UNC women, 1 of 7 unbeaten teams, still No. 25 in AP poll

By R.L. Bynum

After an impressive come-from-behind 76–73 victory at Boston College in Sunday’s ACC opener, the North Carolina women remained at No. 25 in the latest AP Top 25 poll released Monday.

When the Tar Heels (10–0, 1–0 ACC) debuted in the poll last week, they had 64 poll points, narrowly edging out the 63 for Oklahoma and Colorado to be ranked No. 25. This week, UNC has 66 poll points, substantially more than Colorado (52) and Oklahoma (45).

Carolina, one of seven remaining unbeaten teams out of 356 Division I programs. plays its final non-conference game at 1 p.m. Tuesday against Alabama State (2–6) at Carmichael Arena (ESPN3).

It’s UNC’s first 10–0 start since beginning the 2010–11 season 14–0. That team finished 28–9 and lost to Stanford in an NCAA regional semifinal.

The Tar Heels rallied from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Eagles. Graduate guard Carlie Littlefield made huge shots down the stretch, finishing with 22 points, and sophomore guard Deja Kelly hit the game-winning jumper, got a steal and made two free throws in the final seconds.

“Our main talk was just staying together and staying connected, and that we just needed to play harder,” said Kelly, who scored 19. “We knew that we’re capable of so much more and that we hadn’t shown that throughout the first half and the third quarter. So once we were down by 15, we didn’t really get rattled. We didn’t start bickering or anything like that. We really stayed together and stayed connected. And I think that’s what helped us.”

This is the second consecutive week that the UNC women’s team is ranked when the men’s team is unranked. It’s the first time that’s happened since it occurred seven consecutive weeks from Jan. 6 to Feb. 17, 2014.

UNC’s women were No. 13 in the Jan. 6 poll when the men fell out of the poll after a 73–67 road loss to Wake Forest. When the men’s team returned to the poll at No. 19 on Feb. 24 after beating the Deacons 105–72 for its ninth consecutive victory, the women’s team was No. 14.

That season, the women went 27–10, losing to No. 6 Stanford in a regional final. The men finished 24–10, losing to Iowa State in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

The UNC men got the 34th-most poll points in this week’s poll.

N.C. State fell from No. 2 to No. 5 in the women’s poll after losing at home to then-No. 17 and now No. 13 Georgia in overtime 82–80. The Wolfpack (11–2, 2–0 ACC) rebounded to beat Virginia 82–55 at home Sunday.

Other ACC teams in the poll are No. 16 Duke (down one slot after losing to No. 1 South Carolina), No. 17 Georgia Tech (up one slot) and No. 20 Notre Dame (up one slot).

The only North Carolina-based poll voter, Mitchell Northam of WUNC, voted the Pack No. 5, the Blue Devils No. 14 and the Heels No. 18.

AP Top 25

Others receiving votes: Colorado 52, Oklahoma 45, DePaul 43, Florida Gulf Coast 42, Nebraska 30. Point values in parentheses indicate the number of first-place votes.

UNC season statistics

Date	Score, record/ day, time, TV	Location	Opponent
	November (6–0)
9	92–47 win, 1–0	Home	N.C. A&T
14	89–33 win, 2–0	Road	Charlotte
17	89–44 win, 3–0	Home	Appalachian State
21	79–46 win, 4–0	Road	TCU
26	72–59 win, 5–0	Bimini, Bahamas	X — VCU
27	58–37 win, 6–0	Bimini, Bahamas	X — Washington
	December (4–0, 1–0 ACC)
1	82–76 win, 7–0	Road	Y — Minnesota
5	93–47 win, 8–0	Home	James Madison
12	107–46 win, 9–0	Home	UNC Asheville
15	Game canceled	Home	Jacksonville
19	76–63 win, 10–0, 1–0 ACC	Road	Boston College
21	Tuesday, 1, ACCNX	Home	Alabama State
30	Thursday, 4, ACC Network	Home	Syracuse
	January
2	Sunday, 6, ACCN	Home	Clemson
6	Thursday, 8, ACCN	Road	No. 5 N.C. State
9	Sunday, 6, ACCN	Home	Virginia Tech
16	Sunday, 1, RSN	Road	No. 20 Notre Dame
20	Thursday, 6, ACCNX	Home	Virginia
23	Sunday, noon, ACCN	Road	No. 17 Georgia Tech
27	Thursday, 7, ACCNX	Road	No. 16 Duke
30	Sunday, TBA, ESPN or ACCN	Home	No. 5 N.C. State
	February
3	Thursday, 8, RSN	Road	Wake Forest
6	Sunday, noon, ACCN	Home	Miami
10	Thursday, 6, ACCNX	Home	Pittsburgh
13	Sunday, 1, ACCNX	Road	Virginia Tech
17	Thursday, 6, RSN	Home	No. 6 Louisville
20	Sunday, noon, RSN	Road	Florida State
24	Thursday, 7, ACCNX	Road	Virginia
27	Sunday, TBA, ESPN2 or ACCN	Home	No. 16 Duke
	March
2– 6	ACC Tournament	Greensboro

Photo courtesy of Boston College Athletics