By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — No. 19 North Carolina came out after halftime with energy for the second consecutive game and took over.
Unlike against No. 14 Duke three days earlier when the Tar Heels had to go to overtime to win, Carolina kept its foot on the gas and coasted to an 80–67 victory Sunday at Carmichael Arena over Boston College.
“At halftime, I really challenged them to remember what they’re about and how they want to perform in the second half,” said UNC coach Courtney Banghart, whose team went from allowing BC to shoot 60% in the second quarter to holding the Eagles to 29.6% in the second half.
UNC (15–3, 3–2 ACC ), which scored the first 16 points after halftime against the Blue Devils, began the second half against BC (10–8, 1–4) with a 16–4 run.
This is the fastest Carolina has got its 15th win since the 2021–22 team went 25–7 and made the Sweet 16.
“I just thought they came out flat, and they’ll have to answer to that,” Banghart said of her team, which won after trailing at halftime for the first time this season. “At halftime, they quickly made the adjustment of understanding the urgency that they need, and we’ll continue to work with their urgency moving forward.”
Sophomore guard Reniya Kelly spearheaded the charge for the Tar Heels, which was fueled on the defensive end. She played an outstanding floor game, collecting 14 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Alyssa Ustby led three Tar Heels in double figures with 17 points.
“Reniya’s a dog. Alyssa is a dog. That certainly helps,” Banghart said. “They played the way that we needed them to play in the second half.”
Kelly said that the Tar Heels needed floor leadership against BC, which was her focus for the game. She has been a steadying force, with only one turnover in the last four games.
“I think I did that this game; so proud of myself for that,” Kelly said. “I think also, just taking command of each position. What’s really big this game, too, is just making sure I put my teammates in the best position to score and [to] make the extra pass.”
Banghart said that Kelly’s ovation when she comes out of games reminds her of when Ustby first got to Carolina and ascended to becoming a star.
Turning up the defense and eliminating the turnovers made a big difference after Boston College took a 40–37 halftime lead. Banghart said Carolina played defense with much more urgency in the second half.
“Defensively, we were much better, which allows you to score against a non-set defense,” Banghart said. “Also, you play better offense when you’re more connected, and you play with urgency.”
UNC committed 10 first-half turnovers to give them 50 in five halves (including the Duke win and the Notre Dame loss) before turning the ball over only four times in the second half, with two coming on offensive fouls.
It helped that Ustby shook off an 11-turnover game against Duke and was turnover-free in nearly 32 minutes.
“I think it starts for us on the defensive end,” Ustby said. “When we get stops together, we feel a little more connected on offense, and the offensive flow is better. A lot of turnovers typically come from miscommunications.
“We don’t see that corner skip [pass], so that’s usually where turnovers can come from, especially for me,” Ustby said. “So just being able to slow down and just continue to do things that we can control, which is on the defensive end, and then that translates into the [offensive] end.”
Banghart suggested that it’s “not great” when UNC doesn’t take advantage of a “rim runner” such as Ustby, and that wasn’t an issue in the second half. She scored three layups in 33 seconds during that pivotal early second-half run.
“That’s just team defense, getting a defensive board and looking up the court and passing ahead,” Ustby said. “We’re really hard to guard in transition because Maria [Gakdeng] and I and the rest of our posts can run the floor. But we also have a lot of great passers and girls who can space the floor by fading out to the 3-point line. They kind of have to pick their poison.”
Carolina again battled foul trouble, with Lexi Donarski and Indya Nivar each picking up three fouls in the first half. Nivar fouled out early in the fourth quarter with 8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists in 16 minutes, and Ustby finished with four fouls.
The 27 BC free-throw attempts (making 20) were the most by a UNC opponent this season. UNC also took advantage of the foul fest, going 17 of 23 as referees whistled 45 total fouls.
UNC got 3-pointers from Kelly and Donarski during a 10–2 run to grab an eight-point lead with 3:33 left in the first quarter. Carolina led 21–16 after one quarter despite going without a field goal in the period after that run, with Tatum Greene hitting a 3-pointer for BC at the buzzer.
After the Tar Heels took a seven-point lead on a Blanca Thomas bucket in the first 15 seconds of the second quarter, BC went on an 11–1 run to seize a three-point lead.
With Nivar and Donarski out for half of the second quarter and Tray Crisp missing the game with a lower-body injury, two guards — redshirt freshman Laila Hull and freshman Jordan Zubich — made their ACC debuts in the period, playing for the first time since the Dec. 21 win over Norfolk State.
