Blue Devils' Hot Shooting Secures ACC Championship - Mar 11, 2013

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Duke Blue Devils made sure there were no more remarkable second-half comebacks in the 2013 ACC Womens Basketball Tournament.

The top-seeded Devils shot 57 percent from the floor the best effort by any finalist since 1984 to build on a 15-point halftime lead and earn a 92-73 victory over No. 3 North Carolina in the 36th annual championship. The Blue Devils excellence from start to finish muted the Tar Heels hopes of repeating the second-half performance they displayed in wiping out a 14-point deficit at the break to upend No. 2 Maryland in Saturdays semifinals.

It was an awful lot of fun out there today, coach Joanne P. McCallie said.

Perhaps even more encouraging for Duke is its 6-1 record since the season-ending knee injury to Chelsea Gray (5'11''-G-92), its All-American point guard. In her absence, Alexis Jones (5'8''-G-94) has stepped in and has been brilliant. On Sunday, she became the first freshman to win tournament MVP honors since another Blue Devil, Monique Currie, in 2002. All she did Sunday was contribute 24 points and eight rebounds to a balanced attack.

Were fortunate to have great players at Duke, McCallie said. Nobody will ever know what we would have been with Chelsea at this juncture, and thats very sad. But Alexis is stepping up for us, and right now, there are things we cant control. We cant control the fact that Chelsea cant play. But Alexis is amazing.

Forward Elizabeth Williams (6'3''-C-93) joined Jones with 24 points and eight boards and Haley Peters (6'3''-G/F-92) hit her first seven shots before missing her final attempt and fouling out. Her stints were interrupted by the foul issues, but Peters didnt seem bothered.

It wasnt a big deal, really, she said. We were moving the ball well. Its easy to fit back in with all the poise we have.

Duke began to pull away with a 15-2 run that closed the first half and was fueled by defense. The Devils turned all three of the turnovers they forced into points.

As a result, they had a 39-24 lead at the break. On Saturday, North Carolina trailed Maryland 38-24. Enough of a similarity, perhaps, to make some wonder if history was bound for a repeat. McCallie, however, said she had no interest in numerology.

At halftime, I speak to my team about us and what we have to do, she said. And we were a little ticked off about some things we hadnt done in the first half.

The Devils held the Tar Heels to 29-percent shooting in the first half and 31-percent accuracy after the break. Offensively, Duke followed a 50-percent first 20 minutes by connecting on 64 percent of its shots thereafter.

Jones became only the third freshman to win MVP honors, joining Marylands Deanna Tate in 1986 and Monique Currie in 2002.

I was shocked, she said, describing her reaction to the announcement of the award. I wasnt expecting to get MVP, but Im excited that I got it.

Both the Devils and Tar Heels now await NCAA tournament bids. The Blue Devils will host the first two rounds; the bracket will be revealed on Monday, March 18 at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

North Carolina (28-6) can also anticipate a solid seed in the NCAAs after beginning the season picked to finish in the middle of the ACC.

The fact that were the runner-up is nothing to be ashamed of. Dukes a great team. I dont know how much better they could have played than they did today.

Courtesy of ACC

ACC Tournament Final: Duke - N.Carolina 92-73
ACC Tournament Semifinals:
Duke - Florida State 72-66
North Carolina - Maryland 72-65

All-ACC 1st Team 2012-2013
#s#	Jones	Gray	Williams	Rodriguez Manso	Deluzio	#e#5