Nikitta Gartrell led all scorers with 19 points and Bonae Holston had 14 points in the losing effort.
Second half, 1:57, Duke 67, NCSU 58: With less than two minutes to go, it looks like Duke is going to hold off the Wolfpack, who have been out-rebounded 45-29 thus far.
Second half, 2:54, Duke 65, NCSU 56: NCSU's Brittany Strachan bangs in a 3-pointer to cut the lead to nine points.
Second half, 3:55, Duke 64, NCSU 48: Cheek tips one home to put Duke up big.
Second half, 7:54, Duke 60, NCSU 45: Mitchell and Joy Cheek knock in a pair of jumpers for Duke but Gartrell bangs home her second 3-pointer to keep pace.
Second half, 9:28, Duke 56, NCSU 42: After Thomas and Holston exchanged baskets, Christmas drilled her third 3-pointer of the day. She's still a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc. One could say she's going to be a merry Christmas after this one.
Second half, 11:24, Duke 51, NCSU 40: Don't look now, but here come the Wolfpack. Holston just drilled another jumper — she now has 10 points.
Second half, 12:33, Duke 51, NCSU 36: Jasmine Thomas, have yourself a day. She leads all scorers with 15 points and just nailed her third 3-pointer (in five attempts). She's also leading Duke with six rebounds.
Second half, 13:12, Duke 46, NCSU 33: Holston drains her eighth point for NCSU.
Second half, 15:02, Duke 44, NCSU 31: Gartrell answers a Duke jumper with one of her own as the Wolfpack are showing signs of life still.
Second half, 16:06, Duke 40, NCSU 29: Duke is dominating the boards 33-18.
Second half, 16:06, Duke 40, NCSU 29: NCSU is finally on the board here in the second half as Gartrell hits a jumper. Duke had scored eight unanswered points leading up to that basket.
Second half, 18:03, Duke 38, NCSU 27: Christmas bangs in another Duke 3-pointer and NCSU doesn't help themselves out as Amber White misses both free throws.
Second half, 19:23, Duke 35, NCSU 27: Thomas gets Duke off on the right foot in the second half with a 3-pointer. Duke isn't attempting many of them but when they do, they're hitting the majority as they're now 5-for-7 from downtown.
Halftime, Duke 32, NCSU 27: Nikitta Gartrell drops in a pair of free throws to bring the Wolfpack within five at halftime.
NCSU has turned the ball over 15 times while Duke is out-rebounding the Wolfpack 26-15.
First half, 1:00, Duke 32, NCSU 25: Ugly airball on a jumper by Tasler, who has a pair of 3-pointers already.
First half, 2:30, Duke 30, NCSU 24: Kathleen Scheer has come off the bench to give Duke some life and drains a 3-pointer but Emili Tasler answers with a 3-pointer of her own for the Wolfpack.
First half, 3:30, Duke 27, NCSU 21: The Wolfpack are making a comeback here with a few to play in the first half. Marissa Kastanek knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the Duke lead to six points.
First half, 4:30, Duke 27, NCSU 18: Christmas heads to the Duke bench with two fouls.
First half, 5:01, Duke 27, NCSU 16: NCSU is shooting just 2-for-11 from behind the arc while Duke is 2-for-3.
First half, 5:43, Duke 25, NCSU 16: NCSU senior Sharnise Beal ties up with a Duke player and draws a jump-ball whistle and gets the ball back.
First half, 7:26, Duke 25, NCSU 16: Twenty of Duke's 25 points are coming off turnovers and offensive rebounds.
First half, 8:03, Duke 25, NCSU 16: That Duke defense is making NCSU's offense look real ugly as they heave up a prayer that clears the backboard as the shot clock expires. Duke's Karima Christmas (any relation to Lloyd?) drills a 3-pointer to make it a nine-point game.
First half, 8:52, Duke 22, NCSU 16: Duke grabs two more points off a turnover but Bonae Holston gets a quick two back for NCSU. Holston, however, picks up her second foul and will head to the bench.
First half, 10:08, Duke 20, NCSU 14: Duke is just too big and too fast for NCSU, who already have six turnovers.
First half, 12:01, Duke 14, NCSU 9: Duke is leading the way here early as Jasmine Thomas is pacing the squad with five points.
12:01 p.m.: No. 9 Duke and unranked NC State are preparing to battle it out for the ACC Women's crown this Sunday afternoon.
Duke is led by Jasmine Thomas, who was held scoreless in the first half for the first time this season against Georgia Tech on Saturday, but registered 10 second half points in the 67-55 semifinal win over Georgia Tech. She's averaging 15.7 points per game this season.
NC State, which beat BC 63-57 on Saturday in their semifinal match, is led by Bonae Holston, Nikitta Gartrell and Marissa Kastanek who each average over 11 points per game this season. It was Gartrell who led the way in Saturday's win by pitching in 25 points.
The last time Duke and N.C. State faced each other in the ACC Tournament was in 2007 as the Wolfpack downed the No. 1 ranked Blue Devils, 70-65. Senior's Joy Cheek, Bridgette Mitchell and Keturah Jackson were on that Duke squad.
Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
