University of North Carolina Athletics
Saturday, March 19
Tucson, Ariz.
7:30 PM (ET)
North Carolina
24-6,13-5ACC
79
vs
66
Stephen F. Austin (NCAA 1st Round)
28-5,17-1WAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFA | 18 | 18 | 20 | 10 | 66 |
| North Carolina | 18 | 15 | 21 | 25 | 79 |
Team Stats
SFA
UNC
FG%
.338
.464
3FG%
.310
.391
FT%
.813
.783
RB
36
38
TO
13
16
STL
7
5
Game Leaders
Pts
28
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
8
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
Deja Kelly exploded for 28 points in the win.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Kelly Leads WBB Past Stephen F. Austin, 79-66, In NCAA First Round
March 19, 2022 | Women's Basketball
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TUCSON, Ariz. – Five Tar Heels hit double figures and UNC more than doubled up Stephen F. Austin in a pivotal fourth quarter on the way to a 79-66 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament first round win on Saturday at the McKale Center. Carolina (24-6) advanced to the tournament's second round for the first time since 2015 and will meet host Arizona on Monday for a spot in the Sweet 16.
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"What I'll remember about this game is how much these guys trusted each other," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "It's a huge win for our program with how far we've come and we're looking forward to the next opportunity."
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Sophomore Deja Kelly led all scorers with 28 points, topping 20 for the seventh time this season. She was 8-15 from the field with four three-pointers and hit all eight of her free throws. Kennedy Todd-Williams, also a sophomore, had 15 points. Carlie Littlefield and Alyssa Ustby scored 13 each and Eva Hodgson added 10.
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🗣️ I was going to do whatever it took to pull out this game – @dejakelly25 #GoHeels x #InPursuit x #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/IbCpDQKtW1— Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) March 20, 2022
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Littlefield led Carolina with nine rebounds, one shy of matching her career high, and Ustby grabbed eight as the Tar Heels outrebounded the Ladyjacks 22-14 after halftime to win the rebounding battle for the 10th game in a row, 38-36 overall.
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The teams were tied at 18 after the first quarter but SFA opened up a 10-point lead in the second quarter and still led by three at halftime, 36-33. Although Carolina made runs, SFA still led at the end of the third quarter, 56-54.
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But the fourth quarter was all Carolina. Hodgson tied the game at 56-56 with a floater just over a minute in and then Todd-Williams drove for a bucket that gave the Tar Heels a lead they'd hold onto. A pair of free throws from Hodgson made it a four-point advantage before SFA's Zya Nugent, who finished with 26 points, hit one of her five 3-pointers to make the margin one. After that the Tar Heels went on a 10-0 run – a long two by Todd-Williams, back-to-back threes by Kelly and Littlefield, then another jumper from Kelly – to go up 70-59, and they held onto the double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
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Carolina shot 53.8 (7-13) from the field in the fourth quarter and nine of 10 free throw attempts.
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"I think in the fourth quarter we just had to dig deep," Ustby said. " Everybody is tired at that point. You're playing a great opponent so it's all about doing the little things, talking to your teammates, getting in gaps, being on help-side defense. We really had to focus and lock in defensively to keep them off the scoreboard."
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Monday's game will tip off at 10 p.m. ET/7 MST on ESPN2.
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