The Duke women's basketball team has found its late-game solution against North Carolina: sophomore guard Sheana Mosch.
Mosch sunk two huge 3-pointers down the stretch and hit a layin to put her team up for good as the No. 4 Blue Devils defeated the Tar Heels 72-67 at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Monday.
Mosch's heroics capped a 19-point, six-rebound performance and marked the second game this season that she has carried the Blue Devils on her back late in the game against North Carolina. She scored a game-high 29 points, including 13 in a row in overtime, in Duke's 92-85 win at UNC on Jan. 25.
"Sheana Mosch, she hurt us quite a bit the last game," UNC forward LaQuanda Barksdale said. "She just seems to turn it up whenever we play them."
During a media timeout with 2:54 left in the game and UNC leading 63-59, Duke sophomore center Lello Gebisa approached Mosch in the huddle and uttered three words: "Take over, Sheana."
"I didn't expect to hear that, but it was good to hear that, to know they had that kind of confidence in me," Mosch said. "And I just told myself that I really needed to step up and help out more, so that was just the kind of attitude I had when I went out there from the huddle."
Mosch wasted little time conveying her new attitude on the court. She drained a 3-pointer with 2:19 left that cut the Tar Heels' lead to 63-62.
Both teams were unable to score on the game's next three possessions, but on the fourth, Mosch spotted up on the right wing and nailed another trey to give Duke a 65-63 lead with 1:31 left.
Barksdale answered with a jumper along the right baseline to even the game 65-65 with 57 seconds to go, but after a timeout Mosch put the Blue Devils ahead for good. She took the ball on the right wing and drove on UNC guard Cherie Lea, lofting a right-handed layup through the hoop with 36 seconds on the clock and another Duke victory all but sealed.
