Blue Devils cap perfect ACC season

Seniors Alison Bales and Lindsey Harding led top-ranked Duke to its first unbeaten regular season. Now they’re looking for something bigger – a perfect postseason.

Bales had 16 points and 12 rebounds in her final home game and the Blue Devils pulled away late in a 67-62 victory over No. 4 North Carolina to seal the first undefeated season in Atlantic Coast Conference history.

“You don’t get a banner that says undefeated for the season,” Bales said. “But it is an accomplishment, and we’re really proud of what we’ve done so far this season, but ready for the next part of our season.”

Harding added 15 points in her final home game for the Blue Devils (29-0, 14-0), who held the Tar Heels without a field goal for 7 minutes down the stretch while outscoring them 9-0 to remain on track for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

“The thing that means the most to me is that it’s something special for these two seniors, because nobody can top that,” coach Gail Goestenkors said. “Now it’s been their turn to shine. I think that’s what makes me feel best about this season. It’s something more than any other team has done.”

Abby Waner added 13 points for Duke, which triumphed in what was its tightest home game of the season by far. The Blue Devils, who won each of their previous 13 games at Cameron Indoor Stadium by at least 10 points, couldn’t put North Carolina away until the closing minutes.

Ivory Latta led North Carolina with 19 points, but was plagued by the same poor shooting that doomed her team in its previous loss to Duke. Latta finished 6-of-17 from the field for the Tar Heels (27-3, 11-3).

(2) Tennessee 73, (12) Vanderbilt 53: At Knoxville, Tenn., Candace Parker had 21 points and 14 rebounds and the Lady Vols (27-2, 14-0 SEC) closed the regular season with a win over the Commodores (24-5, 10-4).

(5) Ohio St. 72, Michigan 58: At Ann Arbor, Mich., Jessica Davenport scored 25 points and Marscilla Packer added 17 to lead the Buckeyes (26-2, 15-1 Big Ten) to a win over the Wolverines (10-19, 3-13).

(6) Maryland 76, Boston College 60: At Boston, Crystal Langhorne scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and the Terrapins (26-4, 10-4 ACC) beat the Eagles (13-15, 3-11).

(7) LSU 70, Alabama 27: At Baton Rouge, La., Sylvia Fowles had 12 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks in 17 minutes, got the rest of the day off and the Lady Tigers (24-6, 10-4 SEC) overwhelmed the Tide (10-19, 0-14).

(8) Stanford 56, USC 53: At Stanford, Calif., Jayne Appel scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half, including a go-ahead basket with 36 seconds left, and the Cardinal (25-4, 17-1) beat the Trojans (16-12, 10-8) to win the Pac-10 title.

(9) George Washington 56, Temple 53: At Washington, Kenan Cole’s jumper broke a late tie and the Colonials (25-2, 14-0 Atlantic 10) beat the Owls (23-6, 13-1).

(11) Georgia 69, Arkansas 51: At Athens, Ga., senior Cori Chambers halted a shooting slump in her final home game, scoring 17 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs (24-5, 10-4 SEC) over the Razorbacks (18-12, 3-11).

(13) Oklahoma 72, Missouri 57: At Norman, Okla., Courtney Paris scored 33 points and set Oklahoma’s career mark for offensive rebounds, and the Sooners (22-4, 12-3 Big 12) beat the Tigers (17-11, 5-10).

(15) Purdue 58, Illinois 48: At Champaign, Ill., Katie Gearlds scored 21 points to lead the Boilermakers (25-5, 14-2 Big Ten) to a victory over the Fighting Illini (18-10, 8-8).

(16) Texas A&M 63, (14) Baylor 58: At Waco, Texas, Danielle Gant scored 18 of her 22 points in the second half to lead the Aggies (22-5, 12-3 Big 12) past the Lady Bears (24-5, 11-4).

(20) Michigan St. 57, Minnesota 50: At East Lansing, Mich., Victoria Lucas-Perry scored 13 points in her final regular-season home game to help the Spartans (22-7, 13-3 Big Ten) rally past the Golden Gophers (15-14, 7-9).

Old Dominion 62, (22) James Madison 57: At Norfolk, Va., Sherida Triggs scored 15 points to help the Monarchs (19-8, 14-1 CAA) beat the Dukes (24-4, 15-2).