University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Virginia
Mavunga Buzzer Beater Tops Virginia
February 27, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Mavunga led North Carolina (23-6, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) with 23 points and eight rebounds. N'Dea Bryant added 13 points off the bench for her third-straight game in double figures and Brittany Rountree had 10 points in her final regular season game at Carmichael Arena.
Senior Day emotions may have gotten the best of Carolina in the early going as Virginia (16-12, 6-9) scored the first nine points of the game, and led 18-6 on a three-pointer from Faith Randolph.
Once the nerves settled down, Carolina answered with the next 14 points - seven from Mavunga and five from Bryant - to lead, 21-18. Allisha Gray's first bucket of the night gave UNC its first lead with 8:08 left in the half.
Virginia led by a bucket in the final minute of the first half, but Jessica Washington and Latifah Coleman scored in the final 46 seconds to give the Tar Heels a slim 35-33 lead at intermission.
Washington knocked down a corner three-pointer midway through the second half to put UNC up 61-51.
The lead stood at 70-61 after a bucket from Gray, but Carolina would go scoreless for the next four minutes, 18 seconds leading up to the game winner from Mavunga.
A left-handed runner from the off hand of Mikayla Venson tied the game, 70-70, with 21 seconds left, capping a 9-0 run for the Cavaliers.
Holding for the last shot, Gray took a hand-off from Coleman and drove with her left hand to the goal. Her shot was too strong, but caromed to opposite side of the rim where Mavunga positioned herself for the game's deciding two points.
Randolph scored a game-high 24 points for the Cavaliers, who shot 50.9 percent to become the first team to shoot above 50% against the Tar Heels all season long. However, UNC scored 22 points off the Cavaliers' 21 turnovers.
Gray scored nine points, snapping a streak of 23 game in double figures. She also contributed eight rebounds and four assists in a tough 3-for-12 shooting night.
Before the game, North Carolina honored its seniors - Whitney Adams, Megan Buckland, Danielle Butts, Coleman and Rountree - and managers Gabbi Gaje and Hamo Tsang.
Carolina will visit No. 16 Duke on Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPN2. Both teams will enter the season finale tied for fifth in the league standings with a 10-5 record.
