Okananwa, Mair deliver for No. 14 Duke women in 60-55 win over Virginia

By Canadian Press on January 12, 2025.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Backup guard Oluchi Okananwa scored 17 points, Taina Mair hit two big 3-pointers, and No. 14 Duke rallied in the second half to defeat Virginia 60-55 on Sunday.

Okananwa hit a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter and followed with a mid-range jumper to give Duke its first lead of the game, 44-43 with nine minutes remaining.

It was Mair, though, who hit the biggest shots. Her 3-pointer with five minutes remaining put the Blue Devils back ahead 53-50. A jumper by Toby Fournier and a layup from Okananwa extended Duke’s lead to 57-50 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining but Virginia closed to within 57-55 in the final minute.

Mair missed a pullup jumper and Virginia’s Edessa Noyan missed a 3-pointer with 43 seconds left. Mair buried a 3 with 14 seconds left for a 60-55 lead and Okananwa’s steal three seconds later finished off the win.

Okananwa made 6 of 11 shots and grabbed seven rebounds and Ashlon Jackson scored 11 points for the Blue Devils (13-4, 4-1 ACC). Mair was only 2-for-9 shooting for six points but added six assists and two steals.

Latasha Lattimore and Kymora Johnson scored 14 each for Virginia (10-7, 2-3). Olivia McGhee had 11 points and Noyan added 10.

The Blue Devils, who scored only 46 points in an overtime loss to North Carolina on Thursday, continued to misfire in the first half against Virginia, shooting 27% and making only 1 of 10 3-pointers. Virginia led 29-20 at halftime.

After the 20-point first-half output, Duke scored 19 points in the third quarter and Virginia led 40-39 heading to the fourth.

Up next: No. 24 Cal at Duke and Virginia at Virginia Tech, both on Thursday.

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The Associated Press