Duke Repeats as ACC Champions

Sunday, March 8

Duluth, Ga.

1 p.m.

Duke University

24-8,16-2ACC

Louisville

27-7,15-3ACC

OT 1

Louisville

Duke

Photo by: ANDREW HANCOCK

Duke Repeats as ACC Champions

3/8/2026 3:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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DULUTH, Ga. – Trailing by four with four minutes to play and one minute remaining, the Duke women's basketball team fought back and repeated as league champions by defeating Louisville, 70-65, in overtime in the Ally ACC Women's Basketball Tournament Championship Sunday at Gas South Arena.

Duke took a 51-49 lead with 7:02 remaining in regulation but struggled to find ways to score as Louisville battled to a 57-53 lead in the final minute. The Blue Devils then took control.

Delaney Thomas got a put-back and the foul. The junior missed the ensuing free throw, but Riley Nelson drained a three to put Duke ahead 58-57 with 27 ticks left. A Louisville layup with 23 seconds remaining and a free throw with 14 seconds left made it a 60-58 Cardinal advantage. Thomas came in clutch again with a layup with four seconds remaining to force overtime as Taina Mair blocked a Louisville shot at the buzzer.

In the extra session, Duke trailed just once, 63-62 with 3:52 to go. A Thomas layup at the 3:20 mark put the Blue Devils ahead for good as they repeated as ACC champions.

Duke (24-8) claimed its 10th ACC Tournament title in program history and became the first repeat champion since NC State in 2020 and 2021. The Blue Devils also finished as regular season and tournament champions for the eighth time in program history, which is the most among all current ACC members.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Shots were falling for Louisville in the first five minutes as the Cardinals held a slight 9-6 advantage after the first five minutes despite Duke forcing four turnovers. Louisville connected on 67 percent of its shots while also turning the Blue Devils over four times.

The Cardinals continued to have the hot hand, knocking down a three coming out of the timeout and getting two more layups to stretch their lead to double digits, 17-6.

Riley Nelson drained a corner three from the right side to end Duke's scoring drought and Taina Mair buried two free throws to pull the Blue Devils back within six, 17-11.

The Cardinals scored the next four points to go back up 10, 21-11. However, Ashlon Jackson heaved a three from long range to give Duke a lift heading into the first break trailing, 21-14. Louisville shot 60 percent in the first 10 minutes, including 50 percent from distance.

Duke turned up the heat in the second quarter, extending its run to 10-0 to tie the game at 21 and force Louisville into a timeout. Delaney Thomas got to the rim twice and Mair sank another three to bring the Blue Devils all the way back.

The teams traded mini runs as Louisville went back up four before Duke answered with five unanswered for the one-point advantage, 27-26. The Cardinals came back with a 4-0 spurt before Duke notched the next three to tie game. Imari Berry had the final basket of the thrilling first half to put Louisville in front, 32-30, at the half.

Louisville continued to do enough to keep the Blue Devils at bay in the third quarter. The Cardinals hit 3-of-5 from distance in the first five minutes to maintain a two-possession lead with 4:08 left in the period. Duke shot just 17 percent in that span.

Jackson scored four straight for the Blue Devils, spurring Duke to an 8-2 run to make it a one-point game. The teams traded free throws in the final 30 seconds as the Blue Devils headed into the fourth quarter trailing, 49-46.

Duke stayed steady on both ends of the court as Mair launched the Blue Devils into the 51-49 lead with a three from the top of the arc and set up the exciting finish.

UP NEXT

The Blue Devils wait a week for their NCAA Tournament pairing on Selection Sunday, March 15.

To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to the YouTube channel by searching "DukeWBB."

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