Carolina earns sweep of No. 1 Duke

Ivory Latta jumped on the scorer’s table and raised both hands with one finger extended in the air, telling the crowd that North Carolina was No. 1.

After Saturday’s win, it would be hard to argue otherwise.

Latta scored 18 points to help the second-ranked Tar Heels beat top-ranked Duke 77-65 in Chapel Hill, N.C., giving North Carolina the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title and a likely return to the top of the national rankings.

Erlana Larkins had 16 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists for the Tar Heels, who led the entire way to earn their fifth straight win in the series. North Carolina earned its second win against a No. 1-ranked team – both against Duke in the past two seasons – in 21 tries and earned the top seed in next week’s ACC tournament for the second straight year.

Senior La’Tangela Atkinson added 16 points and 11 rebounds, part of a dominating effort by the Tar Heels on the glass in a game that displayed their talent, depth and athleticism.

“We just talked in the locker room that this is great,” coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “I congratulated them and asked if this is good enough. And they said, ‘No.’ They want to do bigger and better things. They’re special kids, they have great chemistry and they have fun.”

The Tar Heels shot 39 percent and hit 2 of 11 3-pointers while committing 23 turnovers. But they controlled the Blue Devils throughout, scoring the game’s first six points and leading by as many as 17 points in the second half.

Wanisha Smith scored 16 points to lead the Blue Devils, whose only losses have come against the Tar Heels. Duke heads into the ACC tournament as the second seed, marking the first time the Blue Devils didn’t clinch at least a share of the regular-season title in six years.

Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said her team didn’t make good decisions against North Carolina’s aggressive pressure defense, which seemed to unnerve the Blue Devils the entire way.

(7) Rutgers 65, Pittsburgh 54: At Pittsburgh, Cappie Pondexter scored 23 points and the Scarlet Knights clinched at least a tie for its second straight Big East regular-season title.

(8) Connecticut 74, Marquette 59: At Storrs, Conn., Renee Montgomery scored 15 points, and Barbara Turner and Charde Houston each scored 10 for the Huskies, who have won five straight.

(10) Baylor 79, Kansas State 70: At Manhattan, Kan., Sophia Young had 33 points and 13 rebounds for her 13th double-double of the season to lead the Lady Bears.

(11) Arizona State 81, Arizona 45: At Tempe, Ariz., Kristen Kovesdy scored 12 points and had 11 rebounds as the Sun Devils won their ninth straight and finished 15-0 at home this season.

(16) DePaul 74, Providence 68: At Providence, R.I., Khara Smith scored 22 points and had 13 rebounds, and Allie Quigley added 18 points for the Blue Demons, who won their fifth straight game.

(21) BYU 73, TCU 56: At Provo, Utah, Ambrosia Anderson scored 25 points and had seven rebounds to lead the Cougars.

(23) New Mexico 75, San Diego State 48: At San Diego, Julie Briody tied a career high with 20 points for the Lobos after replacing top scorer Dionne Marsh, who sprained her left ankle 5 minutes into the game.