WBB Falls In Top-25 Road Battle

Sunday, January 16

South Bend, Ind.

1 PM

North Carolina

14-2,4-2ACC

Notre Dame

13-3,4-1ACC

North Carolina

Notre Dame

Deja Kelly led UNC with 22 points on Sunday at Notre Dame.

Photo by: Austin Mariasy

January 16, 2022 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – In a Top-25 matchup that saw North Carolina lead by as many as nine in the first half and Notre Dame by as many as 11 in the second, the Fighting Irish ultimately earned a 70-65 win Sunday afternoon on their home court.

The No. 21 Tar Heels (14-2, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) are back home on Thursday, hosting Virginia for a 6 p.m. tip-off at Carmichael Arena.

Deja Kelly led UNC with 22 points, her fifth 20-point scoring game of the season. Alyssa Ustby finished with 15 and Kennedy Todd-Williams with 13. Anya Poole, a sophomore like Kelly, Todd-Williams and Ustby, led the rebounding effort with 12 as the Tar Heels outrebounded their hosts 45-37.

"We've got a bunch of fighters," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "We might be young, but when you look at people like [Ustby] and [Kelly], you see in their eyes, 'It doesn't matter, we're going.' You've got to start with who you are, and who we are is a team that's full of toughness, full of grit and really connected, so that gives you a chance every night. We know this was a winnable game so our kids are disappointed, so am I."

No. 20 Notre Dame improved to 13-3 (4-1 ACC) in its first home game at Purcell Pavilion in nearly a month. Now 5-0 against Carolina on their home court, the Fighting Irish were led by Dara Mabrey's 24 points. Mabrey's total, which included six three-pointers, marked the most by a Tar Heel opponent this season. Three other Irish players hit double digits and two notched double-doubles, with Maya Dodson at 10 points, 11 boards and Sonia Citron with 12 points and 10 boards off the bench.

The Tar Heels came into the game with a question mark, knowing they'd be without junior guard Eva Hodgson (out due to Covid protocols) and her 11.2 points per game. But Carolina jumped to an early lead, with Todd-Williams hitting a three just 23 seconds into the action. UNC led for the rest of the half and was up by as many as nine points midway through the second quarter.

Carolina led by one at the half, 34-33.

Notre Dame took its first lead of the game at 39-37 on a three-pointer by Olivia Miles with 8:18 to play in the third quarter, and once the Fighting Irish had the advantage they kept it for good. UNC trailed by 11 midway through the third period, but pulled within two on a three-pointer by Kelly with 2:07 to play in the third. The Tar Heels kept it in single digits into the fourth and cut the margin to one on a three by Carlie Littlefield with 8:17 to play, but Notre Dame scored the next five points to lead 61-55 with 6:22 to play.

A three by Kelly with 5:29 remaining made it 61-58, but the Fighting Irish scored the next seven points to regain a double-digit lead, 68-58 with 2:43.

UNC, which won at Boston College after trailing by seven with 2:23 to play, kept battling. Kelly hit a three and completed her second four-point play of the game with 1:08 remaining to make it a six-point game, 68-62, then Ustby hit a free throw to make it a five-point margin, but UNC got no closer. After two free throws by Mabrey, Kelly answered with two of her own to again make the margin five, 70-65, which stood up as the final score.

Notre Dame's 17 free throws and 24 attempts were highs by a UNC opponent this year, as were the Fighting Irish's nine blocked shots. On the other hand, the Tar Heels took a season-low eight free throws, making seven of them, equal to a season low.

The Tar Heels, who came into the game leading the ACC in steals, matched their season low in that category with four.

"Obviously not having Eva forced us to play a little bit different way," Banghart said. "We weren't able to generate as many turnovers as we typically do because we had to conserve bodies and fouls and play more zone. We got a good opportunity to get our zone better, which will help us down the line."