By R.L. Bynum
ESTERO, Fla. — Carolina’s shooting was as cold as the hockey arena for most of Friday afternoon before shots finally fell, and the No. 18 Tar Heels staged an amazing fourth-quarter comeback.
The Tar Heels trailed by as many as 13 points but finished the game with a 20–6 run, taking the lead in the final two minutes on their way to a thrilling 54–51 victory over Vermont in the first round of the Gulf Coast Showcase at a chilly Hertz Arena.
Carolina (5–0) would have won easily with good free-throw shooting, but the 12 of 26 showing from the line forced the Tar Heels to show plenty of character down the stretch to pull out the win.
“I think that we really gutted it out,” said UNC coach Courtney Banghart, whose team trailed by nine points with 4:36 left. “We made it real hard for ourselves.”
In a Saturday semifinal at 5 p.m., the Tar Heels will face No. 16 Kansas State (6–0), which beat Western Kentucky 77–61 in the initial first-round game. The Wildcats, who won at No. 5 Iowa 65–58 on Nov. 16, will be the Heels’ toughest opponent so far this season.
The two seniors who have been the foundation for UNC as the program has risen to prominence during their careers — Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby — willed the Heels to victory. Kelly struggled from the floor (7 of 19) and the line (4 of 9) but collected 18 points (10 in the fourth quarter) and nine rebounds (one short of her career-high) and a team-high 11.6 game score, while Ustby had 15 points (6 of 14 shooting) and 10 rebounds despite battling foul trouble and sitting for the last 6:19 of the first half.
“That group that was in there late, they just have a heart of winners,” said Banghart, adding that the two couldn’t get shots to fall but kept fighting.
They were on the court the entire fourth quarter, playing along with Boston College junior transfer center Maria Gakdeng (for all but about three minutes), Iowa State junior transfer guard Lexi Donarski and redshirt sophomore guard Kayla McPherson.
“When I was on the bench, I was able to sit and kind of see how they were defending things, and then use that tactically going into the second half,” said Ustby, who played the last 5:15 with four fouls. “But the biggest thing for me was just trying to bring energy to my team. And just make that contagious throughout the squad.”
Kelly took some blame for Carolina’s play that led to a 28–17 halftime deficit.
“My energy was not there in the first half at all,” said Kelly, who added that she was fine after being slow to get up after getting fouled on a play in the last minute. “I didn’t bring that in the first, so the first half was brutal. We were trying to tiptoe in everything.”
Banghart praised Kelly for taking “ownership” of her poor play in the game.
“That’s the kind of kid Deja is,” Banghart said. “It’s so easy to call out your teammates. But this group leads them well.”
Donarski tweaked her left ankle in practice. Banghart didn’t play her in the first half, saying that she means so much to the team and the coach wanted to be cautious.
Donarski (shooting in above photo) pleaded to play. She started the second half and finished with seven points and the Tar Heels’ only two 3-pointers. The rest of the team missed all 14 attempts.
“She was mad and said, ‘I want to play,’ ” Banghart said of a halftime conversation. “Well, if we need you, go play. So, we needed her.”
The early-season shooting woes continued for UNC, and they are vexing for a team full of good shooters, finishing 32.8% from the floor.
“I think it comes down to how engaged you are in the game a little bit,” Banghart said. “We were just kind of slow out of the gates, and that made us tighter, I think, with our shots.”
Senior center Anya Poole played for the first time since the opener to give UNC 11 available scholarship players for the first time this season. Redshirt sophomore forward Teonni Key (right foot injury) has missed every game and McPherson (lower-body injury) missed the opener.
Emma Utterback scored seven points as Vermont (3–2) took a 13–8 lead after one quarter, then led by seven with 6:19 remaining in the first half. The Tar Heels sliced the lead three, 20–17, when Deja Kelly hit a short driving jumper and scored a transition layup.
The Catamounts finished the first half with an 8–0 run to lead by nine at halftime. Carolina missed all nine 3-point attempts and shot 24.2% from the floor in the first half.
