By R.L. Bynum
For No. 14 North Carolina to reach its ceiling, the Tar Heels’ perimeter shooters will have to perform consistently.
In a 75–58 victory Sunday at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Lexi Donarski and Lanie Grant combined for eight of UNC’s 13 3-pointers to shoot down the Panthers for the Tar Heels’ fourth consecutive victory.
“I think we’ve got good shooters who have been inconsistent at times,” said UNC coach Courtney Banghart after the Heels moved to 3–0 in the ACC on the road for the first time since the 2013–14 season. “But good shots are usually a function of how we play offense, and when it goes well, we usually shoot well.”
The offense wasn’t always efficient, but Donarski’s 15 points and season-high-tying five 3-pointers and Grant’s 13 points and three 3-pointers (and season-high five rebounds) helped generate the blowout.
(Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics)
Carolina’s defense was top-notch, as always, led by Indya Nivar (top photo), who collected 12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists (tying her career-high) and a career-high seven steals, the latter tied for the most by an ACC player this season. Alyssa Ustby, who leads the ACC in defensive rebounds in league play with 59, just missed another double-double with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.
Six players scored 3-pointers for Carolina (16–3, 4–2 ACC), which scored double-digit 3s for the seventh time this season but first in ACC play, with the most since making a season-high 14 on Dec. 21 against Norfolk State.
Donarski has made 10 3-pointers in the last two games, matching her total for the previous five games. In league games, she is second in the ACC with 48.8% shooting outside the arc and is third in the ACC with 20 3-pointers.
“I feel like we had to bring a lot of energy today from within our team, and I think we did a really good job of that,” Donarski said in a postgame ACC Network interview. “Our point guards did an awesome job of recognizing whether they were in man or zone, and they switched throughout the entire game on what they were doing defensively, so we just did a good job of taking advantage of that and just really moving the ball and getting into the actions that we wanted to.”
The ball movement has had a lot to do with Donarski getting more opportunities on the perimeter. Banghart said her teammates are doing a better job of finding her.
“We get to make decisions when the ball is in her hands, and we’re doing a little bit better job with our decision-making to find the windows when she’s open,” said Banghart, who is 6–0 against Pittsburgh. “She’s a knock-down shooter when she has time and space. And I give a lot of credit to her teammates.”
UNC has had its share of physical games this season; Sunday’s contest was another example. The referees allowed plenty of contact most of the game.
(Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics)
It was quite a battle inside between UNC’s 6–3 senior center Maria Gakdeng and Pittsburgh’s 6–4 fifth-year center Khadija Faye as they had to deal with each other’s length.
“Definitely, it was fun playing against a really good post player, and we don’t see that much in the conference,” Gakdeng said. “I had to go rebound, knowing she was a leading rebounder, a scorer and in blocks. So knowing that going into the game, knowing I had to be there defensively, rather than more offensively.
Faye produced a double-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocks but committed four fouls, while Gakdeng collected seven points, 14 rebounds and three blocks.
“She showed that she’s a two-way post,” Banghart said of Gakdeng. “Defended really well, rebounded really well.”
Beating Pittsburgh (9–10, 1–5) was expected and the margin wasn’t surprising, but Banghart said that her team didn’t play its best and that there was plenty to clean up.
It wasn’t all smooth for UNC offensively, with sloppy play producing 13 turnovers.
“There’s some carelessness there,” Banghart said. “One turnover shouldn’t lead to two and three, and for us it does. We sort of treat each play like it’s a new play, as opposed to recognizing the possession that happened before it. That’s the growth that this team has to make.”
Most vexing, though, was the Tar Heels making only six of 23 layup attempts.
“I can almost guarantee the first shot every one of these kids made was a layup,” Banghart said. “It’s concentration, it’s valuing the shot, and if it’s not a great shot for us, then playing in-out more. The missed layups are certainly not going to get it done.”
A pair of Donarski 3-pointers gave UNC a six-point lead in the first five minutes. After Pitt pulled within one, UNC took a 14–9 lead into the second quarter after Grant’s crazy buzzer-beating bucket while falling to the court near the basket.
Two consecutive Grant 3-pointers, the second from four feet behind the arc, started an 8–0 UNC run to go up by 11, 27–16, with 3:11 left in the first half. A Reniya Kelly jumper and an inside Blanca Thomas bucket gave Carolina a 35–22 halftime lead.
Carolina went the first nearly 4½ minutes of the second half before Donarski hit a 3-pointer during an 8–2 run that Ustby capped with a jumper and an inside bucket. That shot the lead up to 14 after Pitt had trimmed it to eight. And an Indya Nivar transition layup gave UNC a 47–35 advantage after three quarters.
UNC pulled away in the first 3½ minutes of the final quarter, reeling off a 15–5 run — with two Nivar 3-pointers and one each from Grant and Donarski. After a pair of Pitt free throws, UNC scored 10 consecutive points, capped by 3-pointers from Jordan Zubich and Ciera Toomey to balloon the lead to 30 points.
