The Blue Devil women made history on Sunday, defeating North Carolina 67-62 to become the first undefeated women's team in ACC history - not a small feat considering the ACC houses three ranked teams.
In addition to entering the record books with a 29-0 regular season record, No.1 Duke swept No. 4 North Carolina this season for the first time since 2004. The Blue Devils had lost five-straight games to the Tar Heels coming into this season.
Playing their last regular season game in Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Blue Devils were led by the senior duo of Alison Bales and Lindsey Harding. Bales turned in a 16-point and 12-rebound performance while Harding added 15 points for Duke.
Sunday's game was the closest shave of the season for a Duke team that had won 13-straight home games by double figures. North Carolina led the Blue Devils 56-55 with 7:45 left on the clock; however, eight-straight missed shots kept the Tar Heels from running away with the game. A Harding bucket and clutch free throw shooting in the final minutes helped the Blue Devils emerge with the win.
Senior Ivory Latta led the way for North Carolina, contributing 19 points to the losing effort. Although Latta led the Heels in points on the day, she shot a mere 6-for-17 from the field. Junior Erlana Larkins chipped in 18 points and a career-high 19 boards, and senior Camille Little scored 12 of her own.
The Tar Heels dropped to 27-3 (13-3 ACC) with two of those losses attributed to the Blue Devils, while the other defeat came at the hands of unranked NC State. The Blue Devils finished out their season undefeated at 29-0 (14-0 ACC). Duke's unblemished record is impressive, but heading into the ACC and NCAA tournaments, every team starts with a clean slate and will be gunning for the Blue Devils.
There were plenty of upsets across the country this week. In Big East play, unranked West Virginia knocked off No. 21 Louisville in overtime on Monday night. Junior LaQuita Owens had a monstrous career-high 30 points - including seven in overtime - to spark the Mountaineers' win. Fellow junior Olayinka Sanni added 21 points of her own in the last regular season game for both teams.
It was a successful day for the Cardinals from the floor. Sophomore Angel McCoughtry contributed 33 points of her own and senior Jazz Covington helped the Cardinals by draining 17. Louisville controlled a 41-32 lead when the Mountaineers caught fire and went on a 19-8 run, taking a 51-49 lead with 7:15 left in regulation.
As the game wound down and with the Mountaineers ahead 67-64, Louisville freshman Brandie Radde forced overtime by sinking her only basket of the game, a three with 0.7 seconds left. In the extra frame, Owens' seven overtime points led West Virginia to the victory.
In other upsets, No. 12 Vanderbilt toppled No. 7 LSU in SEC play late last week. Senior Carla Thomas finished her regular-season career with a bang as she posted 23 points for the Commodores. Vanderbilt earned its first win over a Top 10 team since 2003 and temporarily tied Georgia for second place in the SEC.
During the upset win, the Commodores boasted a 54.2 shooting percentage and put up 68 points against one of the toughest defenses in the nation. Before the loss, LSU had held opponents to an average of just 49.1 points per game this season.
Following the upset trend was No. 18 Texas A&M, which came out on top of No. 14 Baylor Sunday night in Waco, Texas. Sophomore Takia Starks and classmate Danielle Gant combined to score 32 of their team's 35 second-half points to earn the win against conference rival Baylor. The Aggies can clinch their first-ever Big 12 title with a victory over Texas tonight or with an Oklahoma loss to Baylor.
This weekend and the next will be full of conference tournaments as teams across the nation put their regular seasons behind them and set their sights on a conference championship.
