University of North Carolina Athletics
Sunday, February 4
Chapel Hill
Noon
North Carolina
61
vs
70
Virginia Tech
Carolina played into overtime on Sunday for the first time this season.
Photo by: AINSLEY E. FAUTH
Ranked OT Battle Ends In Loss For WBB
February 4, 2024 | Women's Basketball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Sunday afternoon's ranked women's basketball matchup at Carmichael Arena featured lots of pink, lots of senior standouts and eventually lots of minutes, with No. 24 North Carolina playing into overtime for the first time this season before falling to No. 17 Virginia Tech 70-61 in the program's annual Play4Kay game.
Senior Deja Kelly led the Tar Heels with 26 points, graduate student Lexi Donarski scored 12 and senior Alyssa Ustby added 10 points a tied her season high with 16 rebounds.
Virginia Tech was led by the senior duo of Georgia Amoore (21 points and 11 assists) and Elizabeth Kitley (15 points and 15 rebounds).
UNC (15-8, 7-4 ACC) started slowly, missing its first four shots. The Tar Heels' first points came at the 6:32 mark, when Kelly went to the line and made both. That would prove to be a pattern throughout the game, with the ACC leader in free throw attempts taking 14 over the course of her 45 minutes on the court and making 13 of them.
The Tar Heels trailed 26-20 at halftime, after their lowest-scoring half in ACC play and also their lowest shooting percentage in a half at 23.3 (7-30).
Kelly scored five points in a row coming out of the break to make it a one-point game and the Tar Heels eventually took their first lead on an Ustby layup that made it 31-30 with 6:18 to play in the third quarter. The home team led by three after two Kelly free throws, 33-30 with 3:54 to go in the period, but Matilda Ekh hit one of her four threes on the day to tie it up again. Carolina went back up by two on a three-pointer by Alexandra Zelaya with 36 seconds remaining in the period, but the Hokies tied it again at 39-39 heading into the fourth.
UNC never led after that but the margin was never more than four. An Indya Nivar layup off a steal with 36 seconds in regulation tied the game at 54-54. Virginia Tech got off two threes in the final seconds but didn't hit on either and the game went into overtime still tied at 54, which had it stayed the final would have matched Carolina's lowest score of the season.
The overtime was the first for either team this season and the first in the rivalry since the 2022 ACC Tournament, when the Hokies beat the Tar Heels in a quarterfinals matchup. Virginia Tech led throughout the extra period, with the nine-point final margin matching their largest advantage of the overtime period and the game.
Virginia Tech (18-4, 9-2) won the rebounding battle 52-40, with a season-high for rebounds by a Carolina opponent. The Hokies hit 12 threes, equal to the season high by an opponent. The Tar Heels had a 24-6 advantage in the paint.
Kelly and Donarski played all 45 minutes for Carolina, as did Amoore and Ekh for Virginia Tech.
It was UNC's third loss in a row, with two of those to ranked teams, with the Virginia Tech loss following No. 5 NC State on Thursday. The Tar Heels have a bye on Thursday and return to action on Sunday with a game at Duke.
Notes:
• Play4Kay is an annual event in conjunction with the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and honoring legendary NC State coach Kay Yow. For more information, click here. UNC honored cancer survivors who took the court at halftime to applause from the crowd.
• Deja Kelly's seven rebounds were her second highest total of the season and the most in ACC play.
• Alexandra Zelaya hit two threes in a game for the first time in her career. She finished with a season-best six points in a season-high 18 minutes. All of her points and 16 of her minutes came after halftime.
• Lexi Donarski tied her season high with a team-best three steals while playing all 45 minutes without a turnover.
Senior Deja Kelly led the Tar Heels with 26 points, graduate student Lexi Donarski scored 12 and senior Alyssa Ustby added 10 points a tied her season high with 16 rebounds.
Virginia Tech was led by the senior duo of Georgia Amoore (21 points and 11 assists) and Elizabeth Kitley (15 points and 15 rebounds).
UNC (15-8, 7-4 ACC) started slowly, missing its first four shots. The Tar Heels' first points came at the 6:32 mark, when Kelly went to the line and made both. That would prove to be a pattern throughout the game, with the ACC leader in free throw attempts taking 14 over the course of her 45 minutes on the court and making 13 of them.
The Tar Heels trailed 26-20 at halftime, after their lowest-scoring half in ACC play and also their lowest shooting percentage in a half at 23.3 (7-30).
Kelly scored five points in a row coming out of the break to make it a one-point game and the Tar Heels eventually took their first lead on an Ustby layup that made it 31-30 with 6:18 to play in the third quarter. The home team led by three after two Kelly free throws, 33-30 with 3:54 to go in the period, but Matilda Ekh hit one of her four threes on the day to tie it up again. Carolina went back up by two on a three-pointer by Alexandra Zelaya with 36 seconds remaining in the period, but the Hokies tied it again at 39-39 heading into the fourth.
UNC never led after that but the margin was never more than four. An Indya Nivar layup off a steal with 36 seconds in regulation tied the game at 54-54. Virginia Tech got off two threes in the final seconds but didn't hit on either and the game went into overtime still tied at 54, which had it stayed the final would have matched Carolina's lowest score of the season.
The overtime was the first for either team this season and the first in the rivalry since the 2022 ACC Tournament, when the Hokies beat the Tar Heels in a quarterfinals matchup. Virginia Tech led throughout the extra period, with the nine-point final margin matching their largest advantage of the overtime period and the game.
Virginia Tech (18-4, 9-2) won the rebounding battle 52-40, with a season-high for rebounds by a Carolina opponent. The Hokies hit 12 threes, equal to the season high by an opponent. The Tar Heels had a 24-6 advantage in the paint.
Kelly and Donarski played all 45 minutes for Carolina, as did Amoore and Ekh for Virginia Tech.
It was UNC's third loss in a row, with two of those to ranked teams, with the Virginia Tech loss following No. 5 NC State on Thursday. The Tar Heels have a bye on Thursday and return to action on Sunday with a game at Duke.
Notes:
• Play4Kay is an annual event in conjunction with the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and honoring legendary NC State coach Kay Yow. For more information, click here. UNC honored cancer survivors who took the court at halftime to applause from the crowd.
• Deja Kelly's seven rebounds were her second highest total of the season and the most in ACC play.
• Alexandra Zelaya hit two threes in a game for the first time in her career. She finished with a season-best six points in a season-high 18 minutes. All of her points and 16 of her minutes came after halftime.
• Lexi Donarski tied her season high with a team-best three steals while playing all 45 minutes without a turnover.
Players Mentioned
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