By R.L. Bynum
WINSTON-SALEM — With expected wins this week over the two teams at the bottom of the ACC, Carolina will try to keep the momentum against two teams at the top of the league.
That will be a challenge if the Tar Heels don’t play better than they did in Sunday night’s 58–50 victory at Joel Coliseum over a struggling Wake Forest program. Ahead is No. 6 N.C. State in Chapel Hill on Thursday and a visit to No. 8 Virginia Tech next Sunday.
UNC coach Courtney Banghart is confident that her team can rebound with better performances, particularly with the play she’s gotten of late from Alyssa Ustby and Deja Kelly. Ustby scored a career-high 25 points and notched her 14th double-double with 10 rebounds, and Kelly collected 15 points, five rebounds and three assists.
“With these two in charge, I have great confidence,” Banghart said. “But we have to go out and do it. So, they need to regroup and get ready to lock in and carry over our practice mechanisms into the game plan.”
Carolina (17–9, 9–5 ACC) is only a game back of Louisville for the fourth and final double-bye spot in the ACC tournament. UNC probably will have to win it last four games to get one of those spots.
UNC shot a season-high 52.4% from the floor (topping the 51.9% in the 96–36 Dec. 15 win over Western Carolina) but a season-low 44% at the free-throw line (worse than the 46.2% in the 54–51 win Nov. 24 over Vermont) and turned the ball over a season-high 24 times (topping the 23 in the 61–52 win Dec. 19 over Oklahoma, and the most under Banghart).
They’ll have to fix the latter two issues next week and hope one of their two injured guards returns.
“Too many dribbling errors, too many passing errors, too many [times] holding the ball a little bit too long. So, we’ve got to clean up the turnovers,” Banghart said.
Sophomore Paulina Paris has missed the last eight games and freshman Reniya Kelly the last two with lower-body injuries. They remain day-to-day, and Banghart said there’s a chance they’ll be back soon. That’s depleted UNC’s backcourt depth and made it tough to find an offensive rhythm.
“It’s been a lot for them to have so many changing parts,” Banghart said. “Deja’s had a lot of different roles, even just this year. We know what we have; hopefully, we get a couple of guys back soon. But it’s been a lot.”
Deja Kelly, on the ball more with Paris and Reniya Kelly out, called herself out after the game for her eight turnovers. She called that “awful.” It tied her career-high set in a Dec. 6, 2020, home win over Charlotte.
“With our shortened lineup now, just me really navigating the team, navigating one less dribble to kick and things like that and not getting too deep,” Kelly said. “I think that’s where I got my turnovers mostly today. It’s an adjustment, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
The eight 3-point attempts were the fewest since attempting 10 in the 76–64 loss to UConn on Dec. 10 and the second-fewest this season (six in the 65–64 loss Nov. 26 against Florida Gulf Coast). Lexi Donarski only scored two points and got off only one 3-point attempt.
“We didn’t find Lexi well enough for sure,” Banghart said, faulting her guards for not getting Donarski the ball. “They were forcing us to play in highways and defending us the way we haven’t really been defended.”
The Deacons (4–22, 0–14 ACC) are at the bottom of the league and have lost 14 in a row but have shown they can put up a fight, such as when they led at Duke at halftime and played Florida State tough on Thursday. But Ustby, who was 10 of 11 from the floor, kept killing any Wake Forest hopes with big bucket after big bucket, scoring 14 points after halftime.
“She was obviously really efficient. I liked her attack; she faced the basket well,” Banghart said of Ustby, whose previous high was 23 points this season against Western Carolina.
“They were putting a lot of attention on Deja and Lexi, so they were giving [Ustby] one v. one in the middle of the floor,” Banghart said. “Hard kid to guard one v. one. She didn’t doubt herself; she just kind of attacked it. She just cares about winning, and we knew we needed her.”
From the moment Ustby beat the shot clock with a corner 3-pointer for the first points of the game, her first 3 in 337 days on her seventh attempt this season, you knew it might be her night.
“It was just like another shot to me,” said Ustby, who recorded her 36th career double-double. “Because I practice 15-footers out from distance, as well as 3s. So, it was great, go back and play defense and keep moving.”
Teams have been sagging off Ustby on the perimeter for weeks because she rarely shoots from around the arc, and she may not have scored that 3 if the shot clock wasn’t about to expire.
“I think being guarded in different ways has caused me to have to lean on my teammates and coaches to figure out how I can be most effective,” Ustby said of why she hasn’t been attempting perimeter shots. “This can be an adjustment moving forward, but we’ll kind of take it day by day.”
Deja Kelly is happy to see Ustby, her fellow senior captain, surging of late, with 39 points in the last two games.
“She completely dominated, and I think you’ve just seen her confidence go up, specifically, in the past few games, which has been great to see as her teammate,” Kelly said.
