1 Year in Chapel Hill
Sophomore guard Elina Aarnisalo, who transferred to UNC for the 2025-26 season after spending her freshman year at UCLA, is entering the transfer portal once again. According to Talia Goodman of On3 Sports, Aarnisalo entered the portal with a “Do Not Contact” tag. BREAKING: North Carolina’s Elina Aarnisalo has entered the transfer portal with a […]
UNC Freshman Taliyah Henderson to Enter Transfer Portal
Taliyah Henderson, who spent her freshman season with UNC, has announced her intention to enter the transfer portal when it opens Monday, April 6. Henderson made the announcement on social media Thursday afternoon. pic.twitter.com/yQoYiWcE8a — Taliyah Henderson (@taliyah_hend3) April 2, 2026 Henderson was rated as a five-star recruit and the No. 27 overall player in […]
UNC Sophomore Guard Lanie Grant to Enter Transfer Portal
Sophomore guard Lanie Grant, who helped lead UNC to back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in 2025 and 2026, will enter the NCAA transfer portal when it opens Monday, April 6. Grant made the announcement on social media Wednesday evening. Proud of everything we accomplished over the past two years with my teammates and coaches, and so […]
›