University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
12-5 (1-3ACC)
Duke
15-2 (3-1ACC)
2nd Quarter Stalls Carolina In Setback At Duke
January 13, 2017 | Women's Basketball
Watts registered her ACC-leading ninth double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Kea led all scorers with 16 points.
Duke (15-2, 3-1 ACC) was paced by a trio of double-figure scorers. Leaonna Odem had 15, while Kyra Lambert and Lexie Brown added 13 and 12, respectively.
The first quarter featured seven lead changes, and the lone three-pointer by Brown was the difference in the Blue Devils holding a slim, 18-17, advantage. Kea scored Carolina's first seven points to get off to a quality start in her inaugural game at Cameron.
The Tar Heels went stone cold from the floor in the second. Kea's jumper 11 seconds into play wound up the only made shot of the quarter as the Tar Heels missed its final 13 shots of the half.
The season-low four points scored by Carolina in the quarter allowed Duke to seize momentum in the game and a 36-21 lead at halftime.
The third quarter was a 21-21 stalemate as the margin remained 15 points, 57-42, in favor of Duke. The Tar Heels got within 57-45 on a Taylor Koenen free throw, but Leaonna Odem scored on the ensuing two possessions for Duke and never looked back in garnering the win.
Carolina entered the game averaging over eight makes from three-point range. Tonight, the Tar Heels converted only 4-of-26 shots from downtown.
North Carolina (12-5, 1-3) looks to bound back with a visit to Pitt on Sunday at 2 p.m.
