UNC women lose battle of the boards to Duke

GREENSBORO — Twice this season the No. 13 North Carolina women’s basketball team entered the locker room after the final buzzer sounded in its games against Duke having won two battles — the one that was the game and the one on the boards.

But in Saturday’s ACC tournament semifinal, the sixth-seeded Tar Heels failed to win either of those battles and fell to second-seeded Duke 66-61 deriving from a 37-44 disadvantage on the glass.

Freshman guard Diamond DeShields said that difference in the game wasn’t related to anything Duke (27-5, 12-4 ACC) did differently from last week’s contest, but it was what UNC (24-9, 10-6 ACC) failed to do.

“It was a different North Carolina team as far as rebounding went,” DeShields said. “We didn’t crash the boards like we should have.”

UNC’s troubles on the glass started on its opening possession, as Duke’s Hayley Peters reeled in the first of her eight boards on a missed layup by Latifah Coleman.

The board served as the first of an early 5-1 advantage that Duke would use to achieve an 8-0 lead and force UNC to burn its first timeout barely two minutes in.

Coming out of the timeout, freshman Stephanie Mavunga, UNC’s leading rebounder on the season, took the on the burden of erasing the early deficit. Bending her knees and using her frame to get ideal position, Mavunga pulled in an offensive rebound and converted the layup to give UNC its first points of the night.

Mavunga’s put-back breathed life into the Tar Heels, but the team would receive a shattering blow to its chances of gaining the edge on the glass shortly after.

Junior Danielle Butts, who soared through the air to grab seven vital rebounds in the quarterfinals, took a sharp stab in the eye from a Duke player on a loose ball that confined her to the bench for the remainder of the game.

Butts’ absence allowed Duke guard Ka’lia Johnson to crash the boards and haul in eight rebounds on the night — a number far greater than her 2.4 she averaged during the regular season.

But it was Peters and ACC Defensive Player of the Year Elizabeth Williams who would create the most havoc on the boards. And each one’s last board sealed the Tar Heels’ fate.

With a shade more than a minute remaining in the game and UNC leading 60-58, Peters drove to the basket for a layup. The ball floated out of her hand, off the rim and into the hands of Williams — who would convert the put-back attempt to knot the game at 60.

And after the Blue Devils strung together a 66-61 lead, Coleman drove down the floor, heaved a desperation 3-point attempt and Peters pulled it in with her mitts to bring the game to its conclusion.

Mavunga said Peters and Williams bullied their way to their combined 17 boards, and their tenacity made a huge impact on the final outcome.

“They’re tough rebounders, and they know how to get in there,” Mavunga said. “And I remember after the last game, their coach wasn’t really happy we out rebounded them the first few two games. I’m sure she got on them.

“They did a good job of getting in there and shoving us out of there, whether it was legal or illegal.”

UNC’s inability to shove back and edge Duke on the boards is what associate head coach Andrew Calder found most disappointing about the loss.

“I do not like the fact that they outrebounded us,” Calder said, “and I thought that was the difference in the game.”

And a difference that would bring the Tar Heels’ tournament run to an abrupt conclusion.