Tar Heels women's basketball manhandled by Duke

Duke’s Krystal Thomas sends away a shot attempt by Martina Wood. DTH/ Phong Dinh

DURHAM — One frustration-filled possession doubled as the story of the game.

After North Carolina seemed to have finally grabbed some momentum, No. 8 Duke grabbed three offensive rebounds and nailed a 3-pointer to squelch the last hopes the No. 18 Tar Heels had of getting back into the game.

The deficit never again got as close as 11 and grew as large as 30 in Duke’s 79-51 win on Monday night.

“(Duke) deserves all the credit for that,” Duke head coach Joanne McCallie said. “That’s players going and getting after it, and totally controlling the boards.”

The offensive rebounding clinic was brought to an end by Duke senior Keturah Jackson — who was actually subbed in during a stoppage during the possession.

That wasn’t the only three- rebound possession of the game. Three separate times the Blue Devils corralled three or more rebounds in a single possession.

All three times ended with Duke scores.

“Like we do with all the games, we’ll go back and watch the film 10 times and try to figure things out,” UNC head coach Sylvia Hatchell said.

“Sometimes maybe instead of trying to figure things out so much, you gotta go out there and go to war.”

The Tar Heels’ 28 rebounds mark a new season low for them, falling short of the previous low of 32 rebounds, which they tallied against Florida State two games ago.

North Carolina was 3-3 going into the game in contests where the other team grabbed more rebounds, with the three losses coming to Michigan State, Florida State and Connecticut.

“At halftime, rebounding was 17-16, and in the second half they outrebounded us 35-12, so I thought that was a big key to start the second half,” Hatchell said.

Rebounding is paramount to the Tar Heels’ winning formula, and when they are unable to control the boards, the stress on the defense to force turnovers increases in order to create fast-break opportunities.

The second half was the most lopsided, both on the boards and on the scoreboard.

On Duke’s side, the Blue Devils grabbed 17 of their own misses, while UNC could only corral 10 defensive rebounds, despite the fact that the defense is traditionally in better rebounding position than the offense.

“Rebounding is not all size — well, it is size,” Hatchell said. “But it’s not the size of your body, it’s the size of your heart. That’s pretty much what it’s all about. Sometimes it is physical size, but I’ve seen smaller players that are tremendous rebounders, and it’s probably more the size of the heart.”

So when questioned after the game about what frustrated her most about a 28-point loss, Hatchell had little else to say but the obvious about her team’s 28 rebound performance.

“Rebounding,” Hatchell said. “Wouldn’t you be, if you were the head coach?”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.