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

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 his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].