By R.L. Bynum
CHARLOTTE — The game started late, and No. 24 North Carolina found the offensive rhythm late.
Despite being sick for three days and throwing up during time outs, senior Deja Kelly fixed that, and the Tar Heels pulled away in the second half for a 61–52 victory Tuesday night at the Jumpman Invitational in the Spectrum Center.
Kelly scored 16 of her 21 points in the first half, becoming the 25th player in program history eclipse 1,500 career points. Fellow senior Alyssa Ustby notched 13 of her 15 points as the Heels tied it by halftime after being down by nine.
Kelly’s heroic effort in her 100th career game, her answer to the Michael Jordan flu game, was the story of the night as she only came out of the game once, for 59 seconds in the second quarter.
“She came down separately because we didn’t know if she was gonna make it,” said UNC coach Courtney Banghart, adding that Kelly was still throwing up as the early-morning press conference was happening. “And she said, ‘Coach, I’m playing.’ That’s Deja. She’s tough.”
As Ustby put it, Kelly — who had six rebounds and now 1,503 career points — is a “dog,” and her performance Tuesday was more proof of it.
“That girl will do anything for her teammates, and she knows how much she brings to our team,” said Ustby, who led UNC with 13 rebounds and three blocks.
Incredibly, Kelly’s 7 of 14 night from the floor was her best shooting game of the season, including a few of he patented mid-range jumpers. She had shot better than 39% from the floor only twice this season, with her previous best 7 of 15 against Florida Gulf Coast when she scored a season-high 24 points.
“She’s pretty sick,” Ustby said. “For her to come out here, and to play so selflessly, and to even get to the basket and just hold up her own was remarkable, and I’m so proud of her. And I’m just really happy that she’s on my team.”
Kelly and Ustby gave Carolina (8–4) a much-needed win after they couldn’t overcome UConn on Dec. 10.
Banghart understands that UNC was short-handed against the Huskies, but quickly added that the senior duo “didn’t play well enough for us to win that game.
“And so it was real talk about how our best players have to play really well,” Banghart said. “And that’s exactly what they did. Alyssa played really well on both ends, and Deja was throwing up at media timeouts. What she was able to do tonight [while] really, really sick was pretty remarkable.”
After giving up 23 first-quarter points, UNC held Oklahoma to 29 in the final three quarters and seized control by scoring the first 12 points after halftime. Carolina held the Sooners (6–4) to four third-quarter points, the lowest total by an opponent in any quarter this season.
“I think the turning point was just reminding each other what our scout is about,” Ustby said, “and just locking into personnel and communicating on offense and defense and just getting the looks that we want and just buying into that through the adversity that we started to face as the game started.”
The game didn’t start until at 10:06 p.m. because the first game — a 106–101 win for Florida’s men over Michigan — went into double overtime. It was no doubt the latest local start time in Carolina program history.
“I think it’s the coolest thing ever that we’re playing on two days,” Ustby said.
While counting down the final minutes until the midnight finish, fans could also tally the number of times Oklahoma shots clanked off the rim.
The Sooners came into the game averaging more than nine 3-pointers per game but were 1 of 26 against the Tar Heels, and shot 4 of 31 from the floor in the second half. It was the first time this season that any team in the country had attempted more than 25 3-pointers and made only one.
Banghart didn’t want to say “mean things,” but she clearly was happy with which Sooners were jacking up 3-point attempts.
Oklahoma freshman Sahara Williams, who entered the game making only 23.8% of her 3-point attempts, tied her season-high with six attempts and missed all of them. Aubrey Joens, who came into the game making a team-high 44.9% of her 3-point attempts and has scored at least three 3-pointers four times this season, was 0-for-3.
“You want the right guys to take the wrong shots,” Banghart said. “So, you make guys look really open that are shot-willing so that they might shoot it. And that’s what they kept doing, which was amazing. And we didn’t want their shooters to get open looks.”
UNC played most of the first half without its best two centers — Maria Gakdeng and Anya Poole — because each had two fouls. Gakdeng, who finished with two points, quickly picked up her third in the first 16 seconds of the second half.
It didn’t matter.
Senior center Alexandra Zelaya, who hasn’t gotten into four games this season, was solid off the bench with four points, six rebounds and two steals while playing tough defense in 15 minutes, her most playing time since playing 31 minutes at N.C. State last season.
