Oluchi Okananwa And Duke Beat North Carolina 47-38 And Advance To Program's 12th Women's Elite Eight

Oluchi Okananwa had her third double-double of the season and Duke beat Atlantic Coast Conference rival North Carolina 47-38 in a grind-it-out defensive battle on Friday, sending the Blue Devils to the Elite Eight of the women's NCAA Tournament.

The second-seeded Blue Devils climbed out of an early 11-0 hole to advance to the 12th regional final in program history and first since 2013. Duke will play No. 1 seed and defending champion South Carolina, which beat Maryland 71-67 .

"I'll be honest. I was a little worried down 11-0 and we hadn't scored at all in the game," Duke coach Kara Lawson said. "But I don't think there's ever been a shutout. I felt pretty good we could score at some point."

That didn't come until the four-minute mark of the first, when Jordan Wood drew a foul and made one of two free throws.

Okananwa, a reserve, scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half and had 10 rebounds. Duke 29-7 got 26 points from its bench compared to North Carolina's six.