Kelly Scores 24 To Pace WBB In Win Over Wake

Sunday, February 19

Chapel Hill

4 PM

North Carolina

Wake Forest

Deja Kelly, No. 25, was a point away from scoring her number in Sunday's win over Wake Forest.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

February 19, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Junior guard Deja Kelly scored a game-high 24 points to lead the No. 19 North Carolina women's basketball team to a 71-58 homecourt win over Wake Forest Sunday afternoon at Carmichael Arena.

The Tar Heels improved to 19-8 overall and 10-6 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, notching the 23^rd 10-win ACC season in program history and the second in a row. After Kelly's 24, Destiny Adams had 11 off the bench and Kennedy Todd-Williams scored 10.

Wake Forest fell to 14-13 (5-11). Demon Deacon junior Jewel Spear, who ranks sixth in the ACC in scoring, finished above her average with 19 points, including 5 three-pointers. Elise Williams added 11 for WFU.

Kelly was hot from the start, scoring UNC's first eight points of the game on perfect shooting, including a three on which she was fouled and then made the free throw.

UNC made its first five shots of the day and stayed on-target throughout the game, shooting better than 50 percent in the first, second and third quarters and finishing at 50.8 percent from the field for the day. It's the team's second-best shooting percentage in ACC play.

Wake led 20-17 after the first quarter after shooting 54.4 percent overall and hitting 4 of 7 three-pointers, but the Tar Heels quickly grabbed the lead in the second quarter and held onto it for most of the remainder of the game. Destiny Adams – coincidentally, she's wears No. 20 – tied the game at 20-20 with a three-pointer 11 seconds into the second quarter. That kicked off a 9-0 run for the Tar Heels, who moved ahead 26-20 before Wake Forest scored in the quarter.

The Tar Heels led through most of the period until Wake used a 7-0 run to go up by two on a three-pointer by Spear with 2:18 to play before halftime. Carolina answered 25 seconds later with a three by Todd-Williams to regain the lead, and the home team never trailed again.

UNC was up by four, 40-36, at halftime and came out of the break with a 6-0 run to go ahead by 10. Wake never got closer than eight after that and Carolina led by double digits throughout the fourth quarter.

Although still without junior Alyssa Ustby, who leads the team and ranks fourth in the ACC in rebounds but is out with an injury, the Tar Heels won the rebounding battle 34-26, with five each from Kelly and Todd-Williams.

Kelly also led the team in assists with six and Todd-Williams had five. UNC's 18 assists are the team's highest total in ACC play this season.

UNC is back in action on Thursday, hosting Virginia Tech for the final home game of the regular season. The Tar Heels will celebrate Senior Night, honoring Eva Hodgson, Malu Tshitenge and Ariel Young after the game.