By R.L. Bynum
With No. 8 North Carolina’s first back-to-back losses all season, the short-handed Tar Heels lost a chance to earn a double-bye in the ACC women’s tournament.
The Tar Heels’ 78–75 upset loss to Virginia, playing without stars Reniya Kelly and Alyssa Ustby, means that they open play with an 11 a.m. Thursday second-round game at Greensboro’s First Horizon Coliseum. UNC (25–6) will face the winner of Wednesday’s 1 p.m. first-round game between No. 12-seed Boston College (15–16) and No. 13 Syracuse (12–17).
Carolina beat BC 80–67 at home on Jan. 12 and won at Syracuse 68–58 on Feb. 20.
With a Thursday win, the Tar Heels would meet No. 4-seed Florida State (24–6) in a quarterfinal game at 11 a.m. Friday. The Seminoles won at UNC 86–84 on Jan. 26.
While UNC coach Courtney Banghart said that Kelly (right knee) and Ustby (left knee) will definitely play in the NCAA tournament, she wasn’t sure about their status for the ACC tournament, adding that they are progressing.
In other Wednesday’s first-round games, No. 10 Virginia (16–14) takes on No. 15 Pittsburgh (13–18) at 3:30 and No. 11 Stanford (16–13) plays No. 14 Syracuse (12–17) at 6:30.
After UNC’s game on Thursday, No. 8 Georgia Tech (21–9) meets No. 9 Virginia Tech (18–11) at 1:30, No. 7 California (24–7) takes on the Virginia-Pittsburgh winner at 5 p.m., and Louisville faces the Stanford-Syracuse winner at 7:30.
No. 1-seed N.C. State (24–5) opens play at 1:30 Friday against the Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech winner. At 5 p.m. Friday, No. 2 Notre Dame (25–4) faces either California, Virginia or Pittsburgh. In the final quarterfinal matchup at 7:30, No. 3 Duke (23–7) takes on the Stanford-Syracuse winner.
Saturday’s semifinals start at noon. UNC would play at noon if it advances that far. The championship game is at 1 p.m. Sunday
ACC tournament
No. 10 California 75, No. 15 Wake Forest 52
No. 11 Georgia Tech 72, No. 14 Florida State 60
Thursday’s second round
No. 9 Clemson 63, Virginia 50
No. 5 Notre Dame 69, Miami 54
No. 7 Syracuse 70, California 59
No. 6 Virginia Tech 62, Georgia Tech 54
Friday’s quarterfinals
No. 1 Duke 60, Clemson 54
Notre Dame 81, No. 5 N.C. State 63
No. 2 Louisville 87, Syracuse 61
No. 3 North Carolina 85, Virginia Tech 68
Saturday’s semifinals
Duke 65, Notre Dame 63
Louisville 65, North Carolina 57
Sunday’s championship
Duke 70, Louisville 65, OT
| Date | Day/month | Scores | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 4 South Carolina in Atlanta | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 90–42 | vs. N.C. Central | 1–0 |
| 6 | Thursday | W, 71–37 | vs. Elon | 2–0 |
| WBCA Challenge Las Vegas | ||||
| 13 | Thursday | L, 78–60 | vs. No. 2 UCLA | 2–1 |
| 15 | Saturday | W, 82–68 | vs. Fairfield | 3–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 20 | Thursday | W, 85–50 | at N.C. A&T | 4–1 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 94–48 | vs. UNCG | 5–1 |
| Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico | ||||
| 27 | Thursday | W, 83–48 | vs. South Dakota St. | 6–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 85–73 | vs. Kansas State | 7–1 |
| 29 | Saturday | W, 80–63 | vs. Columbia | 8–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 79–64 | at No. 3 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 13 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 84–34 | vs. UNCW | 10–3 |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 93–74 | vs. Charleston Southern | 11–3 |
| 29 | Monday | W, 90–38 | at Boston College | 12–3, 1–1 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–1 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–2 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 73–50 | at No. 22 Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–3 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–3 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 82–55 | at Florida State | 15–5, 4–3 |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 54–46 | at Georgia Tech | 16–5, 5–3 |
| 25 | Sunday | W, 77–71, OT | vs. Syracuse | 17–5, 6–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 61–59 | at N.C. State | 18–5, 7–3 |
| 5 | Thursday | W, 53–44 | vs. Clemson | 19–5, 8–3 |
| 8 | Sunday | W, 84–56 | vs. Wake Forest | 20–5, 9–3 |
| 12 | Thursday | W, 94–42 | vs. SMU | 21–5, 10–3 |
| 15 | Sunday | L, 72–68 | at No. 8 Duke | 21–6, 10–4 |
| 19 | Thursday | W, 66–63, OT | at Virginia Tech | 22–6, 11–4 |
| 22 | Sunday | W, 78–50 | vs. Pittsburgh | 23–6, 12–4 |
| 26 | Thursday | W, 82–70 | at Virginia | 24–6, 13–4 |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | W, 72–69 | vs. No. 8 Duke | 25–6, 14–4 |
| ACC tournament | Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga. | |||
| 6 | Friday | W, 85–68 | Quarterfinal vs. Va. Tech | 26–6 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 65–57 | Semifinal vs. No. 13 Louisville | 26–7 |
| NCAA tournament Fort Worth 1 Regional | ||||
| 21 | Friday | W, 82–51 | First round in Chapel Hill: vs. Western Illinois | 27–7 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 74–66 | Second round in Chapel Hill: No. 17 Maryland | 28–7 |
| 27 | Friday | L, 63–52 | Sweet 16 in Fort Worth, Texas: vs. No. 1 UConn | 28–8 |
Photo by Smith Hardy
