CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Abby Waner scored six of her 16 points during a key second-half spurt, and no. 1 Duke held off no. 2 North Carolina 64–53 last night.

Wanisha Smith had all 17 of her points in the first half, Lindsey Harding added 16 points and Alison Bales had 14 rebounds for the Blue Devils (25–0, 10–0 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Duke overcame second-half foul trouble and held off the Tar Heels at every critical juncture, improving to 8–0 against ranked teams and snapping a five-game losing streak to North Carolina.

Camille Little scored a seasonhigh 21 points and Erlana Larkins had 14 rebounds for the Tar Heels (24–1, 8–1), but star point guard Ivory Latta finished with just nine points on 3-of-20 shooting and missed all 11 of her 3-point attempts.

North Carolina twice rallied to tie in the second half, the last coming when Alex Miller’s jumper with 7:50 left made it 47–47.

Duke countered with a clinching 14–3 spurt led by Waner and Bales. Bales started the run with a wideopen layup and later added an 18-footer, and Waner then scored three straight baskets.

Her last field goal deflated the sellout crowd at Carmichael Auditorium. Waner drove toward the corner, then pulled up and knocked down a jumper, making it 57–50 with 2:40 to play. Duke’s lead grew to 61-50 on a late free throw by Bales.

Duke avenged its previous visit to Chapel Hill, when it entered last season with the no. 1 ranking in the first 1-vs.-2 matchup in the rivalry’s history, but were routed 77–65 by the Tar Heels.

It was the latest into a regular season that two unbeatens met in a 1-vs.-2 matchup, and the first time it matched teams with perfect records from the same conference.

The Blue Devils led for much of the first half, taking the lead on Harding’s jumper in the lane midway through the half, which started a 10–2 spurt.