By R.L. Bynum
Life without Alyssa Ustby — however long that is — is never going to be easy, but No. 9 North Carolina having junior transfer guard Tray Crisp back and Lanie Grant’s savvy sure make it easier.
Both came off the bench to score career-highs and make crucial buckets as the Tar Heels rallied from 12 points down to win 79–75 Sunday at the KFC Yum! Center for the program’s first win in six tries at Louisville, becoming the only women’s team in the country unbeaten on the road.
“It was just a lot of energy in the gym for two really good teams,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. “It was a really good basketball game. They had the lead a lot of the game. But it’s about togetherness and toughness.”
UNC (25–4, 13–3 ACC) has 25 regular-season wins for the eighth time and all but clinched an ACC tournament double-bye. It’s the most regular season wins since the 2012–13 team won 26 on its way to a 29–7 finish.
It all came despite one center fouling out late (Maria Gakdeng; 9 points, 11 rebounds) and another missing the game with the flu (Ciera Toomey, who started the previous game).
“Those are all details about toughness and togetherness,” Banghart said.
Crisp, a junior transfer guard in only her third game back after missing more than a month with a lower-body injury, scored 19 points and three 3-pointers. She also scored on a drive with 35 seconds left to give UNC the lead for good.
“I think that’s work over time,” Crisp said. “I felt comfortable going in there and providing for my team. My team gives me the confidence, and I knew we needed it.”
Grant scored a team-high 19 points and three 3-pointers and converted a huge four-point play with 2:28 left to give UNC its first lead since the game’s first two minutes.
“[Grant] scored more points than she has years on this planet,” Banghart said. “We’re just getting deeper and deeper as we get into the postseason here.”
Grant said that her teammates continue to give her the confidence to perform.
“I’ve been told a lot recently that when I’m open, I have to shoot it,” Grant said. “And I found myself open quite a bit this game, so I shot it, and then it went in, which is great.”
With UNC’s biggest rally in a win this season and No. 1 Notre Dame’s loss at N.C. State, the only other Division I team unbeaten on the road is Houston’s men, who are also 9–0. It’s UNC’s best road start since the 2005–06 Final Four team won all 10 road games and went 33–2.
Sophomore point guard Reniya Kelly had another good floor game with 16 points, two 3-pointers, five rebounds and four assists, with graduate guard Lexi Donarski pitching in 13 points and two 3-pointers.
Ustby, who is recovering from a left knee injury and considered week-to-week, didn’t make the trip, and her rebounding was sorely missed. The Cardinals dominated that statistic 42–27, and UNC only had four offensive rebounds.
“We knew they were going to crash the boards really hard, and first quarter, they did,” Grant said. “And it kind of slapped us in the face a little bit. But that’s what’s so special about this team is we don’t roll over and die. We just keep fighting.”
Carolina turned the game around by going to fewer ball screens and spreading out Louisville to exploit one-on-one advantages.
“When we intermittently put the ball screen in, we were trying to draw the trap to then have the next pass be the assist guy or the driver,” Banghart said. “I give a lot of credit to our primary ball-handlers because we actually were like, ‘We’re going to actually put you in a trap, and you need to deal with it.’ But everybody else can play four-on-three.”
Banghart said that when her ball handlers got fatigued, she had them space out, and the guards used their quickness to their advantage in one-on-one situations.
Louisville (19–8, 12–4) converted seven first-half UNC turnovers into 11 points, but the Tar Heels only had three turnovers after halftime.
“I thought [Kelly and Grace Townsend] took pretty good care of the ball given what they were dealing with,” Banghart said.
After a Donarski 3-pointer gave UNC a brief early lead, Louisville took advantage of three Tar Heels turnovers to score 12 consecutive points and took an 11-point lead with 3:54 on a Jayda Curry jumper.
“We got a little frantic at the beginning,” Crisp said. “But I feel like, over the game, we just calmed down and began to be ourselves again and it worked out at the end.”
A Kelly 3-pointer ended a 4½-minute UNC scoring drought and started an 8–2 run to cut its deficit to 20–14 after the first quarter. Louisville pushed the lead to 12 with an 8–2 run to start the second quarter.
After making only 6 of its first 24 shots, UNC made 5 of 6. Two Crisp 3-pointers and a Donarski 3 in a 9–0 run sliced UNC’s lead to two, but Louisville took a 35–29 halftime lead.