Pitt made it look closer by finishing the game with a 16–3 run against UNC’s reserves.
NOTES — Carolina plays two home games next week, facing Wake Forest at 7 p.m. Thursday (ACC Network Extra) and Florida State at noon Sunday (ACC Network) on Alumni Day. The Deacons (7–11, 0–7) lost Sunday at home against No. 18 California 67–55. The Seminoles (15–4, 5–2) rolled to an 88–66 home win over Miami. … Nivar is tied for second in the league in steals in ACC games with 19. … This is Carolina’s fourth consecutive season with at least one four-game win streak in ACC play. … … It’s UNC’s first four-game ACC win streak since Jan. 14 through Jan. 25 last season, with victories over Virginia, Georgia Tech, Louisville and Miami. … UNC held Pitt to nine first-quarter points, the 17th time the Heels have held an opponent to fewer than 10 points in a quarter. … Tray Crisp didn’t make the trip as she continues to get treatment for a lower-body injury. She has missed the last three games. … The Tar Heels have won six in a row against Pitt, lead the series 9–6 and are 3–4 at Pittsburgh. … It’s UNC’s first four-game ACC win streak since Jan. 14 through Jan. 25 last season, with victories over Virginia, Georgia Tech, Louisville and Miami. … UNC leads the ACC in scoring defense (53.5 points per game; 2nd in league games at 60.3) and field-goal percentage defense (33.9%; 3rd in league games at 36.3%), and are second in 3-point percentage defense (26.4%; 8th in league games at 32.9%) and turnover margin (+6.4; 3rd in league games at +5.29). … The Tar Heels were 6 of 8 from the free-throw line (75%) for their fourth-best percentage and the best in ACC play, but still are last in the ACC at 65.2%.
No. 14 UNC 75, Pittsburgh 58
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 3 Notre Dame | 7–0 | 16–2 | 6 |
| No. 14 Duke | 6–1 | 15–4 | 8 |
| No. 20 N.C. State | 6–1 | 14–4 | 21 |
| Louisville | 6–2 | 13–6 | 40 |
| No. 22 California | 5–2 | 17–3 | 34 |
| No. 13 North Carolina | 5–2 | 17–3 | 13 |
| Florida State | 5–2 | 15–4 | 28 |
| No. 18 Georgia Tech | 4–3 | 16–3 | 23 |
| Virginia Tech | 4–3 | 13–5 | 57 |
| Boston College | 3–4 | 12–8 | 74 |
| Virginia | 3–4 | 11–8 | 83 |
| Clemson | 3–5 | 10–9 | 54 |
| Stanford | 2–5 | 10–8 | 42 |
| SMU | 2–5 | 10–9 | 108 |
| Miami | 1–6 | 11–7 | 85 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–6 | 9–11 | 147 |
| Syracuse | 1–6 | 7–11 | 88 |
| Wake Forest | 0–7 | 7–11 | 105 |
Sunday’s results
No. 13 North Carolina 75, Pittsburgh 58
Boston College 92, Syracuse 51
No. 14 Duke 74, Stanford 49
No. 18 Georgia Tech 89, Clemson 65
No. 20 N.C. State 73, Virginia 68
No. 22 California 67, Wake Forest 55
Florida State 88, Miami 66
Virginia Tech 70, Louisville 65
No. 3 Notre Dame 88, SMU 64
Thursday’s games
No. 20 N.C. State at Syracuse, 6 p.m., ACCN
Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Wake Forest at No. 13 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
No. 18 Georgia Tech at Virginia, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at Clemson, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
No. 3 Notre Dame at Boston College, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
No. 14 Duke at SMU, 8 p.m., ACCN
No. 22 California at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Sunday’s games
Florida State at No. 13 North Carolina, noon, ACCN
SMU at Miami, noon, ACCN Extra
No. 14 Duke at No. 18 Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Boston College at Wake Forest, 2 p.m., ACCN
Louisville at Virginia, 2 p.m., The CW
Syracuse at Clemson, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Virginia Tech at No. 20 N.C. State, 6 p.m., ACCN
| Date | Day/month | Time/ score | Opponent/event (current rank) | TV/ 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. 6 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. 11 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. No. 18 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. 3 Notre Dame | 13–3, 1–2 |
| 9 | Thursday | W, 53–46, OT | vs. No. 14 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 | 7 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN Extra |
| 26 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Florida State | ACCN |
| 30 | Thursday | TBA | at No. 22 Cal | ACCN Extra |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Sunday | 3 p.m. ET | at Stanford | The CW |
| 9 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at Clemson | ACCN Extra |
| 13 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Virginia Tech | ACCN Extra |
| 16 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. No. 20 N.C. State | ESPN |
| 20 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Syracuse | ACCN |
| 23 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at Louisville | ESPN |
| 27 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at No. 14 Duke | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 2 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Virginia | The CW |
| 5–9 | Wed.–Sun. | ACC tournament Greensboro |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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