“We celebrated them in the locker room,” Banghart said of her bench. “The bench really was what we needed.”
Freshman Lanie Grant came off the bench to score a pair of 3-pointers and netted seven of her 12 points in the second half.
BC scored six points in a row to lead by 6. A Kelly jumper with three seconds left cut the Eagles’ halftime lead to three.
Carolina took over from there with its second-half surge, shoving the lead to 11 on a Kelly jumper with 1:43 left in the third quarter. Two Kelly free throws gave Carolina a 60–52 lead after three quarters.
BC cut the lead that was 18 to 11 with a 10–3 run but got no closer, and a Zubich 3-pointer with 1:11 left provided the final margin.
NOTES — Carolina goes on the road at 8 p.m. ET Thursday for its first game against new ACC member SMU (ACC Network Extra). The Mustangs (10–7, 2–3) were outscored 28–0 in the third quarter Sunday in a 72–59 loss at Pittsburgh. SMU led 46–14 with 1:37 left in the first half, making Pitt’s comeback the largest in a regulation game in Division I women’s basketball history. In 2006, Texas State rallied from a 32-point deficit to win in overtime. … A Carolina team with dangerous perimeter shooters continues to struggle of late from 3-point range. UNC made only 5 of 21 attempts and is 19 of 78 (24.3%) in the last four games. … UNC’s 73.9% free-throw shooting was its best in ACC play and only the seventh time this season the Heels have shot better than 70%. … This was the first time since UNC’s 1994 national championship season that the Tar Heels have played four of their first five league games at home. … Ustby is the active ACC career rebounding leader with 1,119. … Greene, a freshman BC guard, is the daughter of former UNC and Minnesota Lynx wing Chanel Wright-Greene, who was the ACC Freshman of the Year in 1996 and played for Carolina through the 1998–99 season. Wright-Greene was at the game wearing a BC jersey. … UNC has won three of the last four meetings with BC and leads the series 17–5, including 8–2 in Chapel Hill.
No. 19 UNC 80, BC 67
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 6 Notre Dame | 16–2 | 25–4 | 4 |
| No. 7 N.C. State | 16–2 | 24–5 | 19 |
| No. 11 Duke | 14–4 | 23–7 | 7 |
| No. 14 North Carolina | 13–5 | 25–6 | 18 |
| No. 22 Florida State | 13–5 | 23–7 | 23 |
| Louisville | 13–5 | 20–9 | 36 |
| California | 12–6 | 24–7 | 39 |
| Georgia Tech | 9–9 | 21–9 | 29 |
| Virginia Tech | 9–9 | 18–11 | 48 |
| Virginia | 8–10 | 16–14 | 75 |
| Stanford | 8–10 | 16–13 | 49 |
| Boston College | 6–12 | 15–16 | 70 |
| Clemson | 6–12 | 13–16 | 65 |
| Syracuse | 6–12 | 12–17 | 91 |
| Pittsburgh | 5–13 | 13–18 | 141 |
| Miami | 4–14 | 14–15 | 82 |
| SMU | 2–16 | 10–20 | 124 |
| Wake Forest | 2–16 | 9–20 | 98 |
Sunday’s games
Virginia 78, No. 14 North Carolina 75
No. 6 Notre Dame 72, Louisville 59
No. 7 N.C. State 69, SMU 45
Pittsburgh 79, Wake Forest 63
Virginia Tech 78, Clemson 76
Syracuse 82, Boston College 57
Stanford 87, Georgia Tech 82
California 81, Miami 61
No. 11 Duke 71, No. 22 Florida State 57
ACC tournament in Greensboro
Wednesday’s first round (ACC Network)
No. 12 Boston College (15–16) vs. No. 13 Syracuse (12–17), 1 p.m.
No. 10 Virginia (16–14) vs. No. 15 Pittsburgh (13–18), 3:30
No. 11 Stanford (16–13) vs. No. 14 Clemson (13–16), 6:30
Thursday’s second round (ACC Network)
No. 5 (No. 14 ranked) UNC (25–6) vs. BC-Syracuse winner, 11 a.m.
No. 8 Georgia Tech (21–9) vs. No. 9 Virginia Tech (18–11), 1:30
No. 7 California (24–7) vs. Virginia-Pittsburgh winner, 5 p.m.
