WBB Earns Homecourt Win Over Boston College

Sunday, February 12

Chapel Hill

Noon

North Carolina

18-7,9-5ACC

Boston College

14-14,4-11ACC

Boston College

North Carolina

The Tar Heel bench shows excitement during UNC's win over Boston College.

Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI

February 12, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Redshirt freshman Kayla McPherson scored a career-best 22 points to lead the No. 14 North Carolina women's basketball team to a 73-55 win over Boston College Sunday at Carmichael Arena. McPherson was one of three players to hit double figures and also one of three making their first career starts.

UNC improved to 18-7 overall and 9-5 in Atlantic Coast Conference play while Boston College fell to 14-14 (4-11 ACC).

"Everyone was stepping up in this game and it was much needed," junior Kennedy Todd-Williams said. "As a player, to see that is really good."

Todd-Williams and fellow junior Deja Kelly were the only two members of the team's usual starting lineup able to play on Sunday. Kelly finished with 12 points and Todd-Williams had 16, along with a team-high nine rebounds.

Joining them in the opening five were McPherson, junior Alexandra Zelaya and redshirt freshman Teonni Key, all starting for the first time. Three more Tar Heels – Destiny Adams, Paulina Paris and Malu Tshitenge – saw action off the bench as UNC dressed just eight players for the game.

Seniors Eva Hodgson and Ariel Young and juniors Alyssa Ustby and Anya Poole all were on the bench in sweats, sidelined for various reasons.

"There were three people today who had their first career start and they had to do it at the same time because we're so undermanned," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "We only had eight active. For the three who had their (first) career start, they just did a really good job for us. What Toddy and Deja have been able to do with the varying lineups and who's in and who's out with this injury thing over the last month, they've just handed it really remarkably."

The Tar Heels took the lead for good just under four minutes into the action on a three by McPherson, who hit a career-high four from long range in the game. She scored 10 points in a row in the first quarter to finish the period with more than the opposition: UNC led 19-8 10 minutes in.

Carolina's lead remained in double digits for the rest of the game, ultimately ballooning to 28 (65-37) on a steal and lay-up by Todd-Williams with six minutes remaining.

McPherson was 7-8 from the field for 16 points and six rebounds in the first half and finished with 9-17 shooting for 22 points. Sunday marked her fifth game in uniform for the Tar Heels after missing the entire 2021-22 season and the first 20 games of this season with injuries.

Zelaya led UNC with a career-high five assists and also had a career high in steals with two.

Adams grabbed eight rebounds and also was the team's steals leader with a career-best six, the high by a Tar Heel this season. The team finished with 13, marking the third straight game and fifth time in the past six games that UNC has reached double digits in steals.

Key matched her career high with seven rebounds.

The Tar Heels combined for 11 three-pointers (five different players hit at least one), for a high in ACC play this season and one shy of equaling the team's best of the year. (Carolina hit 12 in a nonconference matchup with Wofford.)

Next up for Carolina is a short trip to Raleigh to face NC State on Thursday. Tipoff at Reynolds Coliseum is 8 p.m. UNC's next home game is next Sunday against Wake Forest.