WBB Battles For Comeback Win Over Vermont

Friday, November 24

Estero, Fla.

1:30 PM

North Carolina

5-0,0-0ACC

Vermont

3-2,0-0America East

Vermont

North Carolina

Lexi Donarski ceebrates late in UNC's win over Vermont Friday.

November 24, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Game Notes vs. K-State

ESTERO, Fla. – North Carolina trailed for most of the game and was down nine points with less than five minutes to play, but pulled out a 54-51 women's basketball victory over Vermont Friday in the Tar Heels' opening game of the Gulf Coast Showcase. The Carolina captains led the way at Hertz Arena, with Deja Kelly scoring 18 and Alyssa Ustby notching her third double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 boards as the Tar Heels rallied to improve to 5-0.

"What a win," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "We really gutted it out."

Looming next is UNC's first ranked opponent of the season. The No. 18 Tar Heels take on No. 16 Kansas State Saturday at 5 p.m. in the tournament semifinals.

Heading into Friday's game, Carolina had trailed for a combined 2:15 in the entire season while opening with four homecourt wins. But the Catamounts took the lead late in a low-scoring first quarter and held onto it all the way into the fourth period. Vermont led 13-8 at the end of the first quarter, with eight points equaling UNC's lowest-scoring quarter of the season, and was up 28-17 at halftime. The Tar Heels shot 24.2 percent in the first half (8-33) and were 0-9 from three-point range. They were also 1-7 from the foul line in the first 20 minutes.

Graduate student Lexi Donarski didn't play in the first half, as Banghart hoped to rest her while an ankle injury heals. "I said if we need you, you'll play," Banghart said afterward, explaining that Donarski really wanted to play. "And we needed her."

Donarski started the third quarter and hit Carolina's first three-pointer less than a minute into the period. She accounted for UNC's only two three-pointers of the day as the Tar Heels finished 2-16 from long range. That made the margin eight, but UVM answered with a three to push its lead back out to double digits, and UNC never got any closer than nine in the period.

Kelly opened the fourth with a free throw and a jumper to cut the margin to six, then hit another free throw to make it five. Vermont nailed back-to-back threes to stretch the margin to 11, but Kelly again answered to cut it to single digits, 45-36 with 6:39 remaining. Donarski then drilled her second three to make it six again, but the Catamounts answered with a three of their own to make the margin nine, 48-39, with 4:36 to play.

The Tar Heels then closed the game with a 15-3 run, with sophomore Kayla McPherson scoring six points – her entire output for the game – in that span. Kelly and Ustby had four each and Donarski added a free throw for the Tar Heels' final point. UNC committed just one turnover in the final quarter while forcing the Catamounts into five in the final 10 minutes and a total of 13 for the day.

UNC's final score was its lowest of the season so far and the final shooting percentage of 32.8 was just better than the season-low 32.7 against Hampton on Nov. 15. The Tar Heels' final three-point percentage of 12.5 was by far the worst of the season, as was the 46.2 percent free throw shooting. (UNC's next-lowest has been 65.4 percent.)

"There weren't a lot of feel-good moments in that game and you just had to keep punching," Banghart said. "That's great for this team to have to have done that and to have come out successful doing that because it wasn't pretty or easy. There were no minutes of 'oh right, this is our rhythm.' We just had to fight, and they did it."