Junior transfer center Maria Gakdeng combined for 12 points in the previous three games before scoring nine point and finishing with seven rebounds.
“I think Maria has done her part a lot better, just being more physical and being more aggressive on the interior,” Kelly said.
Banghart acknowledged that teams are being very physical with Gakdeng, and she had a conversation during the game with Kelly about how she needs to give the center opportunities inside.
“You’ve just gotta keep feeding because we need her to have that confidence,” Banghart remembers telling Kelly. “We need that to happen. Hers is a little bit about physicality and a bit about confidence. Today couldn’t have worked out better in my eyes for her because we need her to have a run. I needed her to just have a run and to play through things and to kind of find our way.”
Ustby’s 3-pointer began a 12–2 UNC run to start the game. Carolina led 20–8 after one quarter, marking the seventh time it’s held an opponent to single-digit points after holding Pitt to six in Thursday night’s 75–62 win.
Carolina went scoreless for nearly six minutes, allowing Wake Forest to cut its deficit to six with 4:45 left in the first half with a 10–2 run capped by a 3-pointer and free throw from Alexandria Scruggs.
The Tar Heels struggled offensively with more turnovers (seven) than field goals (five) in the second quarter but led 31–20 at halftime with 22 of those inside points.
Elise Williams scored seven points on a 10–2 Deacons run to cut their deficit to six with 4:24 left in the third quarter. Ustby scored UNC’s last four points of the third quarter as it took a 41–33 lead in the final period, but Deja Kelly (4:47 left), Ustby (4:24 left) and Maria Gakdeng (3:01 left) all got their third fouls in the quarter.
Ustby’s jumper pushed UNC’s lead to nine with 5:24 left, and Kelly’s 3-pointer with 1:52 expanded it to 14. The Deacons cut it to six on a Malaya Cowles layup with 32 seconds left to cap a 10–2 run but Kelly put the game away on a pair of free throws with 28 seconds left.
“We defended the game plan extremely well and that’s why we held them to 58 points,” Wake Forest coach Megan Gebbia said. “We are continuing to fight and play inspired. That’s so important to keep fighting as we continue to improve. Our defense is getting better and we were gritty out there today.”
Williams led Wake Forest with 13 points and Kate Deeble added 12 points and five steals.
NOTES — The Tar Heels are back at Carmichael Arena on Thursday for the rematch with No. 6 N.C. State, which won in Raleigh 63–59 on Feb. 1. The Wolfpack (23–3, 11–3) beat Georgia Tech 86–85 in overtime at home Sunday. … ESPN’s GameDay show will be in Blacksburg next Sunday for UNC’s game at Virginia Tech, with the show airing from 11 a.m. until noon. … Carolina will play consecutive games against top-10 teams for the first time since 2015 (71–63 win over No. 7 FSU on Feb. 12 and a 75–66 loss to No. 9 Louisville on Feb. 15). … UNC officially announced Monday that the Duke home game on March 3 is a sellout. … Wake Forest’s last win came 66–59 on Dec. 21 at home against Marshall, which is 19–6 and leading the Sun Belt Conference. … Ustby’s last previous 3-pointer came on March 18 against St. John’s in UNC’s 61–59 victory in the first round of the NCAA tournament. … That was UNC’s worst free-throw shooting since the Tar Heels shot 43.8% against USC Upstate on Dec. 16, 2022. … UNC’s 24 turnovers were the most by the program since turning the ball over 27 times in an 86–82 overtime loss to Auburn on Dec. 20, 2018, and the most in a regulation game since the Tar Heels had 27 in an 85–75 loss to Kentucky Nov. 24, 2018. … The 58 points were UNC’s fewest since scoring its 65–58 loss Nov. 30 at home against No. 1 South Carolina and only the fifth game with fewer than 60 points this season. … The 50 points by Wake Forest were the fewest by an ACC opponent, and the fewest by an opponent since Western Carolina scored 36 on Dec. 15. … The number of free-throw attempts (25) by UNC per field-goal attempts (42) was at the second-highest rate (59.5%) this season, behind only the 70.7% against Florida Gulf Coast (29 free-throw attempts, 41 field-goal attempts). …. UNC’s defensive rating (points per 100 possessions) was an ACC-best 69.4, and the best since a 64.2 against Oklahoma. …. Banghart gave a shout-out to the many Tar Heels fans who made the trip to Winson-Salem and were loud during the game. … The UNC team arrived in Winston-Salem on Saturday, and Banghart attended her son Eli’s first AAU game with the Wildcats U10 team, conveniently in Winston-Salem earlier on Sunday. … UNC has won three consecutive meetings with Wake Forest and leads the all-time series 68–18, including 27–10 in Winston-Salem.
UNC 58, Wake Forest 50
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
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
tarheeltribune.com 