“Z’s got one of the hardest jobs on the team, and that is to be ready if we need you,” Banghart said of Zelaya, who got a standing ovation from her teammates after the game. “It’s really hard. She’s been here for years, and I’m telling you that kid’s ready every game. She knows the scout up and down. She takes great pride in being accountable if we might need her, and that’s what she did.”
Lexi Donarski added 10 points and two 3-pointers for UNC, and Paulina Paris scored all nine of her points in the second half in her third consecutive start.
How do you fill a day in a hotel room when you aren’t supposed to play until 9:30 (but don’t ultimately play until after 10 p.m.)?
“It was a long day,” Ustby said. “Especially with no school, you don’t have any homework to do and studying. So a lot of us just hung out with each other and had a good time. Took lots of naps. Not necessarily that we needed the naps, but we wanted the time to pass. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed today.”
After Oklahoma jumped out to a 10–2 lead, UNC went on an 11–2 run to cut it to one on a Kelly jumper. The Sooners finished the quarter with a 9–4 run and took a 23–16 lead into the second quarter.
“I thought our first quarter was really good,” Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “Then in the second quarter we didn’t attack the paint like we did early on. Honestly, I feel like we got really good looks that normally go down for us and [Tuesday], they just didn’t.”
Ustby’s layup capped an 8–2 UNC run to start the second quarter to slice the deficit to one again. Carolina tied it with a 9–2 run to finish the half, the last seven from Kelly.
Paris gave UNC its first lead on a 3-pointer in the first minute of the second half to start the decisive 12–0 run. The Heels took a 52–40 lead into the fourth quarter.
The final quarter was sloppy on both sides as the teams combined for more turnovers (7) than field goals (5), and Oklahoma outscored UNC 12–9.
Payton Verhulst led Oklahoma with 15 points and Skylar Vann added 10 points and 12 rebounds.
NOTES — It was Carolina’s last regular-season non-conference game. The Tar Heels open ACC play at noon on New Year’s Eve at Carmichael Arena against Clemson (The CW). The Tigers (7–5, 1–0 ACC) beat Air Force 70–54 Tuesday afternoon and will host East Tennessee State at 2 p.m. Friday. … Freshman point guard Reniya Kelly missed her second straight game after suffering a concussion in the first half of the UConn game, and redshirt sophomore Kayla McPherson (knee) missed her fourth consecutive game. … The previous lowest quarter point total by an opponent was when Elon scored five in the fourth quarter. … UNC had a season-high 23 turnovers but outrebounded the Sooners 49–44. … Former UNC player Kennady Tucker was scoreless in six minutes for the Sooners. … Oklahoma was averaging 84.9 points per game, 14th in the country, but was held to their season-low point total. … Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young and former Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis were at the doubleheader. … UNC leads the series with Oklahoma 3–2, with two consecutive victories. … Curtains obscured the upper-arena for the doubleheader, which attracted 7,027 fans.
No. 24 UNC 61, Oklahoma 52
UNC lineup combinations
| Score | Time | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Segment score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starters | 10:00 | Kelly | Paris | Donarski | Ustby | Gakdeng | 9–14 |
| 9–14 | 5:29 | Nivar | Poole | 0–0 | |||
| 9–14 | 4:32 | Gakdeng | 4–2 | ||||
| 13–16 | 3:31 | Key | 3–6 | ||||
| 16–23 | End 1 | Zelaya | 2–0 | ||||
| 18–23 | 9:08 | Paris | Nivar | 6–5 | |||
| 24–28 | 5:42 | Donarski | 2–2 | ||||
| 26–30 | 4:43 | Paris | Donarski | Nivar | 1–0 | ||
| 27–30 | 3:44 | Kelly | 5–6 | ||||
| 32–36 | 1:05 | Gakdeng | 4–0 | ||||
| 36–36 | Half | Paris | Donarski | 7–0 | |||
| 43–36 | 5:55 | Zelaya | 5–2 | ||||
| 48–38 | 2:14 | Nivar | 3–2 | ||||
| 52–40 | 3.1 | Poole | 2–0 | ||||
| 54–40 | 7:20 (4th) | Ustby | 2–3 | ||||
| 56–43 | 5:15 | Ustby | Gakdeng | 5–7 | |||
| 61–50 | :24 | Nivar | Zelaya | 0–2 | |||
| 61–52 | Final |
UNC season statistics
| 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
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