By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Senior day couldn’t have played out much better for Carolina senior co-captains Alyssa Ustby and Deja Kelly.
Kelly scored 12 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter after Ustby scored 13 of her 17 points in the first half (and was her typical versatile self) as UNC avenged an earlier loss to rival Duke with a 63–59 victory in a physical battle before a sellout crowd of 6,319 at Carmichael Arena.
“The biggest thing I take away is that when those four seniors came to Carolina, the program was in a time of transition,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said of Kelly, Ustby, Anya Poole and Ali Zelaya. “They trusted me, they trusted the place, and they’ve fallen in love with it along the way. And their senior night is sold out, totally packed. And they were adored by the people that kind of fought their way to get here.”
The line to get into the game stretched well past Fetzer Gym.
This Carolina team (19–11, 11–7 ACC) has needed various players to come through at important times all season. Postgame on Sunday, it was graduate Lexi Donarski. She volunteered to attend the postgame press conference so the seniors could enjoy the win and time with their families.
“It just meant the world,” Ustby said of the crowd in a postgame interview with ESPN. “We have such a special place here at Carmichael and the people make it special. We had so many people who came out to support it, and it was amazing.”
It wasn’t just the scoring for Ustby, who had six rebounds, four steals and two blocks, and somehow twisted through the inside of Duke’s defense for points. She was a game-high +11.
“She impacts the game in so many ways,” said Banghart, who called Kelly a “killer,” adding that her mom doesn’t like it when she uses that word.
Kelly’s prey was the Blue Devils (19–10, 11–7), as Kelly pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and dished out three assists. She’s tied for the team rebounding lead before this season but it was the first time she’s been alone atop that category since pulling down 10 in a win over Virginia Tech on Jan. 9, 2022.
“She just loves the ball in her hands,” Banghart said. “She’s had a really kind of ebb and flow this year with what we’ve needed from her. We finally got to a point where we said what we need from her is to find ways to help us win.
Kelly scored UNC’s final eight points, the last four on the free-throw line, as the Tar Heels ensured this game wouldn’t slip away like the 69–60 overtime setback in Durham on Feb. 11.
Duke’s Reigan Richardson, averaging a team-leading 12.2 points coming into the game, was 1 of 8 from the floor and was held to two points. But that one jumper with 1:35 cut it to two. Kelly’s jumper at the end of the shot clock rattled around and fell in with 55 seconds left to push it back to four.
After Kennedy Brown traveled at the other end, Kelly split a pair of free throws with 33.6 seconds left. Duke double-teamed Donarski to force a turnover, which led to three Ashlon Jackson free throws with 15.8 seconds left to cut the lead to two.
After Kelly split another pair of free throws with 13.2 seconds left to put UNC up by three, Donarski intentionally fouled Duke’s Taina Mair with 9.6 seconds left to go to prevent the Blue Devils from tying it with a 3-pointer.
“If they were starting to take some time off the clock and if they were running any stagger that we were going to have to run through, we wanted to make contact on the ball,” Banghart said.
Mair made the first free throw and Brown rebounded the second miss. But Ustby, playing with four fouls, blocked her shot and Indya Nivar grabbed the ball in a scramble. Kelly then hit two free throws with 5.4 seconds left to put the game away.
“With four fouls, I knew I couldn’t foul to get out of the game, but I also understood that whatever the game called for, I needed to do it,” Ustby said. “If that meant me fouling out with 10 seconds left but it’s me contesting a shot as much as I could, then I’ll take it.”
During a two-hour walkthrough on Friday, Banghart worked with the team on tweaking the zone to a 2–3 setup, which the Tar Heels had never played under Banghart. They worked on it in Saturday’s practice against the men practice players and it prevented Duke from consistently driving inside.
Although the Blue Devils sometimes took advantage of defensive mistakes, they were held to 35.5% shooting from the floor, the second-lowest this season (33.3% in loss at Louisville) after shooting 40.7% in the first meeting.
“Our slides were pretty good all night. And our rebounding was pretty good all night out of a zone,” said Banghart, adding that she felt they needed to give Duke a different look. “You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”
Duke coach Kara Lawson suggested the defensive scheme made a difference.
“I think the zone they were in tonight was more crowded in the middle than the one they were in in the first game. I thought we got in there, but we turned it over. And that was an issue,” said Lawson, noting that her team committed 13 second-half turnovers.
The officials let the players play for the most part, which allowed a lot of physical play to go unpunished.
“It was definitely a very physical game,” said Donarski, who had nine points, five rebounds and three steals. “I thought we stepped up and brought that aspect to the game, too, because we knew that they were going to be physical coming in.
“That was something that we talked about defensively that we had to bring, and I thought we did a really good job with that,” Donarski said. “We didn’t let them just cut and score wherever they wanted. We were physical back with them. And I think that brought us some advantages throughout the course of the game.”
Donarski, who, like Kelly, never came out of the game, said that the fourth-quarter push was all about intensity and determination to win.
“It just wasn’t gonna go any other way,” Donarski said. “That senior class, they just put their minds to it, and it was a lot of fun. Our effort on both ends of the floor, diving for loose balls, getting difficult rebounds and still continuing to score by moving the ball.”
(Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics)
Donarski marveled at Ustby’s effort to make sure senior day went well.
“She brought it,” Donarski said. “She was scoring in so many ways, through people, using a counter, using up and under. She can do it all, and she’s really proved that tonight, just her competitiveness on both ends of the floor and just really took advantage of the matchups that she had.”
UNC scored the game’s first four points and led 17–7 after holding Duke to 3 of 15 shooting in the first quarter.
An Ustby 3-pointer, her first of three this season when the shot clock wasn’t about to expire, capped a 15–3 run to push the Tar Heels’ lead to 15 in the first two minutes of the second quarter.
“We were on a big high as we started off hot,” Ustby said. “And then, we knew that we’re gonna have to weather the storm and I thought we did that really well. We stayed poised and we trusted our work that we put in on our offense. I thought the defense was pretty great. We made Duke think a lot, which caused them to play a little bit slower and out of their rhythm.”
Brown and Emily Koabel each scored six points as Duke stormed back to take a three-point lead with a 22–4 run. Ustby cut the deficit to one, 31–30, by halftime on a bucket with 41 seconds left. Five UNC second-quarter turnovers were turned into seven Duke points.
Carolina took a pair of three-point third-quarter leads, the second when freshman guard Sydney Barker — sporting a mask after breaking her nose in Thursday’s loss at Boston College — sent the crowd into a frenzy with 43 seconds left. She played five strong minutes in the third quarter.
“When she went down at Boston College, I literally was like, you have to be kidding me,” said Banghart, wondering why “up above,” they are picking on her walk-on turned scholarship player. “She made a big shot. The kid has given us all she’s got in practice. She’s has been celebrated by her teammates.”
Jackson’s second 3 of the quarter with 36 seconds left sent the game into the fourth quarter tied at 46.
Carolina scored the first nine points of the final quarter, with Maria Gakdeng’s follow shot giving UNC a 55–46 lead with 6:37 left.
UNC got several stops in a row when Duke had a chance to cut into the Heels’ five-point lead. Kelly’s short jumper pushed it to seven but Taina Mair’s 3-pointer sliced it to four with 2:24 remaining.
Jackson led Duke with 17 points and six assists and Mair added 12.
NOTES — UNC opens play at the ACC tournament in Greensboro on Thursday as the No. 8 seed, facing No. 9-seed Miami in a 1:30 second-round game. The Tar Heels won 66–61 in Chapel Hill in the only regular-season meeting with the Hurricanes (18–11, 8–10), who lost 71–66 in overtime at home to Georgia Tech on Sunday. … Zelaya, in her fourth career start, hit a pair of 3-pointers and had two rebounds. … Kelly is eighth on the all-time UNC scoring list with 1,823 points. … UNC tied its ACC-high with 12 steals (four each from Ustby and Nivar), which they also collected in the win at Notre Dame. … Out again Thursday with lower-body injuries were sophomore guard Paulina Paris (12th consecutive game) and freshman guard Reniya Kelly (sixth straight) game. Neither was in uniform. Kelly used crutches to get around and had a brace over her left knee. Redshirt sophomore Kayla McPherson, declared out for the season with a knee injury in January, also used crutches to get around. … With McPherson and Reniya Kelly each using two crutches, there were as many crutches being used by UNC guards and there were healthy guards. … UNC wore throwback uniforms like the 1994 national championship team wore. … During a first-half time out, UNC honored the male students who practice with the women’s team. … UNC snapped a two-game skid against Duke, and leads the all-time series 55–53, including 31–17 in Chapel Hill. … Three consecutive home wins over Duke is the longest streak since Carolina won four in a row from 2008 to 2011.
UNC 63, Duke 59
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
ACC tournament
Greensboro Coliseum
Wednesday’s first-round results
No. 13 seed Boston College 85, No. 12 seed Clemson 72
No. 10 seed Georgia Tech 73, No. 15 seed Pittsburgh 60
No. 14 seed Wake Forest 58, No. 11 seed Virginia 55
Thursday’s second-round results
No. 5 seed Louisville 58, Boston College 55
No. 9 seed Miami 60, No. 8 seed North Carolina 59
No. 7 seed Duke 70, Georgia Tech 58
No. 6 seed Florida State 70, Wake Forest 53
Friday’s quarterfinals
No. 4 seed Notre Dame 77, Louisville 68
No. 1 seed Virginia Tech 55, Miami 47
No. 2 seed N.C. State 54, Duke 51
Florida State 78, No. 3 seed Syracuse 65
Saturday’s semifinals
Notre Dame 82, Virginia Tech 53
N.C. State 69, Florida State 43
Sunday’s championship
Notre Dame 55, N.C. State 51
| 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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