Duke women capture first ACC title since 2013

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Oluchi Okananwa had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 11 Duke rally from a 14-point deficit to beat No. 7 N.C. State 76-62 on Sunday for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title.

The win secured the Blue Devils' first ACC title in a dozen years and their first under coach Kara Lawson.

Okananwa, who came off the bench to match her career high for scoring, was the voted the tournament's MVP for third-seeded Duke (26-7), which took over after halftime against the tournament's top seed and regular-season co-champion Wolfpack (26-6).

Ashlon Jackson also scored 22 for Duke.

Aziaha James scored 18 points for N.C. State, which scored the game's first seven points and took its largest lead at 24-10 on her 3-pointer early in the second quarter.

The Blue Devils treated Greensboro like a redemption tour, avenging regular-season losses to Louisville, No. 6 Notre Dame and finally N.C. State to claim their ninth tournament title -- this one coming in their first final since 2017.

The Wolfpack, meanwhile, survived a close call against Georgia Tech before beating 14th-ranked rival North Carolina on Saturday to earn the program's fifth trip to the finals in six seasons. But things steadily went awry after halftime Sunday.

Duke made its third-quarter move with a 10-0 run to break a 46-all tie, starting with Jackson burying a 3-pointer over James followed by Okananwa's jumper and Jordan Wood's transition layup to close the third.

Then Okananwa struck again to open the fourth with a straightaway 3, pushing the Blue Devils to a 56-46 lead. That margin wouldn't slip below six again and grew to 18 late.

The Blue Devils and Wolfpack are both set to start the NCAA Tournament as opening-week hosts.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.