BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A traditional archrivalry with a local twist.
No. 2 Duke took down No. 3 North Carolina, 47-38, in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament Friday afternoon. For Coach Kara Lawson and company, it will be the Blue Devils’ first trip to the Elite 8 since 2013.
Peabody’s Oluchi Okananwa, a sophomore Duke guard coming in off the bench, led all scorers and rebounders. She recorded 12 points and 12 rebounds in just 28 minutes. Okananwa (3 double-doubles this season) dished out an assist, committed just one foul, shot 5-for-11 from the field, and buried two 3-pointers.
Perhaps her most impressive basket of the afternoon came in the second quarter, when she rattled home a 3-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer after a ball fake.
Okananwa, a former Peabody High basketball standout and 2023 graduate of Worcester Academy, has averaged 10.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game this season.
Following Okananwa on Friday were Duke’s Ashlon Jackson (10 points), Vanessa de Jesus (8), and Delaney Thomas (8).
