By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — On a day that Carolina celebrated the 30th anniversary of the 1994 national championship team, the Tar Heels showed they are stacking the talent and moving the program closer to adding another championship banner to the Carmichael Arena rafters soon.
But this season’s team couldn’t deliver the knockout punch until a late 8–0 run against a feisty bunch from Virginia.
With former UNC women’s basketball players — including the 1994 team and its coach, Hall of Famer Sylvia Hatchell — on hand, the No. 20 Tar Heels finally found a rhythm from the perimeter and eventually put away the Cavaliers 81–68 Sunday on a festive Alumni Day.
UNC coach Courtney Banghart treasured a pregame courtside chat with Hatchell and Jennifer Alley, who preceded Hatchell as the program’s second coach from 1977 to 1986, and she posed for a photo of the three together.
“That’s a picture of the three people who have been custodians of this program and have been responsible for bringing in kids like this,” said Banghart, who wore a Carolina-blue T-shirt with No. 30 on the front, sitting next to seniors Alyssa Ustby and Anya Poole after the game. “To even have my name in a picture amongst them is almost comical, but certainly proud to do it.”
It was just as special for Hatchell, who attended her first game since she retired from coaching and was thrilled again to see all the players on that championship team.
“When I was hugging Marion Jones, it just made my heart about jump out of my chest because of all the memories that flash back as far as coaching them and how we won the national championship,” said Hatchell, who welcomed the entire team to her house Sunday morning. “It’s still hard to believe that we won like we did.”
All of the nearly 100 former players joined the team in a circle during the playing of “Hark the Sound” after the victory
“Meeting up with people who have become our mentors, become our friends in a way, I think it’s special,” Poole said.
Ustby said meeting former players this weekend was special for the current players.
“It’s really cool to be able to talk to them and get to know them and hear about their experience and the things that they went through,” Ustby said. “It just adds a little bit more pride onto that jersey of North Carolina. And that’s why we play; it’s all the people who came before us and the people here, and then the people that are gonna be taking our spots one day.”
Deja Kelly, who has been a sensational scorer the last two games, ignited a run to start the final quarter on her way to 27 points and four 3-pointers (both season-highs), along with five rebounds, five assists and two steals, as Carolina (12–5, 4–1 ACC) rebounded from its first ACC loss.
“Us inside the locker room, we just don’t worry about Deja Kelly,” Banghart said, adding that she does whatever the team needs, including during her shooting slump that ended this week.
It was a bit of symmetry that, on the day that UNC celebrated the 30th anniversary of an NCAA title, Ustby notched her 30th career double-double. Ustby was halfway to a triple-double late in the first half but settled for her typically impressive day after a couple of tough games with 17 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
The Tar Heels were resilient when it looked like Virginia seemed determined to pull the upset.
“There’s an enormous amount of trust in this huddle,” Banghart said, after only leading by five at halftime and one after three quarters. “They show great toughness. And so they’re just not rattled by things like that.”
Carolina scored seven 3-pointers, tied for the fourth-most this season, and shot 41.2% from outside the arc, tied for the third-best.
“We’re working on engaging two defenders to try to get one an open shot and then that guy being shot-ready,” Banghart said. “We’ve put a lot of emphasis on that.”
UNC won the rebounding battle for the third consecutive game (44–39). Rebounding has been consistent of late, allowing Virginia to rebound only 21.7% of their missed shots. It’s been a long journey for the Tar Heels, who Banghart joked couldn’t outrebound a team of 9-year-olds at the beginning of the season.
“We’ve really taken steps shooting the ball, rebounding the ball, playing over 40 minutes,” Banghart said. “We’re a team that just gets better and better because our transfers are more comfortable, our younger guys are more comfortable, and they’re just getting more mature as the season goes on.”
Poole came off the bench with energy for the second straight game, teaming with Ustby to defend Camryn Taylor, Virginia’s leading scorer, while collecting seven points and six rebounds.
“She’s a hard kid to guard,” said Banghart, adding that it’s not often that an opponent challenges Ustby and Poole so much defensively. But they contributed to Taylor picking two first-quarter fouls.
Poole said they didn’t do anything special on Taylor and just played her straight up.
“She’s a very good basketball player,” Poole said. “She can score at all three levels, and we wanted to respect her on all three levels. So, we just want her to score over us. And that was what we made her do, get her in foul trouble, and it worked in our favor.”
Taylor sat out the second quarter but still scored a team-high 16 points for Virginia (8–8, 0–5), which has already lost twice to No. 6 N.C. State and has dropped its last five games.
Banghart said that Poole provides just what she needs all the time.
“She’s partly off the bench because I know what I’m gonna get from her, so you don’t have to worry about, ‘well, she’s got to start well or not,’ ” Banghart said. “She can go in any time in the game and make an impact and she should be proud.”
Maria Gakdeng battled foul trouble (seven points, six rebounds, four fouls), which limited her to 18½ minutes. Indya Nivar pitched in eight points, four rebounds and three assists.
Virginia called timeout three minutes into the game after four Tar Heels scored, and they jumped out to a 9–2 lead on a Gakdeng layup. The Cavaliers cut what was a nine-point lead to three, but UNC finished the first quarter with a 7–2 run, with Reniya Kelly’s jumper at the buzzer giving Carolina a 19–12 lead.
A 15-foot Teonni Key jumper expanded UNC’s lead to 14 in the first three minutes of the second quarter. But Virginia scored the last seven second-quarter points to trim UNC’s lead to 37–32 by halftime.
“We were much more active coming out of the halftime,” Banghart said. “So, we really clamped down and asked them to be even more active defensively and then just to continue to take the right shots at the right time in the shot clock as well. So minor adjustments.”
The Cavaliers cut it to four in the first 3½ minutes of the second half, but Deja Kelly scored eight consecutive UNC points to push the advantage back to 10 on a fast-break layup with 4:26 left in the third quarter.
Virginia scored seven straight points to tie it at 52 before UNC took a 53–52 lead into the fourth quarter.
“We knew that it was gonna be a tough quarter, and we had to stay disciplined on close-outs, trying our best not to foul shooters,” Ustby said, “and just keeping up the defensive intensity and playing well together — all five on defense — because we really just needed to slow them down.”
Deja Kelly then turned on the offense. She fed Gakdeng with a nice pass for a layup, got a steal, and drove for a layup on a three-point play to push the lead to six. Ustby’s short jumper with 5:51 gave UNC a seven-point lead. The Tar Heels put the game away with that decisive 8–0 run.
NOTES — Carolina is back on the road at 6 p.m. Thursday (ACC Network) to face Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets (12–5, 3–2) lost at Duke 84–46 on Sunday afternoon. … UNC wore throwback uniforms from the 1994 national championship season. … There was a dinner for the former players on Saturday night. … The entire 1994 team was on the court after the third quarter and was announced. … UNC honored Ustby before the game for notching the first triple-double in program history. … UNC has won eight straight games against Virginia and leads the all-time series 59–37. The Cavaliers haven’t won in Chapel Hill since 2001. … UNC’s 20 assists and six blocks were the most in ACC play, and the nine turnovers were the fewest in ACC play. … Kelly has combined for 50 points in the last two games.
No. 20 UNC 81, Virginia 68
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| No. 11 Virginia Tech | 14–4 | 23–6 |
| No. 10 N.C. State | 13–5 | 25–5 |
| No. 20 Syracuse | 13–5 | 23–6 |
| No. 14 Notre Dame | 13–5 | 23–6 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 12–6 | 23–8 |
| Florida State | 12–6 | 21–9 |
| Duke | 11–7 | 19–10 |
| North Carolina | 11–7 | 19–11 |
| Miami | 8–10 | 18–11 |
| Georgia Tech | 7–11 | 16–14 |
| Virginia | 7–11 | 15–14 |
| Boston College | 5–13 | 13–18 |
| Clemson | 5–13 | 12–18 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–16 | 8–23 |
| Wake Forest | 2–16 | 6–24 |
Sunday’s games
North Carolina 63, Duke 59
Boston College 84, Pittsburgh 58
No. 10 N.C. State 75, Wake Forest 57
No. 14 Notre Dame 74, No. 24 Louisville 58
Georgia Tech 71, Miami 66, OT
Florida State 82, Clemson 79
Virginia 80, No. 11 Virginia Tech 75
ACC tournament
Greensboro Coliseum
Wednesday-Sunday
| 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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