No. 3 North Carolina Deflates No. 2 Duke

For more than 30 minutes, Duke seemed to have everything it wanted. A double-digit lead against its Atlantic Coast Conference rival. A sellout home crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium peppering the visitors with mocking chants. And a likely No. 1 ranking inching closer with each passing second.

Instead, everything slipped away.

By the time it was over Sunday night at Durham, N.C., No. 3 North Carolina was the one celebrating as the last unbeaten team in NCAA Division I with a 74-70 victory over No. 2 Duke.

“This was a different level than we had to play at as far as the athleticism, the traps, the switches, the physical nature of the game,” Duke Coach Gail Goestenkors said. “You can’t just turn it on in one game.”

This wasn’t the way the Blue Devils (20-1 overall, 7-1 ACC) wanted to cap a week that began with a 75-53 victory over No. 1 Tennessee.

Against North Carolina, Duke led by 16 in the first half and by 12, at 58-46, with 10 minutes left. But the Tar Heels (20-0, 7-0) scored on 14 of their last 16 possessions to probably earn their program’s first No. 1 ranking.

“Our backs were against the wall, we had to produce,” North Carolina Coach Sylvia Hatchell said.

The Tar Heels’ Erlana Larkins had 17 of her season-high 23 points in the second half, and Ivory Latta had 17 points and provided a steadying influence down the stretch.

The Blue Devils didn’t help themselves, making only 11 of 23 free throws and committing 20 turnovers. That included going one for five at the line in the final 10 minutes before Mistie Williams intentionally missed her last free throw as Duke trailed, 72-70, with 3.8 seconds left.

The Tar Heels, who had been limited to 39% shooting to trail, 40-27, at halftime, ended up shooting 58% after the break.

In other selected top-25 games:

No. 1 Tennessee 89, Alabama 54 -- At Knoxville, Tenn., Candace Parker scored 15 points and the Lady Vols (19-2, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) gave Coach Pat Summitt her 901st victory.

Navonda Moore, who played despite dislocating her right kneecap last week, led the Crimson Tide (8-12, 2-5) with 26 points.

No. 6 Maryland 79, Wake Forest 70 -- Crystal Langhorne scored a career-high 34 points, including 10 in overtime, for the Terrapins (19-2, 6-1 ACC) at Winston-Salem, N.C. Despite a 52-34 edge in rebounding, Maryland struggled against the Demon Deacons (10-9, 2-5).

No. 7 Ohio State 75, Illinois 49 -- Marscilla Packer made five three-pointers to complement center Jessica Davenport’s 19 points, leading the Buckeyes (17-2, 8-1 Big Ten) over the Illini (12-8, 4-5) at Columbus, Ohio.

No. 8 Purdue 71, Northwestern 63 -- The Boilermakers (17-2, 9-0 Big Ten) held on despite committing 21 turnovers, including 15 in the first half when the Wildcats (5-15, 1-8) cut an 11-point deficit to two at West Lafayette, Ind.

No. 14 Minnesota 77, Penn State 72 -- Jamie Broback scored 25 points, and the Gophers (15-4, 7-1 Big Ten) overcame the Nittany Lions (9-11, 3-6) at Minneapolis.

Penn State took a 68-67 lead on Brianne O’Rourke’s free throw, but Minnesota went ahead for good on a shot by Natasha Williams with 2:05 left.

No. 15 Georgia 92, No. 24 Florida 55 -- Tasha Humphrey scored 30 points, and the Bulldogs (15-5, 5-2 SEC) turned the tide on the Gators (15-5, 3-4) by scoring on 16 consecutive possessions after trailing, 17-13, at Gainesville, Fla.

No. 16 Michigan State 65, Indiana 59 -- The Spartans (15-7, 5-4 Big Ten) climbed back from a nine-point deficit with seven steals in an eight-minute span to defeat the Hoosiers (11-9, 5-4) at East Lansing, Mich.

Miami 77, No. 25 Virginia Tech 62 -- The Hurricanes (14-6, 4-3 ACC) opened with a 20-4 run and never trailed the Hokies (14-5, 1-5) at Coral Gables, Fla.