WBB Set For Round 2 Vs. Virginia On Sunday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – After earning back-to-back homecourt wins, the UNC women's basketball team pivots to a pair of road games starting with a Sunday matchup versus Virginia at John Paul Jones Arena. Tipoff is noon and the game will air on the CW.

No. 20 UNC is 15-5 overall and 7-1 in ACC play after winning its last four games in a row. The Cavaliers are 8-9 overall and 1-7 in ACC play.

Carolina and Virginia faced off two weeks ago with UNC winning 81-68 in Chapel Hill. Virginia is one of four opponents that UNC will play twice this season, and the Tar Heels will have faced off with UVa twice before seeing the other three (Duke, NC State, Virginia Tech) even once.

Heels vs. Hoos
UNC and Virginia are meeting for the 94th time in a series that dates back to the 1975-76 season. The Tar Heels lead the series 59-34 after winning the last eight in a row and 28 of the last 31.
• Jan. 12, 2023: UNC won 70-59 the last time the teams met in Charlottesville, mounting a late comeback after Virginia led by nine with 6:46 to play. Three Tar Heels scored in double figures: Deja Kelly and Kennedy Todd-Williams (who is now playing at Ole Miss) scored 21 each and Alyssa Ustby added 15 points along with seven rebounds, four steals and three blocks. The Tar Heels shot 37.3 percent for the game but made 52.9 percent of their shots in the fourth quarter and outscored the Cavaliers 28-8 in the final period to pull out the win.
• Jan. 14, 2024: Last time the two met, two weeks ago in Chapel Hill, Carolina led throughout the game on the way to an 81-68 win at Carmichael Arena. With more than 90 former players and staff members in the crowd for the annual Alumni Day celebration, the Tar Heels improved to 4-1 in ACC play and 12-5 overall.
Deja Kelly finished with a season-high 27 points, including a season-best four three-pointers, to lead all scorers. Alyssa Ustby added 17 points and 12 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the year and the 30th of her career.
The Tar Heels combined for 20 assists, with five each by Kelly and Ustby, for their high so far in ACC play. Their six blocks – three by Ustby – were then an ACC high, while the nine turnovers were a team low in conference play.

Trending
• The win over Miami marked the first time in ACC play and the fourth time this season that five Tar Heels had scored in double figures. In this case it was the five starters, the third time this season that has happened.

Stats Notes
• Deja Kelly leads the ACC and ranks second in the nation in free throw attempts with 140. She is 39-46 from the line over the last four games (7-8 vs UVa, 10-12 vs Ga Tech, 14-16 vs Louisville, 8-10 vs. Miami), 84.7 percent.
• Maria Gakdeng is shooting .656 from the field, a percentage that would comfortably lead the ACC if she had the required five makes per game to be ranked. (She has 4.2.)
• Against No. 25 Syracuse, Alyssa Ustby became the first player in Division I history to register 15 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists against an AP-ranked opponent. (ESPN Stats and Info)
• Against Virginia, Deja Kelly became the first Tar Heel since at least 2009, the furthest back the stats track, with 25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and only 1 turnover. (HerHoopStats)

Milestone Watch
• Deja Kelly passed the 1,500 career points mark in the Dec. 19 win over Oklahoma, becoming the 25th Tar Heel to reach that milestone. She currently has 1,649 career points, 18th in program history.
• After Anya Poole played in her 100th career game on Jan. 14 vs. Virginia, the Tar Heels have four players on the roster with 100 or more career games. (Deja Kelly, Lexi Donarski, Alyssa Ustby and Poole.)

ACC Action Notables
Eight games into the ACC schedule, Tar Heels have put up impressive numbers in league play:
• Alyssa Ustby has grabbed at least nine rebounds in all but one ACC game (she had four at Georgia Tech) and is leading the league with 10.6 rebounds per game in conference play. On the season, she's averaging 9.5 per game, which ranks fourth in the ACC.
Ustby is tied for ninth in the conference in blocks with 1.6 per ACC game, following a career-best seven against Louisville.
• Lexi Donarski was 13-29 from three-point range through the first three games of the ACC season, including six in the ACC opener against Clemson. She's cooled off since then to go 7-26 in the last five games but is still shooting .364 from three in conference play, a percentage that ranks fourth in the league. Her average of 2.5 makes per ACC game ranks her fifth.
• Deja Kelly ranks eighth in the ACC in assist-turnover ratio at 1.62. Her 4.25 assists per game are eighth in the league. She matched her career high with eight assists against Clemson and handed out six against Louisville.

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Players Mentioned

Lexi Donarski

Maria Gakdeng

Deja Kelly

Anya Poole

Kennedy Todd-Williams

Alyssa Ustby