WBB Battles Back But Falls At OSU In NCAA Play

Monday, March 20

Columbus, Ohio

4 PM

North Carolina

Ohio State (NCAA Second Round)

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

March 20, 2023 | Women's Basketball

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – After trailing by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter, the North Carolina women's basketball team fought back to take a late lead but ultimately fell to third-seeded Ohio State Monday in NCAA Tournament second-round action at OSU's Value City Arena.

The Tar Heels, who were seeded sixth in the Seattle 3 Region, end their season at 22-11, making their third NCAA Tournament appearance in a row but falling short of back-to-back Sweet 16 trips after Ohio State's Jacy Shelton hit the go-ahead basket with 1.8 seconds on the clock.

"It's the beauty of March and it's the brutality of March," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "The worst thing to do is to walk into a locker room and know their heart hurts and tell 'em it's over. It's just the worst, as you can imagine.

"Credit to Ohio State. They had to beat a really good team and they did, and they get to continue on. So credit to them. They're as happy as we are sad. That's just how March goes."

Tar Heel junior Deja Kelly led all scorers with 22 points, marking her 10th game of the season with 20 or more points.. Classmates Alyssa Ustby and Kennedy Todd-Williams scored 16 each, and Ustby led Carolina on the boards with nine.

After OSU went up by 12 with 7:02 to play, UNC went on a 13-2 run to get back in the game in the final minutes. Much of that run was made without two starters, as senior Eva Hodgson left the game with eight minutes remaining and didn't return after hitting her head. Kelly injured her knee and was helped off the court with 6:59 to play and her team still down by 12.

"There's one thing we say before every game is that we got each other's backs," said Ustby, who scored eight of her points in that final stretch. "So when Deja went out, we huddled together, like, 'guys we got this, we're doing it for Deja and we're doing it for all of us to give us the best chance to win.'"

Kelly came back in at the 2:33 mark and was crucial down the stretch. She hit two free throws shortly after reentering to pull UNC within one, 66-65. Following a Buckeye turnover, freshman Paulina Paris scored on a layup in transition to give Carolina its first lead of the game at 67-66 with 2:09 to play.

After a basket and one of two free throws by OSU's Shelton again put the home team up by two, Kelly hit a jumper to tie the game at 69 with nine seconds to play, setting up the thrilling finish.

UNC's first-round game was similarly exciting, but on Saturday the Tar Heels were the ones celebrating after beating St. John's 61-59 to move on to the second round.

On Monday, Carolina got off to a chilly start, missing its first six shots and trailing 11-2 at the first media timeout midway through the first quarter. UNC was down 33-28 at halftime.

The Tar Heels within one on two free throws by Todd-Williams with 54 seconds to play in the third quarter, but the Buckeyes again extended their lead to five heading into the fourth.

OSU opened the period on a 6-0 run to go up by 11 and appeared ready to run away with the game. The largest margin of the game came on a three by Taylor Mikesell that put her team up 62-50 with 7:02 to play. But a bucket by Ustby, who was 4-4 in the fourth quarter, started the comeback 16 seconds later and the Tar Heels fought to the finish.

"Incredible basketball game," OSU coach Kevin McGuff said. "I think both teams played extremely hard. Credit North Carolina with an incredible season. They have a very talented group, and Courtney's done a great job building that program.

"So this is a great win for us because it puts us in the Sweet 16, but also just have I so much respect for North Carolina. So we beat a great opponent today."

OSU shot 50 percent from the field (25-50) and is just the third opponent this season – and the first since Indiana on Dec. 1 – to shoot 50 percent or better from the field. The Buckeyes won the rebounding battle.33-29.

The game marked the end of the Carolina careers of Eva Hodgson, Malu Tshitenge and Ariel Young. Young's career had been ended by injury and Tshitenge did not see action, but Hodgson started and was 2-2 from three-point range in 15 minutes of play.