Sunday, January 24
Chapel Hill
Noon
North Carolina
8-5,3-5ACC
78
vs
73
Notre Dame
8-6,6-4ACC
1
2
3
4
F
Notre Dame
16
19
23
15
73
North Carolina
17
22
15
24
78
Stephanie Watts (left) and Petra Holešínská led UNC on Sunday against Notre Dame.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Women's Basketball Battles Back To Beat Notre Dame
January 24, 2021 | Women's Basketball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Experience led the way for the Tar Heels Sunday as the UNC women's basketball team beat Notre Dame 78-73 at Carmichael Arena. Carolina's graduate student guards both hit season highs in scoring with Stephanie Watts notching 25 points and Petra Holešínská 24.
The Tar Heels improved to 8-5 overall and 3-5 in Atlantic Coast Conference play and snapped a three-game losing streak with the win over the Fighting Irish (8-6, 6-4). Next up is a trip to Louisville on Thursday to face the top-ranked Cardinals.
In addition to her 25 points, Watts tied her season high with 12 rebounds – six of them in the fourth quarter alone – and handed out a career-high nine assists. She was just one assist from registering the first triple-double in UNC program history.
"I knew my team needed me to come out with energy," Watts said. "I think when you do that, good things happen."
Senior center Janelle Bailey added 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting and freshman Alyssa Ustby also had 12, hitting six of her nine field goal attempts (six of seven from inside the arc). Ustby and sophomore Malu Tshitenge grabbed eight boards each for UNC, which won the rebounding battle 42-38.
Dara Mabrey led four Notre Dame players in double figures with 23 points, including five three-pointers.
Watts, who broke out of a shooting slump with 15 points in UNC's most recent game, at Syracuse on Tuesday, started the day hot, scoring seven of the Tar Heels' first 10 points. UNC led by one, 17-16, after the first quarter but then went on a 9-0 run to start the second. Holešínskáá hit one of her six three-pointers to put the Tar Heels up by 14, 36-22, with 3:34 to play before halftime.
The Irish closed the half with a 13-3 run to make it a four-point game, 39-35, at the break. The Tar Heels had 14 assists on 16 first-half baskets and finished the day with 22 (a season-high in ACC play) on 29 makes.
The third quarter saw Notre Dame move ahead, outscoring the Tar Heels 23-15 to take a 58-54 lead going into the final 10 minutes.
The Irish held onto the advantage through most of the fourth quarter, with UNC cutting the margin to one on several occasions but not leading until a Holešínská jumper with 1:42 to play made it 73-72 Tar Heels.
Notre Dame's Anaya Peoples hit a free throw to tie the score at 73-73 with 1:18 to play, but the Irish didn't score again after that. Watts had two defensive rebounds in the final seven seconds of play to keep the ball in Carolina's hands, and she and Holešínská both stepped up to make free throws down the stretch for the final five-point margin of victory.
"We fought really hard, down seven in the fourth but people stepped up, hit shots, made plays," saidHolešínská, who was honored before the game for having scored her 1,000th career point earlier this season. "On the defensive end, Steph really battled on the rebounds. I felt like we just did a good job as a team coming back and not giving up."
The Tar Heels' 10 threes on the day – six from Holešínská and four from Watts – marked the team's highest total in ACC play this year. The 22 assists were also a team best in ACC play and the second-highest of the year, behind only to the team's 27 in scoring 98 points in a nonconference win over South Carolina State. UNC also tied a season high with six blocks.
"What a great game for women's basketball – two good teams battling it out," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "Honestly, I know it's cliché but I could not be happier for our group. They continue to fight and continue to get better. I've been saying it all along—this is not a team that takes the short cut. They keep going and keep getting better. We knew it was just going to be a matter of time until we could get all the pieces playing well."
The Tar Heels improved to 8-5 overall and 3-5 in Atlantic Coast Conference play and snapped a three-game losing streak with the win over the Fighting Irish (8-6, 6-4). Next up is a trip to Louisville on Thursday to face the top-ranked Cardinals.
In addition to her 25 points, Watts tied her season high with 12 rebounds – six of them in the fourth quarter alone – and handed out a career-high nine assists. She was just one assist from registering the first triple-double in UNC program history.
"I knew my team needed me to come out with energy," Watts said. "I think when you do that, good things happen."
🔥🔥🔥 performances by @swatts15 and @pholesinska led us to a BIG late win in Carmichael!
Highlights from today's game ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/5DxdipDta7
— Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) January 24, 2021
Senior center Janelle Bailey added 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting and freshman Alyssa Ustby also had 12, hitting six of her nine field goal attempts (six of seven from inside the arc). Ustby and sophomore Malu Tshitenge grabbed eight boards each for UNC, which won the rebounding battle 42-38.
Dara Mabrey led four Notre Dame players in double figures with 23 points, including five three-pointers.
Watts, who broke out of a shooting slump with 15 points in UNC's most recent game, at Syracuse on Tuesday, started the day hot, scoring seven of the Tar Heels' first 10 points. UNC led by one, 17-16, after the first quarter but then went on a 9-0 run to start the second. Holešínskáá hit one of her six three-pointers to put the Tar Heels up by 14, 36-22, with 3:34 to play before halftime.
The Irish closed the half with a 13-3 run to make it a four-point game, 39-35, at the break. The Tar Heels had 14 assists on 16 first-half baskets and finished the day with 22 (a season-high in ACC play) on 29 makes.
The third quarter saw Notre Dame move ahead, outscoring the Tar Heels 23-15 to take a 58-54 lead going into the final 10 minutes.
The Irish held onto the advantage through most of the fourth quarter, with UNC cutting the margin to one on several occasions but not leading until a Holešínská jumper with 1:42 to play made it 73-72 Tar Heels.
Notre Dame's Anaya Peoples hit a free throw to tie the score at 73-73 with 1:18 to play, but the Irish didn't score again after that. Watts had two defensive rebounds in the final seven seconds of play to keep the ball in Carolina's hands, and she and Holešínská both stepped up to make free throws down the stretch for the final five-point margin of victory.
"We fought really hard, down seven in the fourth but people stepped up, hit shots, made plays," saidHolešínská, who was honored before the game for having scored her 1,000th career point earlier this season. "On the defensive end, Steph really battled on the rebounds. I felt like we just did a good job as a team coming back and not giving up."
The Tar Heels' 10 threes on the day – six from Holešínská and four from Watts – marked the team's highest total in ACC play this year. The 22 assists were also a team best in ACC play and the second-highest of the year, behind only to the team's 27 in scoring 98 points in a nonconference win over South Carolina State. UNC also tied a season high with six blocks.
"What a great game for women's basketball – two good teams battling it out," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "Honestly, I know it's cliché but I could not be happier for our group. They continue to fight and continue to get better. I've been saying it all along—this is not a team that takes the short cut. They keep going and keep getting better. We knew it was just going to be a matter of time until we could get all the pieces playing well."
Team Stats
ND
UNC
FG%
.394
.446
3FG%
.318
.357
FT%
.824
.556
RB
38
42
TO
13
15
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
5
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
6
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Center
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's BasketballG
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