Duke rolls Virginia on the road while Tar Heels drop third straight

Duke locked up a very good seed in the ACC women’s basketball tournament on the road Thursday night, while UNC dropped its third straight game and won’t get a first-round bye in Greensboro.

The No. 9 Blue Devils (25-3, 11-2 ACC) topped Virginia 71-48 at John Paul Jones Arena, meaning Duke cannot finish lower than second in the ACC’s regular-season standings.

Meanwhile the No. 13 Tar Heels (22-6, 8-5) suffered some Senior Night heartbreak in a 64-57 loss at the hands of visiting Georgia Tech, meaning the Yellow Jackets won’t be playing on Thursday and the Tar Heels will.

Duke 71, Virginia 48
Jasmine Thomas had 18 points to lead Duke, which got 16 points from Tricia Liston in the freshman’s first career start.

Haley Peters came off the bench for 12 points for Duke, which got a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds from Allison Vernerey. Krystal Thomas chipped in seven points to go with her 16 rebounds.

Ariana Moorer had 14 points and Ataira Franklin 13 for Virginia (15-14, 4-9).

Georgia Tech 64, UNC 57
Alex Montgomery led the way with 22 points for the Yellow Jackets as they completed a sweep of their two-game season series with UNC.

Metra Walthour added 14 points and Sasha Goodlett 13 for Tech (21-8, 9-4).

Italee Lucas and Chay Shegog had 13 points each to lead UNC. Laura Broomfield chipped in nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Tar Heels visit Duke on Sunday at 5 in the conference’s regular-season finale.