There wasn't much that was pretty about Duke's win over UNC in Chapel Hill, with the exception of their 40-24 edge in points in the paint and shooting 52% from the field. That overall efficiency and UNC's inability to combat it for long stretches is the reason why Duke built a big lead and why they were able to hold off the Heels in the game's final moments -- despite getting just two field goals in the final eight minutes of the contest.

It's hard to explain just why Duke lost control of the game. The Heels started to shoot better, of course, nailing 3 threes to help close the gap. Duke started turning the ball over, but they did it on some silly plays. The Devils just seemed to lack urgency and focus when they went up by 15 with eleven minutes to go. Given UNC's anemic play, it seemed as though the Devils thought the game was over, even though they weren't able to deliver a true kill-shot. The one thing Duke did do well was use up a lot of clock on every possession. With a big lead, simply draining seconds off the clock improves the chances that one will win the game. The Devils also came up with some stops and a few critical rebounds, winning the overall battle of the boards.

It was an intensely physical game that featured Haley Peters getting pummeled with an elbow and requiring multiple stitches, even though there was curiously no call for a flagrant one foul. Peters was thrown to the ground more than once by UNC center Chay Shegog, but she came back from those bruises and made key plays down the stretch. Overall, it was Duke's balance that led to the win as four players were in double figures and two others combined for 17 points. While Duke's 22 turnovers and difficulty against pressure were trouble spots, Duke still managed to win the ACC season outright at 15-1, the first time they've done so since 2007 and the program's eleventh such title. It should be noted that Duke has won or tied for the regular season in eleven of the past fifteen seasons, which is an impressive level of domination. Winning the title in Chapel Hill, the scene of some horrendous losses during the McCallie era, makes the victory that much sweeter for all involved. Carmichael was the last ACC venue that she had yet to win in as coach of the Blue Devils.

Carolina played with a surprising lack of passion in the game's early moments despite the Senior Day festivities. Duke went to Elizabeth Williams to start the game, as Selby found her inside and Liz stuck back a miss. Chelsea Gray was also quite aggressive, finding Kathleen Scheer on a cut and Peters on a broken play when the ball bounced around. With 16:21 left, Duke led 8-3 and the Heels had already turned the ball over 3 times. Krista Gross drained a timely three to make it a tighter game. UNC has been erratic from long range this year, but their three point shooting nearly allowed them to pull the upset. Tricia Liston hit a couple of free throws but the Heels scored to draw closer. In most games this year, Liz has been composed and smart with regard to her decision-making. This was one of the first times all year I've seen her make a lot of bad decisions, like taking a three in the corner off the dribble. The Heels punished that decision by hitting a three for their first lead. Allison Vernerey, who continued her strong play from the Miami game, finished a nice pass from Gray for a reverse and scored again after Selby grabbed an offensive rebound and shoveled it to her. The Heels scored inside with 6-6 Waltiea Rolle (who curiously didn't play much after stumbling twice during her singing of the Star Spangled Banner) and took a 16-14 lead after a Duke turnover and the first of 5 threes by frosh Brittany Rountree.

That lead did not last long as the Devils went on a 9-0 run to earn the working margin that propelled them through the rest of the game. Vernerey stuck a hook shot, Gray found Peters inside, Liston hit a three and then stole the ball, feeding Williams to make it 23-16 with under ten minutes to go in the half. Liston fed Williams for another bucket and then drove for a score after an offensive rebound by Vernerey. Duke had chances to extend that lead, but Williams missed a couple of shots and turned the ball over. Finally, a steal and layup by Gray made it 29-20, but Shegog scored inside to keep her team close. Gray returned the favor by sticking a tough 15' jumper, but Shegog hit 2 free throws to make it 31-24. Peters drilled 2 free throws and Selby hit 1 of 2 to give Duke its first double digit lead at 34-24. After a UNC stickback, Selby confidently pulled up and drained a three. UNC scored inside again, but Selby hit a difficult 17' jumper to push the lead to 39-28. It was during this period when Peters had her mouth smashed by a Shegog elbow and went to the locker room for many, many stitches. That focused and angered Duke, who went on a 5-0 run to end the half. Williams hit a long jumper and Gray found Liston for the basket and the foul. The Devils got the ball back for a final shot, but Vernerey shot with 20 seconds on the clock and then Williams took a difficult follow-up with 17 seconds left. Luckily, the Heels weren't able to come close to taking a shot. The Devils led 44-30 and dominated every category: points in the paint (26-12), points off turnovers (15-7), and second chance points (8-4). Williams and Liston had 10 points apiece for Duke.

