Tar Heels Open ACC WBB Play With Win Over Clemson

Sunday, December 31

Chapel Hill

Noon

North Carolina

9-4,1-0ACC

Clemson

8-6,1-1ACC

Clemson

North Carolina

Carolina opened ACC play Sunday with an 82-76 win over Clemson.

Photo by: AINSLEY E. FAUTH

December 31, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The North Carolina women's basketball team opened Atlantic Coast Conference play and closed out the calendar year Sunday with a homecourt win, beating Clemson 82-76 in front of an enthusiastic crowd at Carmichael Arena.

The No. 24 Tar Heels are now 9-4 overall (1-0 ACC) after their third win in a row. Clemson falls to 8-6 (1-1 ACC).

"Just a good basketball game," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said afterward. "We adjusted to some ball-screen coverages, did a better job of attacking from the high post, did a better job hunting paint touches in transition, and these two [Lexi Donarski and Alyssa Ustby] really carried us a lot of the way. I'm really happy for them and proud of them."

In the final game of 2023, Donarski led Carolina with 23 points, her high so far as a Tar Heel. She hit six three-pointers, matching her UNC high and pacing the team to a season-best 11. Ustby scored 21 points on 8-10 shooting for her second 20-plus game in the past three outings, and she added a team-best 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season and 28^th of her career.

Senior Deja Kelly hit double figures as well, scoring 12 points and flirting with a double-double as she tied her career high with eight assists, half the team's total for the day.

All eight Carolina players who saw action scored at least three points as the Tar Heels topped 80 for the fourth time this season.

Four Tigers hit double figures, with Amari Robinson scoring 21, Dayshanette Harris 19, Ruby Whitehorn 14 and Eno Inyang 10. MaKayla Elmore grabbed 11 rebounds as Clemson edged UNC on the boards, 38-37.

Carolina built a big lead early, rolling out to a 19-5 advantage with just under two minutes to play in the first quarter. Clemson closed the quarter on a 6-0 run and stayed hot to take a one-point lead with 6:12 to play in the period, 23-22 on a second-chance bucket by Inyang. The Tar Heels pulled ahead again on a three by Kelly and held a 35-34 lead at halftime.

The majority of UNC's three-point barrage came in the third quarter, with Donarski hitting four and Kelly and Indya Nivar one each as the Tar Heels went 6-13 from long range to again open up a double-digit advantage.

The margin was back down to three with under five minutes to play but Carolina stayed in control of the game and again earned some breathing room, with a steal and layup by Ustby giving the home team a 10-point lead with 2:33 to play.

"I really like Amanda's team," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said of Clemson coach Amanda Butler's Tigers. "We knew they were going to be hard to guard because they've got fifth-year seniors that are dangerous, they can score off the bounce, they can shoot from three, they've got really good post players – we knew it was going to be a battle. It's shows you how great our league is."

Next up for UNC is another ACC home game, this one on Thursday against Syracuse at Carmichael. Tipoff against the Orange is 6 p.m.