“I think we just nonchalantly entered the game, to be honest,” Banghart said. “And then when shots didn’t fall, they got tight. It was negative 38 degrees in there, so they’re freezing. That doesn’t help, and then there at halftime, it was like, all right, enough was enough. If we’re not going to shoot, well, we’re gonna have to defend.”
It wasn’t really minus 38°, but the ice underneath the court made it cold in the arena. Texan Deja Kelly noticed.
“The air was a little different. I think the first two minutes, you know, my chest was kind of …,” she said before taking a deep breath.
It didn’t faze Minnesotan Ustby, though.
“The environment doesn’t concern me, and having played in Minnesota where I’ve played in hockey arenas before and I’ve even played outdoor sports in the snow, it really comes down to the grit of a team and individuals,” Ustby (below photo) said.
After Vermont stretched the lead to 13 with a 6–2 run, Carolina sliced the lead to five on a 9–0 run that covered the last 2:38 of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter, ending on a Deja Kelly free throw with eight minutes left. The Catamounts responded with 3-pointers from Utterback and Malia Lenz to shove the lead back to 11.
Donarski cut it to six on a 3-pointer with 5:12 left, but Vermont’s Delany Richason nailed a 3-pointer 36 seconds later.
Carolina then went on a 13–1 run to lead for the first time since the first quarter. An Ustby three-point play, a McPherson drive and a Deja Kelly jumper gave the Tar Heels a 52–49 lead with 1:06 left. But Utterback’s jumper with 42 seconds left cut the lead to one.
Deja Kelly split a pair of free throws with six seconds but rebounded her second miss. Donarski split a pair of free throws with 3.1 seconds left but Deja Kelly intercepted Vermont’s ensuing inbound pass to seal the win.
Utterback led Vermont with 18 points.
NOTES — Indya Nivar got her first start as a Tar Heel and second college start. … Key no longer had a boot on her right foot. … Carolina had trailed for a combined 2 minutes, 15 seconds before Friday, when it trailed for 31 minutes, 44 seconds. … There were 22 members of Ustby’s extended family at the game, the most for one of her games since the Tar Heels played near her home in Minnesota. … Senior 6–6 center Ayoka Lee leads Kansas State, averaging 22 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. She scored 16 in Friday’s win, with Serena Sundell scoring a game-high 21 points. … The arena is the home of the two-time reigning ECHL champion Florida Everblades, the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers, who were the Carolina Hurricanes’ affiliate for many years.
No. 18 UNC 54, Vermont 51
UNC lineup combinations
| Score | Time | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Segment score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starters | 10:00 | DK | RK | Nivar | Ustby | Gakdeng | 6–7 |
| 6–7 | 3:35 | McPherson | Paris | Poole | 3–6 | ||
| 9–13 | End 1 | RK | Gakdeng | 4–4 | |||
| 13–17 | 7:35 | Nivar | 0–2 | ||||
| 13–19 | 6:19 | McPherson | Nivar | 4–3 | |||
| 17–22 | 3:03 | Poole | 0–6 | ||||
| 17–28 | Half | Donarski | Ustby | Gakdeng | 7–4 | ||
| 24–33 | 6:40 | Nivar | 0–0 | ||||
| 24–33 | 5:36 | McPherson | Poole | 2–6 | |||
| 26–39 | 5:19 | Donarski | 4–0 | ||||
| 30–39 | End 3rd | DK | McPherson | Donarski | Gakdeng | 14–9 | |
| 44–48 | 2:58 | Poole | 10–3 | ||||
| 54–51 | :02 | Gakdeng | 0–0 | ||||
| 54–51 | Final | – |
Gulf Coast Showcase
Hertz Arena, Estero, Fla.
