Duke Secures Historic Ninth ACC Title With Victory Against NC State
The Duke Women’s Basketball team defeated the NC State Women’s Basketball team 76-62 in the 2025 ACC Women’s Basketball Championship game. This is the first ACC Championship for Duke since 2013 and the first for head coach Kara Lawson. The Blue Devils, the number three seed in this tournament, talked about going on a revenge tour during their run in the tournament by beating every team that beat them in the ACC this season. The Blue Devils did just that by knocking off Louisville, Notre Dame, and NC State to win the ACC crown. Oluchi Okananwa was named the ACC Tournament MVP after finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Duke is now tied with North Carolina for the most ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament championships.
Duke winning the ACC championship did not look like it was possible in the first quarter as NC State opened the game on a 7-0 run before Duke settled down and cut the lead to four. However, the Wolfpack enforced their will, as four of the five starters scored in the first quarter. Saniya Rivers and Zoe Brooks got the Wolfpack off to a hot start and scored 13 out of the 19 first-quarter points for Wolfpack. The Blue Devils were down by as many as nine points in the quarter, and shot only 26 percent from the field and turned the ball over four times as NC State took a 19-10 lead into the second quarter.
Aziaha James got the scoring going in the second quarter for the Wolfpack by extending their lead into double digits. NC State led by as many as 14 points, but Ashlon Jackson and Okananwa kept the Blue Devils in the game by speeding the game up and forcing turnovers. Duke was able to cut the lead to seven before a James layup and subsequent foul put State back up by double digits at the two-minute mark. However, James, the Wolfpack’s leading scorer, did suffer an apparent hip injury later in the quarter. She finished with 11 points but came back into the game later on. Duke took advantage of her absence as a Jordan Wood three-pointer cut into the State lead and gave them a 36-29 lead at halftime.
A fast-paced first half continued in the second as the Blue Devils started off the third quarter hot. They opened the third quarter on a 15-6 run to take a 44-42 lead. Duke took advantage of NC State being out of position and took the momentum away from the Wolfpack. The Blue Devils had nine offensive rebounds and did not miss a three-pointer in the quarter. Duke outscored State 24-10 in the third quarter to take a 53-46 lead in the final 10 minutes.
NC State tried to get back in the game, but Duke would not let them. Jackson and Okananwa combined for 24 points in the second half and were the spark for the Blue Devils to go up by as many 15 points on their own. The Blue Devils just out hustled the Wolfpack in the second half and outscored them by 21 points in the second half. This is a big win for Coach Lawson in her fifth year at the helm, as she has turned the Blue Devils into a Final Four contender this year. Overall, both teams will be in the tournament, but it is the Blue Devils who can call themselves champions of the ACC.
