No. 11 Duke takes over after halftime to beat No. 7 NC State 76-62, win 1st ACC title since 2013

Oluchi Okananwa had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 11 Duke rally from a 14-point deficit to beat No. 7 N.C. State 76-62 on Sunday for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title.

The win secured the Blue Devils’ first ACC title in a dozen years and their first under coach Kara Lawson.

Okananwa, who came off the bench to match her career high for scoring, was the voted the tournament’s MVP for third-seeded Duke (26-7), which took over after halftime against the tournament’s top seed and regular-season co-champion Wolfpack (26-6).

Ashlon Jackson also scored 22 for Duke.

Aziaha James scored 18 points for N.C. State, which scored the game’s first seven points and took its largest lead at 24-10 on her 3-pointer early in the second quarter.

Takeaways

Duke: The Blue Devils treated Greensboro like a redemption tour, avenging regular-season losses to Louisville, No. 6 Notre Dame and finally N.C. State to claim their ninth tournament title — this one coming in their first final since 2017.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack survived a close call against Georgia Tech before beating 14th-ranked rival North Carolina on Saturday to earn the program’s fifth trip to the finals in six seasons. But things steadily went awry after halftime Sunday.

Key moment

Duke made its third-quarter move with a 10-0 run to break a 46-all tie, starting with Jackson burying a 3-pointer over James followed by Okananwa’s jumper and Jordan Wood’s transition layup to close the third.

Then Okananwa struck again to open the fourth with a straightaway 3, pushing the Blue Devils to a 56-46 lead. That margin wouldn’t slip below six again and grew to 18 late.

Key stat

Duke shot 55.2% after halftime and locked down defensively to hold the Wolfpack to 32.3% shooting (10 of 31). Okananwa and Jackson’s 24 points nearly matched the Wolfpack’s team total (26) after halftime.

Up next

The Blue Devils and Wolfpack are set to start the NCAA Tournament as opening-week hosts.

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