Stop me if you've heard this one - Carolina can't buy a bucket against Duke, the Devils shoot lights-out from the floor, and, well, you know how the story ends from there.
The UNC women experienced some frigid shooting and Duke took advantage on the way to a 92-73 rout in the finals of the ACC Women's Tournament Sunday in Greensboro.
While the storylines may have ultimately been similar, it didn't seem that way early. Third-seeded Carolina rode the momentum from its 72-65 comeback win over Maryland on Saturday in which the Heels made up a 14-point halftime deficit and established an early 6-point lead over the top-seeded Blue Devils. Duke then switched to a match-up zone and disrupted UNC's offensive flow. The Heels would then go over seven minutes without a field goal while Duke ended the half on a 29-8 run to essentially put the game out of reach. Carolina would miss 25 of 28 shots at one point overlapping the first and second halves and ended up shooting only 30% for the game. The Blue Devils, meanwhile, shot a sizzling 58% from the floor in denying Carolina its 10th ACC tourney title.
The UNC women are now 28-6 on the season and will await their NCAA tournament destination next Monday.