Tar Heels Fall 60-59 To Miami In ACC WBB Tournament Action

Thursday, March 7

Greensboro, N.C.

1:30 PM

North Carolina

Miami (ACC Tournament Second Round)

The Tar Heels fell by one to Miami, 60-59.

March 7, 2024 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

GREENSBORO, N.C. – A promising start changed course after halftime and North Carolina saw its stay at the Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament end Thursday after a single game. Despite trailing for just 3:09 of the game's 40 minutes, UNC came out on the wrong end of the score, falling 60-59 to ninth-seeded Miami in a quarterfinals matchup.

"Shout-out to Miami," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "We know they're a great team in March. They played with a lot of urgency. They were able to really hurt us on the glass. I thought we did a good job with their initial attack but couldn't get their second attack. And then couldn't make enough plays offensively."

UNC, the No. 8 seed in the ACC field, is now 19-11 overall and will await the announcement of the NCAA Tournament bracket on March 17.

Seniors Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby finished with 15 points each to pace the Tar Heels, and grad student Lexi Donarski added 12. Kelly led the team in rebounds for the second game in a row, equaling her season high with nine.

The Tar Heels were up by 14 with six minutes to play in the second quarter and led 37-30 at halftime after shooting 50 percent from the field. They were a sterling 8-12 (.667) in the first quarter.

Carolina fell off that pace in the second quarter (.357) but went cold after halftime, shooting just .233 as a team after the break, matching the season low for shooting percentage in a half.

Miami used a 10-0 run in the middle of the fourth quarter to go from five down to five up, 60-55 with 2:02 to play. Carolina got four quick points on two free throws from Donarski and a driving layup by Kelly to cut the margin to one with 1:54 to play, but neither team scored again. UNC was 4-15 in the fourth quarter and 1-11 down the stretch.

Four Hurricanes finished in double figures led by Shayeann Day-Wilson's 13. She also led the way with five assists. Lazaria Spearman registered a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 10 boards as UM outrebounded UNC 41-32.

Miami improved to 19-11 and moves on to face top-seeded Virginia Tech on Friday in the tournament quarterfinals.