WRAL Sports Fan

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North Carolina Beats Duke for ACC Women's Crown

Mar 9, 2008

Greensboro, N.C. — For the second straight day, North Carolina is celebrating an Atlantic Coast Conference championship after beating its biggest rival to get it.

Erlana Larkins and Cetera DeGraffenreid each scored 17 points to help the second-ranked Tar Heels beat No. 12 Duke 86-73 in the  tournament championship.

The victory gives North Carolina its fourth straight title while almost certainly locking up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Rashanda McCants and LaToya Pringle each added 16 points for the top-seeded Tar Heels, who became the first team to win nine ACC tournament titles.

The win came one night after the North Carolina men's team beat Duke 76-68 at Cameron Indoor Stadium to claim the league's
regular-season crown. For the women, a three-game sweep of the Blue Devils caps an unbeaten run through the league.

Larkins was named the tournament MVP.

Chante Black and Jasmine Thomas each had 16 points for Duke.