North Carolina Tar Heels at Duke Blue Devils

Duke rallies after blowing lead to stop UNC and end 3-game skid

Azura Stevens had 21 points, 12 rebounds and two big foul shots with two seconds left in the Blue Devils' 81-80 win over the Tar Heels on Sunday.

All-American Elizabeth Williams added 18 points in her final scheduled game at Cameron Indoor Stadium for the Blue Devils (20-9, 11-5 Atlantic Coast Conference).

"I thought it would be time for us to crawl back and finish," coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "It's just what the game's all about. It's a 40-minute game. You've got to play it all out."

Allisha Gray scored 20 points and Jessica Washington had 19 for the Tar Heels (23-7, 10-6), the tournament's No. 6 seed.

They had the ball down two in the closing seconds before Gray missed a driving layup down the lane with about 5 seconds to go.

"We were gambling that (Stevens) was going to miss the foul shots, and we ran the plays for Allisha, both of those at the end," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "We thought it was either going to score or get fouled there at the end. ... The last play, it'd have been nice if it had only been down by three."

Latifah Coleman scored 14 points, Stephanie Mavunga added 11 after missing her first nine shots and Brittany Rountree finished with 10 for North Carolina.

Coleman's 3 with less than 90 seconds left pulled the Tar Heels to 78-75. They got the ball back after Williams was called for charging, and Mavunga put back Washington's missed 3 with 34.2 seconds to play to pull to 78-77.

Stevens hit the first of two free throws with 29.5 seconds left, but her miss on the second meant North Carolina would tie it with a bucket or take the lead with a 3.

Coleman dribbled out much of the clock near midcourt before handing off to Gray, whose layup went off the rim.

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TIP-INS

North Carolina: The Tar Heels tied a school record with 14 3-pointers, a mark set against Navy in 1991 and matched most recently against Gonzaga in 2006.

Duke: This was the 100th ACC victory for McCallie, the Blue Devils' eighth-year coach. No other coach in league history has done it in less time.

UP NEXT

North Carolina: Either Georgia Tech or Clemson on Thursday night in the second round of the ACC tournament.

Duke: Either Boston College, Wake Forest or No. 23 Syracuse on Friday in the ACC tournament quarterfinals.

How can I watch Tar Heels vs. Blue Devils?

• TV Channel: Tar Heels vs Blue Devils 2021 College Basketball, week 16, is broadcasted on ESPN2.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Location: Durham, NC
Attendance: 9,314 | Capacity: