By R.L. Bynum
Any game against Duke is huge for North Carolina’s women, but Sunday’s visit to sold-out Cameron Indoor Stadium has added significance since the Tar Heels enter the game with a three-game losing streak.
UNC (15–8, 7–4 ACC) could still earn its first ACC tournament double-bye since 2013, but they must shake the recent offensive woes. That’s led to losses at Virginia (81–66 on Jan. 28), at No. 3 N.C. State (63–49 on Feb. 1) and at home to No. 16 Virginia Tech (70–61 in overtime Sunday).
“We’ve played two real heartbreakers in terms of how we ended it,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said on her radio show on Tuesday. “A lot of good takeaways, especially on the defensive end; some pretty clear next steps offensively.”
The Tar Heels are only a game out of being among the top four teams vying for a double-bye and have the tiebreakers on Louisville (20–4, 9–2) and Syracuse (19–4, 9–3), two teams ahead of them in the standings.
Carolina needs to find its offensive stride for Sunday’s 2 p.m. game (ACC Network) against Duke (15–7, 7–4), particularly considering how tough the Blue Devils are defensively. They have held the last three home opponents to 46 points, including the Hokies, and lead the ACC in scoring defense (57.6 points per game in all games and 57.3 in league games).
It will be the first time the rivals have met with neither ranked since 2000.
Senior guard Deja Kelly has scored at least 18 points in seven of the last eight games, with 21 against the Wolfpack and 26 against the Hokies. But UNC must get more scoring elsewhere to find a consistent rhythm on offense.
The Tar Heels are 4–5 when she scores at least 20 points and 11–3 in all other games. No teammate has scored more than 13 points during the three-game losing streak.
When Kelly scored 27 in the 81–68 home win on Jan. 14 over Virginia, Alyssa Ustby had a triple-double with 17 points. In Kelly’s 27-point effort in the 73–68 victory at Georgia Tech, Ustby scored 15.
Graduate transfer guard Lexi Donarski, freshman guard Reniya Kelly and junior center Maria Gakdeng have shown the ability to produce big offensive games but haven’t been consistent on that end of the court in ACC play.
Donarski scored 12 against Virginia Tech, but has double-figure point totals in only three of UNC’s last eight games.
Since scoring 20 points in the loss at Virginia, Reniya Kelly has combined for seven points and 2 of 8 shooting in the past two games. She didn’t play against the Hokies after the third quarter.
Gakdeng poured in 22 points in a 75–51 Jan. 4 win over Syracuse but has scored in double figures only twice in the nine games since then, topping out at 13 points in the 66–61 home win on Jan. 25 against Miami. Like Reniya Kelly, she didn’t play following the third period against Virginia Tech after going 1 of 6 from the floor.
“They’re committed to the defensive end,” Banghart said of her team. “They recognize the importance of that end and some of our offensive struggles at times. But they play really hard, so they’re attuned to how we want to play night after night.”
With sophomore guard Paulina Paris still out with a lower-body injury, the lack of backcourt depth forced Deja Kelly and Donarski to play all 45 minutes against the Hokies. Deja Kelly has played all but six minutes in the last six games, and Donarski has played all but seven minutes in the last four games.
Banghart welcomes the weeklong break since the loss to the Hokies.
“We really need the rest,” she said. “It’s been a mental and physical grind here since December 26 when we came back and practiced. This is honestly getting a chance to just regroup and reload, in a way. We’ll do kind of a combination of that. And then some really pointed growth on the offensive end that we think makes sense for our next steps.”
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Duke comes off two easy wins against teams in the bottom of the league, beating Pittsburgh last Sunday 69–38 and Wake Forest on Thursday 69–46. The Blue Devils have had some big wins, including surprisingly easy home victories over No. 16 Virginia Tech, 63–46, and Florida State, 88–46.
“It’s a good team,” Banghart said of Duke. “They’re young and athletic. They’ve got a little bit of length, but really, they’ve got a lot of speed. Keeping them out of transition is going to be key. They’re very aggressive on defense, and so they’re gonna be aggressive at the point of ball screens.”
The Blue Devils have balanced scoring and a nine-player rotation, led by junior 5–11 guard Reigan Richardson (11.4 points per game), 5–10 freshman guard Oluchi Okananwa (11.0 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game) and 5–9 sophomore guard Taina Mair (1.7 points and a team-high 3.5 assists per game).
Mair, a Boston College transfer and former teammate of Gakdeng, is the only Blue Devil averaging more than 28 minutes per game (31.2), with nine averaging at least 13 minutes. Deja Kelly (34.7), Donarski (34.4) and Ustby (33.2) all are averaging more minutes than Mair, and only eight Tar Heels are averaging more than 13 minutes.
Ahead of her first college game in her hometown of Durham, freshman point guard Sydney Barker got some welcome news Friday. The former Jordan High School star, who turned down scholarships at smaller schools to be a walk-on at UNC, was awarded a scholarship on Friday, much to the delight of her teammates.
NOTES — UNC leads the all-time series with Duke 54–52 and has won four of the last five meetings. … In last season’s meeting in Durham, UNC’s 45–41 win marked the lowest winning score in program history. … This is the third of six consecutive UNC games in the state of North Carolina. … Deja Kelly leads the ACC and is second in the country in free-throw attempts with 167, trailing only LSU’s Angel Reese (182).
UNC season statistics
Duke season statistics
| Team | League | Overall | NET* | WAB* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 13 Duke | 16–2 | 21–8 | 10 | 13 |
| No. 12 Louisville | 15–3 | 25–6 | 13 | 10 |
| No. 16 North Carolina | 14–4 | 25–6 | 19 | 14 |
| N.C. State | 13–5 | 20–9 | 23 | 27 |
| Syracuse | 12–6 | 22–7 | 40 | 31 |
| Virginia Tech | 12–6 | 22–8 | 41 | 34 |
| Notre Dame | 12–6 | 20–9 | 24 | 23 |
| Clemson | 11–7 | 20–10 | 44 | 40 |
| Virginia | 11–7 | 19–10 | 36 | 49 |
| California | 9–9 | 18–13 | 53 | 60 |
| Stanford | 8–10 | 19–12 | 42 | 56 |
| Miami | 8–10 | 16–13 | 58 | 65 |
| Georgia Tech | 7–10 | 12–17 | 76 | 109 |
| Florida State | 5–13 | 10–20 | 107 | 138 |
| Wake Forest | 4–14 | 14–16 | 121 | 134 |
| SMU | 2–16 | 9–21 | 220 | 209 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–17 | 8–23 | 262 | 238 |
| Boston College | 1–17 | 5–26 | 247 | 283 |
* — Through Sunday games
Thursday’s results
No. 16 North Carolina 82, Virginia 70
No. 12 Louisville 69, Georgia Tech 50
Notre Dame 72, Syracuse 62
Miami 79, Pittsburgh 58
N.C. State 65, Wake Forest 58
No. 13 Duke 80, Florida State 52
Stanford 87, SMU 57
Clemson 70, California 63
Sunday’s results
No. 16 North Carolina 74, No. 13 Duke 69
Virginia Tech 83, Virginia 82
Georgia Tech 79, Miami 49
N.C. State 93, Pittsburgh 43
Stanford 85, Clemson 50
Syracuse 90, Boston College 65
Notre Dame 65, No. 12 Louisville 62
Florida State 77, Wake Forest 74, OT
California 78, SMU 34
End of regular season
ACC tournament
Gas South Arena
Duluth, Ga.
March 4–8
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 4 South Carolina in Atlanta | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 90–42 | vs. N.C. Central | 1–0 |
| 6 | Thursday | W, 71–37 | vs. Elon | 2–0 |
| WBCA Challenge Las Vegas | ||||
| 13 | Thursday | L, 78–60 | vs. No. 2 UCLA | 2–1 |
| 15 | Saturday | W, 82–68 | vs. Fairfield | 3–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 20 | Thursday | W, 85–50 | at N.C. A&T | 4–1 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 94–48 | vs. UNCG | 5–1 |
| Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico | ||||
| 27 | Thursday | W, 83–48 | vs. South Dakota St. | 6–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 85–73 | vs. Kansas State | 7–1 |
| 29 | Saturday | W, 80–63 | vs. Columbia | 8–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 79–64 | at No. 3 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 13 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 84–34 | vs. UNCW | 10–3 |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 93–74 | vs. Charleston Southern | 11–3 |
| 29 | Monday | W, 90–38 | at Boston College | 12–3, 1–1 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–1 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–2 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 73–50 | at No. 22 Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–3 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–3 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 82–55 | at Florida State | 15–5, 4–3 |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 54–46 | at Georgia Tech | 16–5, 5–3 |
| 25 | Sunday | W, 77–71, OT | vs. Syracuse | 17–5, 6–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 61–59 | at N.C. State | 18–5, 7–3 |
| 5 | Thursday | W, 53–44 | vs. Clemson | 19–5, 8–3 |
| 8 | Sunday | W, 84–56 | vs. Wake Forest | 20–5, 9–3 |
| 12 | Thursday | W, 94–42 | vs. SMU | 21–5, 10–3 |
| 15 | Sunday | L, 72–68 | at No. 8 Duke | 21–6, 10–4 |
| 19 | Thursday | W, 66–63, OT | at Virginia Tech | 22–6, 11–4 |
| 22 | Sunday | W, 78–50 | vs. Pittsburgh | 23–6, 12–4 |
| 26 | Thursday | W, 82–70 | at Virginia | 24–6, 13–4 |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | W, 72–69 | vs. No. 8 Duke | 25–6, 14–4 |
| ACC tournament | Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga. | |||
| 6 | Friday | W, 85–68 | Quarterfinal vs. Va. Tech | 26–6 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 65–57 | Semifinal vs. No. 13 Louisville | 26–7 |
| NCAA tournament Fort Worth 1 Regional | ||||
| 21 | Friday | W, 82–51 | First round in Chapel Hill: vs. Western Illinois | 27–7 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 74–66 | Second round in Chapel Hill: No. 17 Maryland | 28–7 |
| 27 | Friday | 5 p.m. | Sweet 16 in Fort Worth, Texas: vs. No. 1 UConn | ESPN |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