No. 6 Louisville (20–9) vs. Stanford-Clemson winner, 7:30
Friday’s quarterfinals
No. 4 (No. 22 ranked) Florida State (23–7) vs. UNC, BC or Syracuse, 11 a.m., ESPN2
No. 1 (No. 7 ranked) N.C. State (24–5) vs. Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech winner, 1:30, ACC Network
No. 2 (No. 6 ranked) Notre Dame (25–4) vs. California, Virginia or Pittsburgh, 5 p.m., ESPN2
No. 3 (No. 11 ranked) Duke (23–7) vs. Louisville, Stanford or Clemson, 7:30, ACC Network
Saturday’s semifinals (ESPN2)
Winners of first two quarterfinals, noon
Winners of last two quarterfinals, 2:30
Sunday’s championship
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m., ESPN
UNC results
| Date | Day/month | Score | Opponent/event (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | ||||
| 4 | Monday | W, 83–53 | vs. Charleston Southern | 1–0 |
| 7 | Thursday | W, 77–50 | vs. UNCW | 2–0 |
| 12 | Tuesday | W, 66–47 | at N.C. A&T | 3–0 |
| 15 | Friday | L, 69–58 | vs. No. 3 UConn in Greensboro | 3–1 |
| Battle 4 Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas | ||||
| 23 | Saturday | W, 63–52 | Ball State | 4–1 |
| 24 | Sunday | W, 53–36 | Villanova | 5–1 |
| 25 | Monday | W, 69–39 | Indiana | 6–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 29 | Friday | W, 119–43 | vs. N.C. Central | 7–1 |
| December | ||||
| ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | ||||
| 5 | Thursday | W, 72–53 | vs. No. 13 Kentucky | 8–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 8 | Sunday | W, 72–46 | vs. Coppin State | 9–1 |
| 11 | Wednesday | W, 80–56 | vs. UNCG | 10–1 |
| 15 | Sunday | L, 82–76 | vs. Georgia Tech | 10–2, 0–1 ACC |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 18 | Wednesday | W, 77–57 | vs. Florida | 11–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 21 | Saturday | W, 90–47 | vs. Norfolk State | 12–2 |
| ACC season | ||||
| 29 | Sunday | W, 69–60 | at Miami | 13–2, 1–1 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 5 | Sunday | L, 76–66 | vs. No. 8 Notre Dame | 13–3, 1–2 |
| 9 | Thursday | W, 53–46, OT | vs. No. 7 Duke | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 80–67 | vs. Boston College | 15–3, 3–2 |
| 16 | Thursday | W, 64–33 | at SMU | 16–3, 4–2 |
| 19 | Sunday | W, 75–58 | at Pitt | 17–3, 5–2 |
| 23 | Thursday | W, 76–51 | vs. Wake Forest | 18–3, 6–2 |
| 26 | Sunday | L, 86–84 | vs. No. 22 Florida State | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 30 | Thursday | W, 65–52 | at California | 19–4, 7–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Sunday | W, 69–67 | at Stanford | 20–4, 8–3 |
| 9 | Sunday | W, 53–51 | at Clemson | 21–4, 9–3 |
| 13 | Thursday | W, 67–62 | vs. Virginia Tech | 22–4, 10–3 |
| 16 | Sunday | W, 66–65 | vs. No. 9 N.C. State | 23–4, 11–3 |
| 20 | Thursday | W, 68–58 | at Syracuse | 24–4, 12–3 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 79–75 | at Louisville | 25–4, 13–3 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 68–53 | at No. 7 Duke | 25–5, 13–4 |
| March | ||||
| 2 | Sunday | L, 78–75 | vs. Virginia | 25–6, 13–5 |
| ACC tournament Greensboro | ||||
| 6 | Thursday | W, 78–71 | Third round: Boston College | 26–6 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 60–56 | Quarterfinals: vs. No. 22 Florida State | 27–6 |
| 8 | Saturday | L, 66–55 | Semifinals: vs. No. 9 N.C. State | 27–7 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 22 | Saturday | W, 70–49 | First round in CH: vs. Oregon State | 28–7 |
| 24 | Monday | W, 58–47 | Second round in CH: vs. No. 16 West Virginia | 29–7 |
| 28 | Friday | L, 47–38 | Birmingham Regional 2 Sweet 16: vs. No. 7 Duke | 29–8 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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