North Carolina’s Elina Aarnisalo achieved her second consecutive career-best scoring performance, tallying 22 points to lead the 21st-ranked Tar Heels past 12th-ranked Duke 74-69 on Sunday in Chapel Hill, wrapping up their regular season with an impressive victory.
The Tar Heels (25-6, 14-4 ACC) found themselves down by two points at the break, but Aarnisalo’s flawless shooting from beyond the arc in the third period – connecting on all three attempts – propelled the home team ahead. Aarnisalo’s stat line also included seven boards, four assists and two steals.
Nyla Harris contributed 19 points and seven rebounds while converting 9-of-10 attempts from the charity stripe. When North Carolina fell behind 60-59 with 4:53 remaining on the clock, Aarnisalo and Harris sparked an 8-1 surge that included six successful free throws. The Tar Heels dominated at the foul line 20-10 and controlled the boards 45-33 to even their season series with the Blue Devils.
Duke’s Ashlon Jackson finished with 17 points on five three-pointers while Riley Nelson contributed 13 points for the Blue Devils (21-8, 16-2), who had previously secured at least a portion of the ACC championship. Delaney Thomas and Toby Fournier each scored 12 points but both fouled out during the final quarter.
In other top-25 action, fourth-ranked Texas defeated 24th-ranked Alabama 72-65 as Madison Booker recorded 21 points and nine rebounds in Tuscaloosa. Jordan Lee and Kyla Oldacre each scored 11 for the Longhorns (28-3, 13-3 SEC), who built a 17-point advantage before Alabama’s 7-0 fourth-quarter surge cut the deficit to 49-44. Jessica Timmons led Alabama with 24 points while Essence Cody added 16, but the Crimson Tide’s 19 turnovers resulted in 21 Texas points.
Meanwhile, 13th-ranked Ohio State dominated 15th-ranked Michigan State 87-68 behind Jaloni Cambridge’s 33-point explosion and Chance Gray’s 21-point effort in East Lansing. Cambridge and Gray combined for 14 three-pointers on 23 attempts, with Cambridge setting a personal best and Gray matching her season high. The Buckeyes (24-6, 13-5 Big Ten) used a decisive 15-0 second-quarter run to take control and led by 30 at halftime. Grace VanSlooten paced the Spartans (22-7, 11-7) with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