The Heels quickly cut Duke's lead to 11, but Selby scored on a drive to push it back up to 46-33. Shegog scored again, but Gray stuck a tough 17' jumper. Broomfield had a stickback, but Liston drove and scored. After that play, Gray stole the ball from Broomfield, scored and got fouled. When she made the free throw, it was suddenly 53-37. Coach McCallie then made the puzzling decision to substitute Gray with frosh Ka'lia Johnson, a move that yielded nearly two minutes of stagnant offense and two misses by Johnson. The Heels hit just one shot (a three) during that period, but Duke was in position to blow the game open and instead dialed back on the throttle. They did regain their footing by attacking the basket once again, as Gray found Vernerey for a score and Williams stuck back a Vernerey miss to give Duke its biggest lead at 57-40 with over thirtee minutes left. Rountree hit another three and frosh Danielle Butts hit 2 foul shots to make it 57-45, but Williams hit a free throw and then found Liston inside to restore the lead to 15 at 60-45. The Devils had multiple chances to add to that lead, but Vernerey missed 2 free throws and Selby & Gray both had turnovers. Given another chance, Rountree drained a three to make it 60-48. For the last ten minutes of the game, Duke would score just 9 points.

Peters hit 1 free throw to make it 61-48, but a turnover by Gray led to 2 UNC foul shots. UNC got a stop and Rountree hit another three to make it 61-53. Duke had been doing a poor job on its defensive rotations all night and the Heels were taking advantage of this to get open looks for their hot shooter. Williams then found Vernerey inside, who hit a tough hook shot to make it 63-53 with 7:26 left. Shegog hit 2 free throws and then stole the ball from Gray, but Rountree finally missed. Duke turned the ball over and Shegog scored again to make it 63-57 with 5:38 to go. Peters then got some separation and drained a tough fade-away jumper to make it 65-57 with 5:18 left. After she came up with a steal, Williams got fouled but missed both shots. Duke got the ball back but she then turned the ball over. Duke was shadowing Rountree closely now, but she retreated back to about 25' and Williams backed off of her, only to see Rountree launch from distance and drain it to make the score 65-60.

Chelsea "The Closer" made sure to grab the ball and she was fouled attacking the basket, making 2 shots. After UNC hit 1 foul shot, Williams turned the ball over again and the Heels got a stickback to make it 67-63 with 1:16 left. The Heels had all the momentum but they were running out of time. They forced a miss by Williams, but Duke ran 28 seconds off the shot clock. UNC then turned the ball over but immediately fouled Vernerey, who missed both of her two shots. However, Peters alertly grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it to Gray, who sank her second foul shot to make it 68-63 with 20 seconds left. Vernerey was posted at the top of Duke's defense and blocked a three point shot that Liston rebounded with 9 seconds left. She hit 1 of 2 and the Heels were unable to get another shot off (to Sylvia Hatchell's fury) as the Devils escaped with the win.

UNC dominated the Devils in every hustle category, including second-chance points (10-4) and points off turnovers (18-8). They feasted off a number of careless Duke turnovers--including several uncharacteristic miscues by Gray. When you've never won in a particular building, it can be very hard to seal the deal even if it's abundantly clear that you have a better team. Luckily, Duke had built up enough of a lead to hold off UNC's charge and were never put in a position where it was a one-possession game. After a brutal turnaround (Friday night at home to Sunday afternoon on the road), Duke has four days off until they play again. For a team as bruised and short-handed as this one, earning that first-round bye was especially important. This team should be proud that they've absorbed blow after blow and have continued to win. They're a blocked shot at the buzzer away from a perfect ACC season, which is incredible when one considers that frosh and sophs do most of the heavy lifting for this team.