BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Duke sophomore Oluchi Okananwa scored 12 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the second-seeded Blue Devils to a 47-38 victory over No. 3-seed North Carolina in the Regional Semifinal of the 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
Ashlon Jackson contributed 10 points, three assists and two steals while Delaney Thomas and Vanessa de Jesus both had eight points apiece. Duke's bench was the story this afternoon, scoring 26 of the team's 47 points in the contest.
Duke advances to the Elite Eight for the 12th time overall and for the first time since 2013. The Blue Devils will play Sunday, March 30 for a chance to secure their fifth Final Four berth and the first since 2006.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- North Carolina got on the board first on a putback by Maria Gakdeng 90 seconds into the contest. The Tar Heels continued to stifle Duke's offense, stretching their lead to 9-0 midway through the opening quarter.
- Trailing 11-0 at the first media timeout, Duke's Jordan Wood came out of the break to knock down the second of two free throws for the Blue Devils' first point of the game with four minutes remaining. Wood drained a shot from the left elbow on the next possession to cut the lead to single digits and jumpstart a 9-2 run that sent Duke into the first-quarter break trailing, 13-9. Defensively, Duke held North Carolina without a field goal for the final 4:19 of the period.
- Duke's defensive pressure continued to frustrate North Carolina as the Blue Devils kept the Tar Heels off the board and rattled off eight unanswered to take a 17-13 lead into second-quarter media timeout. de Jesus had four of the eight in the spurt with Duke forcing the Tar Heels into five turnovers.
- North Carolina ended its field goal drought with 2:44 remaining in the second period, a drought spanning 11:35 that allowed Duke to go in front 21-13.
- The teams traded baskets down the stretch as Duke headed into the locker room with a 28-20 advantage. Duke's bench was the story in the first half, scoring 22 of the team's 28 points with Okananwa (10) and de Jesus (8) having 18 of those.
- After Duke opened a 10-point lead on a Thomas layup to start the third stanza, North Carolina began to chip away at the Blue Devil lead and pulled within five, 30-25. Reigan Richardson responded for Duke with a three before the Tar Heels capitalized on a turnover to make it a 33-27 game at the midway point of the quarter.
- The Tar Heels used a 5-0 run coming out of the timeout to cut Duke's lead to two, 34-32, but a three from Jackson and good defense put the Blue Devils up 37-32 after 30 minutes of action.
- Duke registered the first four points of the fourth, extending its lead back to nine, 41-32. The Blue Devils kept their foot on the gas as Jackson drained her second three-pointer of the afternoon to put the game out of the Tar Heels' reach at 44-32 with 5:40 remaining. North Carolina never got back within single digits until the final basket of the game for a 47-38 final score.
NOTES:
- Duke improves to 29-7 overall and pushes its win streak to nine games. The 29 victories are the most by the Blue Devils since they won 33 games 2012-13.
- Duke moves to 64-26 (.711) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, 25-9 (.735) all-time as the No. 2 seed and 27-7 (.794) overall when earning the automatic bid. Duke currently owns the sixth most NCAA Tournament wins and is tied for sixth all-time in NCAA Tournament games played (90).
- The Blue Devils earn their ninth win (9-5) over a top-25 opponent this season.
- Duke limited North Carolina to single digits in the second (7) and fourth (6) quarters and has now held opponents to single digits in 35 quarters this season.
- Duke held North Carolina 32 points below its average points per game. North Carolina entered the contest putting up 70.5 points per game. The Tar Heels mark the 31st opponent this season the Blue Devils have held below their respective scoring average and the 15th team to score under 40 against the Blue Devils.
- The Blue Devils held the Tar Heels without a field goal for 11:35, spanning the first and second quarters.
- The Blue Devils finished the game with 43-40 edge on the glass and outscored the Tar Heels off the bench (26-6), on the fastbreak (8-2) and in points off turnovers (14-7) to win the superlative stat battle.
- Defensively, Duke tallied six blocks, six steals and forced 15 North Carolina blunders. Duke also forced the Tar Heels into a shot clock violation, giving them 44 forced shot clock violations on the year.
- Oluchi Okananwa led the charge for the Blue Devils, notching her third double-double of the season and the sixth of her career with 12 points and 12 rebounds. The 12 caroms matched a season-high mark and are the sophomore's fifth double-digit rebounding effort of the season. The dozen rebounds were one shy of tying her career high of 13 boards.
- Ashlon Jackson posted her team-leading 24th game in double figures contributing 10 points, three dimes and two steals. The junior knocked down a pair of triples during the game to give her 85 made threes in 2024-25 - just two shy of Tricia Liston's single-season record of 87 set in 2013-14.
- Graduate student Vanessa de Jesus provided a strong contribution off the bench for Duke with eight points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor. The eight points were the most since scoring 10 in the Dec. 1 victory over Columbia.
- Sophomore Delaney Thomas also turned in a solid outing with eight points, four rebounds and a steal. Thomas shot 4-of-6 (66.7%) from the floor to post her 17th game shooting at a 60-percent clip or higher.
- Jadyn Donovan notched her 12th game this season and 21st of her career with at least two blocks. The four swats tied the sophomore's career high for the fifth time this season and seventh time overall.
UP NEXT:
The Blue Devils advance to the Regional Final of the Birmingham 2 Region to take on No. 1-seed South Carolina. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. (ET) on ABC.
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50 Seasons of Duke Women's Basketball
The 2024-25 season marks the 50th anniversary of Duke women's basketball, a program rich in tradition, excellence and success. From its early foundations to national dominance, the Blue Devils have become a powerhouse in both athletics and academics. Join us in commemorating five decades of sisterhood, championships and iconic moments as we set the stage for the next 50 years. For more information, please visit goduke.com/WBB50.
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