CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — In a thrilling matchup on Sunday, the Duke Blue Devils, ranked No. 14, staged a remarkable comeback in the second half to triumph over the Virginia Cavaliers, clinching a 60-55 victory. Backup guard Oluchi Okananwa was pivotal for Duke, scoring 17 points, while Taina Mair contributed significantly with two critical three-pointers.

The turning point came early in the fourth quarter when Okananwa connected on a three-pointer and followed it up with a mid-range jumper, propelling Duke into its first lead of the contest at 44-43 with nine minutes left on the clock. However, it was Mair’s accuracy from beyond the arc that proved crucial; her three-pointer with just five minutes remaining put the Blue Devils ahead 53-50.

As the game progressed, a jumper from Toby Fournier and a layup by Okananwa stretched Duke’s lead to 57-50 with two and a half minutes to go. Virginia responded, narrowing the deficit to 57-55 in the closing minute. Mair had a chance to increase the lead but missed a pull-up jumper. Virginia’s Edessa Noyan could not convert a three-pointer with 43 seconds left, and Mair sealed the game with another three-pointer, bringing the score to 60-55 with just 14 seconds remaining. Okananwa capped off the victory by stealing the ball three seconds later.

In terms of statistics, Okananwa had a solid performance, hitting 6 of her 11 attempts from the field while also grabbing seven rebounds. Ashlon Jackson added 11 points for the Blue Devils, who improved their record to 13-4 overall and 4-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Mair might have struggled with her shooting, making only 2 of 9 attempts for six points, but she tallied six assists and two steals.

On the other side, Virginia’s Latasha Lattimore and Kymora Johnson each contributed 14 points, supported by Olivia McGhee with 11 points and Noyan, who added 10. The Cavaliers, holding a record of 10-7 overall and 2-3 in the ACC, led the game at halftime with a score of 29-20 after Duke managed a mere 27% shooting performance, including only one successful three-pointer out of ten attempts.

Following a lackluster first half where Duke only managed 20 points, the team bounced back with a stronger showing in the third quarter, scoring 19 points and entering the fourth trailing 40-39. Looking ahead, both teams will face challenging matchups this Thursday, with No. 24 Cal visiting Duke and Virginia going on the road to play against Virginia Tech.