All games stream on FloHoops
Friday’s first round results
No. 16 Kansas State 77, Western Kentucky 61
No. 18 North Carolina 54, Vermont 51
Florida Gulf Coast 83, Delaware 68
No. 4 Iowa 98, Purdue Fort Wayne 59
Saturday’s semifinals
No. 16 Kansas State 64, No. 18 North Carolina 56
No. 4 Iowa 100, Florida Gulf Coast 62
Saturday’s losers’ bracket results
Western Kentucky 62, Vermont 50
Purdue Fort Wayne 88, Delaware 74
Sunday’s games
Seventh-place game: Delaware 73, Vermont 66
Fifth-place game: Purdue Fort Wayne 90, Western Kentucky 77
Consolation game: Florida Gulf Coast 65, No. 18 North Carolina 64
Championship: No. 4 Iowa 77, No. 16 Kansas State 70
| Date | Day/month | Score | Opponent/event (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | ||||
| 8 | Wednesday | W, 102–49 | vs. Gardner-Webb | 1–0 |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 74–70 | vs. Davidson | 2–0 |
| 15 | Wednesday | W, 62–32 | vs. Hampton | 3–0 |
| 18 | Saturday | W, 68–39 | vs. Elon | 4–0 |
| Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. | ||||
| 24 | Friday | W, 54–51 | Vermont | 5–0 |
| 25 | Saturday | L, 63–56 | No. 15 Kansas State | 5–1 |
| 26 | Sunday | L, 65–64 | Florida Gulf Coast | 5–2 |
| ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 65–58 | vs. No. 1 South Carolina | 5–3 |
| December | ||||
| 6 | Wednesday | W, 81–66 | vs. UNC Greensboro | 6–3 |
| Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase in Uncasville, Conn. | ||||
| 10 | Sunday | L, 76–64 | No. 10 Connecticut | 6–4 |
| ——————— | ||||
| 15 | Friday | W, 96–36 | vs. Western Carolina | 7–4 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 19 | Tuesday | W, 61–52 | No. 18 Oklahoma | 8–4 |
| ACC season | ||||
| 31 | Sunday | W, 82–76 | vs. Clemson | 9–4, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 75–51 | vs. No. 22 Syracuse | 10–4, 2–0 ACC |
| 7 | Sunday | W, 61–57 | at No. 9 Notre Dame | 11–4, 3–0 ACC |
| 11 | Thursday | L, 70–62 | at Florida State | 11–5, 3–1 ACC |
| 14 | Sunday | W, 81–68 | vs. Virginia | 12–5, 4–1 ACC |
| 18 | Thursday | W, 73–68 | at Georgia Tech | 13–5, 5–1 ACC |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 79–68 | vs. No. 23 Louisville | 14–5, 6–1 ACC |
| 25 | Thursday | W, 66–61 | vs. Miami | 15–5, 7–1 ACC |
| 28 | Sunday | L, 81–66 | at Virginia | 15–6, 7–2 ACC |
| February | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | L, 63–59 | at No. 11 N.C. State | 15–7, 7–3 ACC |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 70–61, OT | vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech | 15–8, 7–4 ACC |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 68–60, OT | at Duke | 15–9, 7–5 ACC |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 75–62 | vs. Pittsburgh | 16–9, 8–5 ACC |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 58–50 | at Wake Forest | 17–9, 9–5 ACC |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 80–70 | vs. No. 11 N.C. State | 18–9, 10–5 ACC |
| 25 | Sunday | L, 74–62 | at No. 13 Virginia Tech | 18–10, 10–6 ACC |
| 29 | Thursday | L, 78–74 | at Boston College | 18–11, 10–7 ACC |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | W, 63–59 | vs. Duke | 19–11, 11–7 ACC |
| ACC tournament Greensboro Coliseum | ||||
| 7 | Thursday | L, 60–59 | Second round: vs. Miami | 19–12 |
| NCAA tournament Columbia, S.C. | ||||
| 22 | Friday | W, 59–56 | First round: Michigan State | 20–12 |
| 24 | Sunday | L, 88–41 | Second round: No. 1 South Carolina | 20–13 |
Photos courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
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