Tar Heels Drop ACC Opener At Wake

Thursday, December 10

Winston-Salem, NC

6:00 PM

North Carolina

5-1,0-1ACC

Wake Forest

4-1,1-0ACC

North Carolina

Wake Forest

Janelle Bailey was one of three Tar Heels in double figures in Thursday's loss at Wake Forest.

December 10, 2020 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: UNC Athletic Communications

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – North Carolina's first road game and first Atlantic Coast Conference matchup turned into the Tar Heels' first loss of the season Thursday evening, as the UNC women's basketball team fell 57-54 at Wake Forest. UNC is 5-1 overall and 0-1 in ACC play heading into another road game on Sunday at Louisville.

Playing at the Demon Deacons' Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, UNC shot a season-low 34.8 percent from the field, including 2-18 (11.1) from three-point range, and committed 15 turnovers.

"We weren't the tougher team, mentally or physically," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said.

Wake Forest improved to 4-1 (1-0 ACC) with the win.

Grad student guard Petra Holešínská played all 40 minutes for Carolina and finished with 12 points, scoring in double figures for the sixth time in her six games as a Tar Heel. Freshman forward Anya Poole had her first career double-double with 12 points and a team-best 11 rebounds. Senior center Janelle Bailey scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds. It was the first time this season the Tar Heels have had fewer than four players score in double figures.

UNC grabbed its first lead at 4-2 just under three minutes into the game and held onto it throughout the first half. The Tar Heels were up by nine in both the first quarter and the second, but never pushed the advantage into double-digits. Still, they led by six at halftime, 25-19, despite shooting 33.3 percent from the field and 1-9 from three. Wake Forest was 0-for-10 from three-point range in the first half and shot 23.1 percent from the field.

Coming out of halftime, Poole scored to push UNC's lead back up to eight, but Wake then went on a 6-0 run to make it a two-point game. The Demon Deacons took the lead for the first time at the 3:29 mark of the third quarter on a pair of free throws by Gina Conti, who finished with a game-high 16 points.

The game was tied 36-36 with two minutes to play in the third quarter but Holešínská scored with 44 seconds to give the Tar Heels a 38-36 lead heading into the final 10 minutes. The Tar Heel guard opened the first half with another layup, following a steal by freshman Deja Kelly, to make it 40-36 UNC. Wake then used a 9-2 run to take control and claim the lead for good.

The Tar Heels stayed close and cut it to three with 30 seconds to play on a layup by Bailey. UNC fouled and Christina Morra hit both free throws on the other end to again put the home team up by five. UNC's Stephanie Watts hit a three with seven seconds to play to make it a two-point game. After Carolina fouled to stop the clock, Wake's Ivana Raca made one of her two free throws to again make the WFU lead three. A long three-point attempt by UNC's Ariel Young bounced off the front of the rim as the final buzzer sounded.

UNC will see Wake Forest again soon, as the Demon Deacons visit Carmichael Arena on Dec. 20. In the meantime, the Tar Heels travel to face second-ranked Louisville on Sunday and then host Syracuse on Dec. 17.

"In this league you've got to find a way to get to a certain number of wins and this is one we thought we could've gotten," Banghart said. "And now we've got to go to the next one and the next one and the next one. But It doesn't matter how you start, it matters how the whole journey goes. If we learn and are tougher from this we'll be a better team moving forward."