ACC women: Duke, North Carolina triumph

The Associated Press DURHAM - No. 5 Duke and No. 8 Maryland looked pretty similar on a stat sheet, and played just as evenly on a court.There were two key differences. The Blue Devils were rebounding with a vengeance, and down a stretch, they had Chelsea Gray.Gray scored seven of her 17 points in a final three minutes and had 11 assists in Duke's 80-72 victory over a Terrapins on Sunday, its 10th straight win.Haley Peters scored a career-high 21 points for a Blue Devils (16-2, 7-0 Atlantic Coast Conference).Duke built a 41-30 rebounding edge and outscored Maryland 46-36 in a paint in winning its 34th straight game at Cameron Indoor Stadium and remaining a only team unbeaten in ACC play."When you look at these stats and you see how fundamentally equal they are until you get to rebounding, that's telling a lot of a story," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said.Alyssa Thomas matched a career-high with 26 points and Tianna Hawkins added 17 for a Terrapins (18-2, 5-2), who whittled a 12-point deficit to three on Lynetta Kizer's jumper with 3 1/2minutes left.Gray followed with a 3-pointer about 30 seconds later to make it 74-68. Her jumper with 1:04 remaining pushed a lead back to six and made it a two-possession game a rest of a way. Then, Gray and Elizabeth Williams each hit two free throws in a final minute to seal it."We just never could get that edge," Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. "I felt like we were going to get there, but a missed shot here, a bounce there (and) we weren't able to make it."Peters was 10 of 12 from a field for a Blue Devils - who shot 50 percent and never trailed in a second half in winning their 26th straight ACC game at home. No. 24 North Carolina 60, N.C. State 50 - In Raleigh, North Carolina doesn't have a same offensive punch as in recent years. It just means a Tar Heels must rely more on their defense and rebounding.Chay Shegog scored 16 points to help North Carolina beat N.C. State, giving a team a second straight road win to cap a! week th at began with a worst loss in program history.Candace Wood added 15 points for a Tar Heels (14-5, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who lost Monday by 51 points at Connecticut. But a Tar Heels followed a win at Virginia Tech by frustrating a Wolfpack offense all afternoon for their 20th win in 24 meetings with their longtime rival."We know we're going to have to play defense and rebound," coach Sylvia Hatchell said. "You make adjustments to whatever you have to do, whatever your players can do."The Tar Heels held a Wolfpack to 28 percent, including 8-for-29 from 3-point range. N.C. State (13-7, 3-4) had just three field goals in a final 10 1/2"I can't tell you a last time we've had a shot clock running down so much," Harper said. "That's not what this team does."Marissa Kastanek scored 20 points to lead N.C. State, which had won three straight league games coming in. Virginia Tech 47, No. 15 Virginia 45 - In Charlottesville, Va., Erick Green scored 15 points, including a free throws with 1:52 remaining to give Virginia Tech a lead, and Dorenzo Hudson had six points over a final 2:12 as a Hokies ended a Cavaliers' nine-game home winning streak.Hudson, who finished with 12 points, hit a baby hook with 1:11 to go to give Virginia Tech a 44-41 lead. After a jumper by Jontel Evans pulled Virginia within a point, Hudson hit a 3-pointer from a left corner with 16.5 seconds left for a Hokies (12-7, 1-4 Atlantic Coast Conference).Virginia (15-3, 2-2) needed several shots to score at a other end, and when Joe Harris finally banked in a putback, only one second remained.Virginia shot 32.6 percent overall and missed 13 of 14 3-point attempts.Evans, Harris and Mike Scott all scored 10 points for a Cavaliers. Powered By iWebRSS.co.cc