Eight Straight: WBB Tops Virginia, 73-62

Thursday, February 2

Chapel Hill

6 PM

North Carolina

Virginia

Anya Poole (31) led UNC with eight rebounds in Thursday's win.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

February 2, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – With a balanced scoring effort and the team's best shooting percentage in Atlantic Coast Conference play, No. 11 North Carolina beat Virginia 73-62 Thursday evening in a women's basketball matchup at Carmichael Arena.

The win was the eighth in a row for UNC (17-5, 8-3 ACC), which is on the program's longest conference winning streak since the 2008-09 season. The Tar Heels beat the Cavaliers (14-9, 3-9) for the second time this season, with the other a 70-59 come-from-behind win in Charlottesville on Jan. 12.

Redshirt freshman guard Kayla McPherson, playing at Carmichael for the first time after making her collegiate debut in UNC's win at Clemson on Sunday, led the Tar Heels in scoring with 14 points in 18 minutes of play off the bench. She was 6-10 from the field, 2-3 from three-point range, and also had a team-best four assists. Four juniors, all of whom are in the starting lineup, also reached double figures: Deja Kelly had 13 points, Alyssa Ustby 12, and Anya Poole and Kennedy Todd-Williams 11 each.

"This team is hard to guard when we've got all of our pieces getting better and better and better," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said.

Poole led the team in rebounds with eight.

London Clarkson came off the UVA bench to score a game-high 23. Mckenna Dale had 15 and Camryn Taylor 10 for Virginia, which won the rebounding battle by one, 30-29.

Despite missing its first five shots and shooting 30 percent in the first quarter, Carolina finished the game shooting 53.1 percent from the field, a season best in ACC play and UNC's third-highest overall.

Next up for UNC is a trip to Louisville, where the Tar Heels take on the Cardinals on Sunday at noon.