WRAL Sports Fan

Colleges

ACC women's final a Battle of the Blues, again

By Aaron Schoonmaker

Mar 10, 2013

For the eighth time since 1995, the ACC women’s basketball tournament championship game will be a Battle of the Blues as Top-seeded Duke and No. 3 North Carolina will meet in Greensboro Sunday.

Duke (29-2, 17-1 ACC) swept the season series from North Carolina this year, getting a 21-point win in Chapel Hill in February. Their meeting in Durham, however, was closer as Duke played without junior guard Chelsea Gray but managed a seven-point victory.

In getting to the final, UNC (28-5, 14-4 ACC) was tested in a five-point win over Boston College before exacting revenge on No. 2 seeded Maryland who had beat them by 26 the meeting prior. Duke got an early scare from NC State in their tournament opener before pulling away and topped the 4-seed, Florida State, Saturday afternoon.

Even without Gray, UNC should be mindful of Elizabeth Williams who is on a streak of 18 consecutive games against ACC opponent where she has scored in double figures.

Dating back to 1994, at least one of the two teams has been in the final every year but one – last year. Duke holds a 5-3 record against UNC when they meet each other in the championship.

While both teams are assured NCAA Tournament bids, Duke is on the fringe of a No. 1 seed and battling with Notre Dame, UConn, Baylor and Stanford. A win would not guarantee them reaching that echelon, but wouldn’t hurt either. A win would also give Duke 30 wins for the 10th time in the last 13 seasons.

UNC, meanwhile, looks to be in the No. 5 seed range, but with a top-15 national ranking going into Sunday, a win over a top-tier team is likely to boost them.