Home Women’s Basketball: Duke takes control late, knocks off UVA, 65-58
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Women’s Basketball: Duke takes control late, knocks off UVA, 65-58

Chris Graham
tabitha amanze uva basketball
Tabitha Amanze. Photo: UVA Athletics

Virginia turned an 11-point halftime deficit into a six-point fourth-quarter lead, but Duke turned the game back in its direction with an 11-0 run, then finished out a 65-58 win on Thursday in Durham.

Duke (12-6, 7-0 ACC, NET: 19) led 35-24 at the break, with its D forcing 10 Virginia turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.

The ‘Hoos (13-5, 5-2 ACC, NET: 39) had a solid third on both ends, going 8-of-12 from the floor, while holding the Blue Devils to 4-of-9 shooting and forcing eight Duke turnovers.

Virginia seemed to take control with an extended 19-4 run – over an 8:31 stretch spanning the third and fourth quarters – that put the score at 51-45 on a Tabitha Amanze layup with 7:09 to go.

The 11-0 Duke run over the next 4:12 put the Blue Devils back on top to stay.

Virginia did get the margin to two, at 58-56, on a Kymora Johnson three with 59 seconds left, but an Ashlon Jackson three 16 seconds later was the dagger.

Amanze had 20 points (6-of-11 FG, 8-of-8 FT) to lead the Cavaliers.

Johnson had 13 points (5-of-12 FG, 1-of-5 3FG, 2-of-2 FT).

Around the ACC


  • #9 Louisville (17-3, 7-0 ACC, NET: 10) got a nice 79-66 road win at #23 Notre Dame (12-5, 4-3 ACC, NET: 26), and NC State (13-5, 6-1 ACC, NET: 25) won at Wake Forest (12-7, 2-5 ACC, NET: 118), 95-77.
  • Duke, Louisville and State are the Top 3 in the conference standings approaching the midpoint of the ACC schedule, with Virginia and Syracuse (15-3, 5-2 ACC, NET: 41) in a tie for fourth.

ACC in the NET


Ten ACC schools in NCAA Tournament contention (updated: Jan. 16)

  • #10 Louisville: 17-3, 7-0 ACC
  • #19 Duke: 12-6, 7-0 ACC
  • #24 North Carolina: 14-5, 3-3 ACC
  • #25 NC State: 13-5, 6-1 ACC
  • #26 Notre Dame: 12-5, 4-3 ACC
  • #34 Stanford: 15-4, 4-2 ACC
  • #39 Virginia: 13-5, 5-2 ACC
  • #40 Clemson: 12-6, 3-3 ACC
  • #41 Syracuse: 15-3, 5-2 ACC
  • #47 Virginia Tech: 14-5, 3-3 ACC

Key matchups on Sunday


  • Wake Forest at Clemson, noon ET, ACC Network
  • Louisville at NC State, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN2
  • North Carolina at Florida State, 2 p.m. ET, The CW
  • Stanford at Syracuse, 2 p.m. ET, ACC Network
  • Georgia Tech at Duke, 6 p.m. ET, ACC Network

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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].