University of North Carolina Athletics
Sunday, February 18
Winston-Salem, N.C.
6 PM
North Carolina
at
Wake Forest
Following a homecourt win on Thursday, the Tar Heels look for a road win at Wake Forest Sunday.
Photo by: Jerome M. Ibrahim
WBB Hits The Road To Take On Wake Forest
February 18, 2024 | Women's Basketball
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The North Carolina women's basketball team takes on Wake Forest Sunday at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, looking to pick up an Atlantic Coast Conference road win. The Tar Heels come into the contest at 16-9 overall and 8-5 in ACC play following a homecourt win over Pitt on Thursday. The Demon Deacons are 4-21 (0-13 ACC) coming off a loss to Florida State.
The game tips off at 6 p.m. and will air on ACC Network.
Heels vs. Deacs
The Tar Heels and Demon Deacons are meeting for the 86th time in a series that dates back to the 1974-75 season, UNC's first as a varsity program under the umbrella of the University of North Carolina Department of Athletics. Carolina leads the series 67-18 after winning the last two matchups, 78-59 in Winston-Salem on Feb. 3, 2022, and 71-58 in Chapel Hill on Feb. 19, 2023.
• In last season's matchup, Deja Kelly led Carolina with a game-high 24 points. The homecourt win improved the Tar Heels to 19-8 overall and 10-9 in ACC play, the program's 23rd 10-win ACC season and second in a row.
Kelly scored Carolina's first eight points of the game on perfect shooting, including a four-point play. As a team, UNC shot 50.8 percent from the field.
Alyssa Ustby, the team's top rebounder, missed that game with an injury.
• In the most recent meeting in Winston-Salem (2/3/22), six Tar Heels scored eight points or more each as Carolina won 78-59 to give coach Courtney Banghart her 300th career win. Alyssa Ustby turned in a double-double with 18 points (including five in the first 39 seconds of play) and 10 rebounds. Deja Kelly added 12.
• Prior to the 2022 Tar Heel win, Wake had won three in a row in Winston-Salem.
• Three of the teams' last nine meetings have gone into OT, with UNC winning two of those.
Up Next
The Tar Heels return home to host NC State Thursday night for the teams' second meeting of the season and Carolina's sixth consecutive game in the state.
UNC steps out of North Carolina for the first time this month on Feb. 25 to face Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., then travels to play Boston College on Feb. 29.
Notable
• Graduate guard Lexi Donarski reached 1,500 career points with her first three-pointer of Thursday's game. She finished the game with team-high 20 points, including six three pointers. She's the second player on this year's team to pass 1,500 this season – Deja Kelly did so in the Dec. 19 game vs. Oklahoma.
• Deja Kelly has been to the foul line 10 or more times in six of the past eight games, including a 9-11 night against Pitt. Over the past four games, she's 32-35 from the line (.914). On the season, she's second in the nation with 185 attempts (7.4 per game).
Thirteen games into the ACC schedule, Tar Heels have put up impressive numbers in league play:
• Alyssa Ustby has grabbed at least seven rebounds in all but one ACC game (she had four at Georgia Tech) and is fourth in the league with 10.46 rebounds per game in conference play. Along with her 12.1 points per game, she's averaging a double-double in ACC play (one of four players in the league).
Ustby is fifth in the conference in blocks with 1.69 per ACC game. She had a career-best seven against Louisville.
• Two Tar Heels are in the top seven in assist-turnover ratio with Deja Kelly fifth at 1.58 and Alyssa Ustby seventh at 1.54. UNC is the only team with two players in the top 10.
• Seven players on the roster have at least one 20-point game in a UNC uniform. Deja Kelly has hit 20 points on 31 occasions (10 this season, including seven in ACC play). Alyssa Ustby has reached 20 seven times (two this year), Lexi Donarski three times (including last game against Pitt), and Maria Gakdeng twice. Freshman Reniya Kelly has scored 20 once, and Paulina Paris and Kayla McPherson each had a 20-point game during the 2022-23 season.
• Maria Gakdeng is shooting .617 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 3.8 per game.) With a career FG percentage of 58.9, Gakdeng ranks 19th among all active DI players.
The game tips off at 6 p.m. and will air on ACC Network.
Heels vs. Deacs
The Tar Heels and Demon Deacons are meeting for the 86th time in a series that dates back to the 1974-75 season, UNC's first as a varsity program under the umbrella of the University of North Carolina Department of Athletics. Carolina leads the series 67-18 after winning the last two matchups, 78-59 in Winston-Salem on Feb. 3, 2022, and 71-58 in Chapel Hill on Feb. 19, 2023.
• In last season's matchup, Deja Kelly led Carolina with a game-high 24 points. The homecourt win improved the Tar Heels to 19-8 overall and 10-9 in ACC play, the program's 23rd 10-win ACC season and second in a row.
Kelly scored Carolina's first eight points of the game on perfect shooting, including a four-point play. As a team, UNC shot 50.8 percent from the field.
Alyssa Ustby, the team's top rebounder, missed that game with an injury.
• In the most recent meeting in Winston-Salem (2/3/22), six Tar Heels scored eight points or more each as Carolina won 78-59 to give coach Courtney Banghart her 300th career win. Alyssa Ustby turned in a double-double with 18 points (including five in the first 39 seconds of play) and 10 rebounds. Deja Kelly added 12.
• Prior to the 2022 Tar Heel win, Wake had won three in a row in Winston-Salem.
• Three of the teams' last nine meetings have gone into OT, with UNC winning two of those.
Up Next
The Tar Heels return home to host NC State Thursday night for the teams' second meeting of the season and Carolina's sixth consecutive game in the state.
UNC steps out of North Carolina for the first time this month on Feb. 25 to face Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., then travels to play Boston College on Feb. 29.
Notable
• Graduate guard Lexi Donarski reached 1,500 career points with her first three-pointer of Thursday's game. She finished the game with team-high 20 points, including six three pointers. She's the second player on this year's team to pass 1,500 this season – Deja Kelly did so in the Dec. 19 game vs. Oklahoma.
• Deja Kelly has been to the foul line 10 or more times in six of the past eight games, including a 9-11 night against Pitt. Over the past four games, she's 32-35 from the line (.914). On the season, she's second in the nation with 185 attempts (7.4 per game).
Thirteen games into the ACC schedule, Tar Heels have put up impressive numbers in league play:
• Alyssa Ustby has grabbed at least seven rebounds in all but one ACC game (she had four at Georgia Tech) and is fourth in the league with 10.46 rebounds per game in conference play. Along with her 12.1 points per game, she's averaging a double-double in ACC play (one of four players in the league).
Ustby is fifth in the conference in blocks with 1.69 per ACC game. She had a career-best seven against Louisville.
• Two Tar Heels are in the top seven in assist-turnover ratio with Deja Kelly fifth at 1.58 and Alyssa Ustby seventh at 1.54. UNC is the only team with two players in the top 10.
• Seven players on the roster have at least one 20-point game in a UNC uniform. Deja Kelly has hit 20 points on 31 occasions (10 this season, including seven in ACC play). Alyssa Ustby has reached 20 seven times (two this year), Lexi Donarski three times (including last game against Pitt), and Maria Gakdeng twice. Freshman Reniya Kelly has scored 20 once, and Paulina Paris and Kayla McPherson each had a 20-point game during the 2022-23 season.
• Maria Gakdeng is shooting .617 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 3.8 per game.) With a career FG percentage of 58.9, Gakdeng ranks 19th among all active DI players.
Players Mentioned
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