DURHAM, N.C. (AP) – LaToya Pringle had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 3 North Carolina past 11th-ranked Duke 93-76 on Monday night.

Freshman Cetera DeGraffenreid also scored 18 points and Rashanda McCants added 15 for the Tar Heels (20-2, 7-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). The nation’s most potent offense shot 50 percent against the league’s best defense, owned a 43-34 rebounding advantage, routinely generated open looks and consistently knocked them down.

For North Carolina, it all added up to a convincing victory that snapped a two-game losing streak in the bitter Tobacco Road rivalry.

Chante Black and Wanisha Smith both had 15 points for Duke (16-6, 5-2), which allowed a season-high point total in dropping two of three at home in an eight-day span. A week earlier, Tennessee snapped the Blue Devils’ 24-game winning streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium with a final-seconds victory.

This one wasn’t nearly that close. And while the stakes weren’t quite as high as they’ve been in previous years – both teams were ranked in the top five during the previous five meetings, including a pair of No. 1-vs.-No. 2 matchups – the Tar Heels gave first-year Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie a rather rude introduction to the always-intense series.

AP-ES-02-04-08 2114EST