A Kelly 3-pointer two minutes into the second half cut Louisville’s lead to four, but it was back to nine three minutes later after a Merissah Russell 3-pointer. Crisp’s 3-pointer at the buzzer cut Louisville’s lead to 55–50 after three quarters.
A Grant three-point play capped a 10–4 UNC run to trim the lead to two with 6:43 left.
Incidental contact by Gakdeng’s arm to Russell’s face drew an intentional foul, allowing Curry to hit two technical free throws with 5:59 left. A left-handed Kelly layup cut it back to two with 4:53 left, but Gakdeng fouled out with 4:35 left.
Grant’s four-point play gave UNC a 72–71 lead with 2:30 left, Kelly’s drive tied it with 1:22 left and Crisp’s drive with 35 seconds left put UNC up by two.
Louisville turned the ball over at the other end. After Blanca Thomas missed two free-throw attempts with 9.2 seconds left, Curry missed a 3-point attempt with 2.1 seconds left under heavy defensive pressure from Grant. Kelly’s two free throws with 1.7 seconds left put the game away.
Curry was one of six Cardinals scoring in double figures with 18 points, with Russell adding 13 off the bench.
NOTES — Carolina plays its third consecutive road game at 7 p.m. Thursday at No. 11 Duke (21–7, 12–4). The Blue Devils rolled to an 80–49 home win Sunday over Syracuse. … Thomas got her fifth start of the season after Toomey started Thursday at Syracuse in the first game without Ustby. Grant started in that spot in the second half. … It was UNC’s first win in six tries at Louisville, but they trail in the series 9–6. Louisville had won nine of 12 meetings since it joined the ACC. … UNC, which attempted only one first-half free throw, was 12 of 15 from the free-throw line (81.3%), the fourth-best shooting this season. … UNC was 10 of 22 from 3-point range, marking the eighth game this season with at least 10 3-pointers.
No. 9 UNC 79, Louisville 75
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 Notre Dame | 15–1 | 24–4 | 4 |
| No. 13 N.C. State | 14–2 | 22–5 | 17 |
| No. 9 North Carolina | 13–3 | 25–4 | 14 |
| No. 11 Duke | 12–4 | 21–7 | 8 |
| Louisville | 12–4 | 19–8 | 37 |
| Florida State | 11–4 | 21–6 | 26 |
| California | 10–6 | 22–7 | 41 |
| No. 20 Georgia Tech | 9–6 | 21–6 | 28 |
| Virginia Tech | 8–8 | 17–10 | 46 |
| Stanford | 6–9 | 14–12 | 47 |
| Clemson | 6–10 | 13–14 | 56 |
| Virginia | 5–10 | 13–14 | 81 |
| Boston College | 5–11 | 14–15 | 71 |
| Syracuse | 4–12 | 10–17 | 91 |
| Miami | 4–12 | 14–13 | 79 |
| Pittsburgh | 4–12 | 11–17 | 142 |
| SMU | 2–14 | 10–18 | 118 |
| Wake Forest | 2–14 | 9–18 | 99 |
Sunday’s games
No. 9 North Carolina 79, Louisville 75
No. 13 N.C. State 104, No. 1 Notre Dame 95
Miami 62, Wake Forest 60
Pittsburgh 72, Clemson 59
No. 11 Duke 80, Syracuse 49
Boston College 87, SMU 78
Virginia Tech 87, California 84
Florida State at No. 20 Georgia Tech, 4 p.m., The CW
Stanford at Virginia, 6 p.m., ACCN
Thursday’s games
Clemson at Louisville, ACCN
No. 9 North Carolina at No. 11 Duke, 7 p.m., ESPN
Wake Forest at No. 13 N.C. State, ACCN Extra
Pittsburgh at Syracuse, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Virginia Tech at Boston College, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Florida State at No. 1 Notre Dame, 8 p.m., ACCN
Virginia at SMU, 8 p.m., ACCN Extra
No. 20 Georgia Tech at California, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
| 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. 5 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. 14 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. 20 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. 1 Notre Dame | 13–3, 1–2 |
| 9 | Thursday | W, 53–46, OT | vs. No. 11 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. 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. 13 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 | 7 p.m. | at No. 11 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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