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Duke held on late in overtime to grab the win over Louisville on Sunday afternoon and secure its trip to the NCAA tournament. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Kevin C. Cox via Getty Images
For the second straight year, the Blue Devils are the ACC tournament champions.
Top-seeded Duke held on late to grab a 70-65 overtime win against Louisville on Sunday afternoon at the Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia. That marked the Blue Devils’ second consecutive tournament title and backed up their regular season conference championship. It was the first overtime title game in the ACC in 17 years.
Though Louisville forced the extra period and had a shot at a late stop while down two in overtime, it was Riley Nelson who sealed the deal. Nelson drilled a wide-open 3-pointer from the corner as the shot clock buzzer sounded with just five seconds left in the game. That put Duke up by five points and eventually gave them the win.
Sunday's contest outside of Atlanta was a tight one throughout, even though it was the Cardinals who opened the game on a 17-6 tear. They took just a two-point lead into the locker room at halftime after Imari Berry hit a layup just before the buzzer, and snagged a three-point lead entering the final quarter.
While Mackenly Randolph put them on top again with less than 30 seconds left in game, it was Delaney Thomas that forced overtime. Thomas caught a backdoor pass and made a layup with just four seconds left to tie the game back up.
That set up Duke's eventual win in the extra period. Thomas finished with 19 points for the Blue Devils after she went 8-of-11 from the field. Taina Mair had 19 points of her own with 12 rebounds, too. Nelson finished with 12 points and went 3-of-8 from behind the arc.
Duke just barely beat Louisville in their regular-season matchup back in early February. That snapped a 14-game win streak for the Cardinals at the time. Though Duke lost twice down the stretch of the regular season, it still secured the regular season title for the first time since 2013. Then after a battle with Notre Dame on Saturday, the Blue Devils earned a return trip to the championship game.
Randolph led Louisville with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Berry put up 18 points off the bench. Tajianna Roberts added 12 points. The Cardinals rolled to the title game after a blowout win over Syracuse in their first game and then Berry had a double-double to push them past North Carolina in the semifinals on Saturday.
While Louisville is undoubtedly an NCAA-tournament caliber team and will have no issue on Selection Sunday, the ACC still belongs to Duke.
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