GREENSBORO, N.C. — Oluchi Okananwa had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 11 Duke rally from a 14-point deficit to beat No. 7 NC State 76-62 on Sunday for the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title.
The win secured the Blue Devils’ first ACC title in a dozen years and their first under coach Kara Lawson.
Okananwa, who came off the bench to match her career high for scoring, was the voted the tournament’s MVP for third-seeded Duke (26-7), which took over after halftime against the tournament’s top seed and regular-season co-champion Wolfpack (26-6).
Ashlon Jackson also scored 22 for Duke.
Aziaha James scored 18 points for NC State, which scored the game’s first seven points and took its largest lead at 24-10 on her 3-pointer early in the second quarter.
The Blue Devils treated Greensboro like a redemption tour, avenging regular-season losses to Louisville, No. 6 Notre Dame and finally NC State to claim their ninth tournament title — this one coming in their first final since 2017.
The Wolfpack, meanwhile, survived a close call against Georgia Tech before beating 14th-ranked rival North Carolina on Saturday to earn the program’s fifth trip to the finals in six seasons. But things steadily went awry after halftime Sunday.
Duke made its third-quarter move with a 10-0 run to…
