By Bob Sutton
CHAPEL HILL — Reniya Kelly picked a good time to turn in the best game of her career.
North Carolina needed the junior guard’s production to help reverse a recent slide, with her 24 points a big reason the Tar Heels topped Miami 73-62 on Thursday night at Carmichael Arena.
“It’s really not all about the scoring,” Kelly said. “So even after scoring six points, seven points, it doesn’t matter as long as we got the win.”
Playing without a national ranking for the first time this season, the Tar Heels (14–5, 3–3 ACC) held Miami to 28 second-half points. That allowed them to win despite 38.4% shooting from the field.
“Just another gritty night in the ACC,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. “… It’s pretty remarkable how poorly we shot, and we were still able to find a win.”
Even though she was in uniform and in games, Kelly was recovering from last season’s right knee injury when this season began, so it has been a process.
“I’m still pushing through,” said Kelly, who also shared team-high honors with six rebounds.
Her offense was most noticeable. She was 9-for-14 from the field, including 4-for-5 on 3-pointers.
“We got to keep shooting, so that’s what I did,” she said. “I’ve got to keep finding the openings for myself. … Every shot I took tonight, I practice those.”
Banghart said a level of patience has been needed as Kelly, whose previous career high for points was 23 last February at home against N.C. State, rounds into form. She played more than 30 minutes for only the fourth time this season.
“It has never been about her. It’s about winning,” Banghart said. “There are some people who want to say ‘Oh, Reniya’s back.’ She never left. Let’s be really clear about that. She was sidelined for a little longer than we would have liked.”
North Carolina entered the game after back-to-back losses for the first time this season, and it was evident in the first half that the Tar Heels would have a difficult time shaking free from Miami (11-7, 3-4).
Indya Nivar poured in 13 points, all in the second half, and reserve Taissa Queiroz added 10 points for the Tar Heels.
Kelly eclipsed her season high with 16 points in the first half. It’s the first time she reached double figures this season.
“She’s starting to find her rhythm, which is great,” Banghart said.
Shoddy third-quarter play had been concerning at times in recent weeks for the Tar Heels. They rebuffed that with a 24–12 edge coming out of halftime against Miami.
“The third quarter has kind of hurt us so far as we’ve kind of been early in our ACC season,” Banghart said. “So, it’s a priority for us to come out and play better in the third quarter and they did that, obviously.”
Nivar scored twice on drives during a 9–0 third-quarter run that catapulted the Tar Heels to a 43–38 edge. Kelly drained back-to-back 3s in the final minute of the third quarter as North Carolina, by scoring the last eight points of the quarter, extended its margin to 56-46.
Miami closed within 58–53 before the Tar Heels took two shots that didn’t hit the rim, but maintained possession and ended up with Elina Aarnisalo’s 3-pointer.
Nivar had her version of a breakout performance. After failing to score more than five points in three of the previous four games, she hit five of 10 shots from the field and distributed a team-best five assists.
“I thought she really fought tonight,” Banghart said. “I think as our offense continues to mature, she is going to find more openings and show off her passing and her shooting and her confidence.”
Miami, playing the first of three consecutive road games, remained one victory shy of matching last season’s ACC win total. The Hurricanes played without leading scorer Shaya Kyle (16.3 points per game), who scored a career-high 30 points Sunday vs. Florida State.
“We prepared for [Kyle] all week and then she didn’t play, so we had to really adjust on the fly,” Banghart said.
Gal Raviv and Amarachi Kimpson scored 16 points apiece for the Hurricanes.
Kelly provided North Carolina’s first six points for the only Tar Heels’ scoring for nearly the first five minutes. By halftime, Miami led 34–32.
But the level of resilience was encouraging to Banghart.
“You can’t be stood on if you’re not laying down,” she said. “And this team doesn’t lay down.”
So, after struggling late in an overtime loss to Stanford and enduring Sunday’s blowout loss at Notre Dame, there’s suddenly more optimism.
“The most dangerous team is a team that keeps getting better,” Banghart said. “… Nothing is wrong, we’re getting better. We’ve got a young team.”
Notes
— The Tar Heels play their next two games on the road, going to Florida State on Sunday and to Georgia Tech next Thursday. They’re home again Jan. 25 vs. Syracuse.
— The victory was UNC’s best of the season in terms of NET ranking with Miami 43rd in the NET.
— North Carolina starting forward Nyla Harris was without a field goal for the second time this season, going 0-for-7. She was 4-for-4 on free throws. She had scored in double figures in all five previous ACC games.
— The Tar Heels were 7-for-27 on 3-pointers, connecting on less than 29% for the fourth consecutive game. Banghart said she likes the quality of the 3-point attempts, so she’ll encourage the Tar Heels to keep launching them. “We should take that many 3s,” she said. “We’re a really good 3-point shooting team. … Having Reniya’s go in certainly helps the percentage.”
— The Tar Heels’ 10-for-10 shooting on free throws was notable for a team that was last in the ACC at 63.1% from the free-throw line when the day began.
Bob Sutton is a veteran ACC sports writer who is the former North Carolina Sportswriter of the Year and was the sports editor of the Burlington Times-News for 25 years.
UNC 73, Miami 62
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 9 Louisville | 7–0 | 17–3 | 11 |
| Duke | 7–0 | 12–6 | 19 |
| N.C. State | 6–1 | 13–5 | 27 |
| Syracuse | 5–2 | 15–3 | 41 |
| Virginia | 5–2 | 13–5 | 39 |
| Stanford | 4–2 | 15–4 | 35 |
| Virginia Tech | 4–3 | 14–5 | 51 |
| No. 23 Notre Dame | 4–3 | 12–5 | 22 |
| Clemson | 3–3 | 12–6 | 40 |
| Georgia Tech | 3–3 | 8–10 | 93 |
| North Carolina | 3–3 | 14–5 | 26 |
| Miami | 3–4 | 11–7 | 43 |
| Wake Forest | 2–5 | 12–7 | 116 |
| California | 1–5 | 10–9 | 61 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–5 | 8–11 | 243 |
| Florida State | 1–5 | 6–12 | 104 |
| SMU | 0–6 | 7–11 | 154 |
| Boston College | 0–7 | 4–15 | 250 |
* — Through Wednesday games
Thursday results
North Carolina 73, Miami 62
No. 9 Louisville 79, No. 23 Notre Dame 66
Florida State 69, Pittsburgh 65
Stanford 77, Boston College 52
N.C. State 95, Wake Forest 77
Syracuse 90, California 87, 3 OTs
Virginia Tech 79, SMU 42
Duke 65, Virginia 58
Sunday’s games
California at Boston College, noon, ACCN Extra
Wake Forest at Clemson, noon, ACC Network
No. 9 Louisville at N.C. State, 1 p.m., ESPN2
SMU at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m., ACCN Extra
North Carolina at Florida State, 2 p.m., The CW
Stanford at Syracuse, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Georgia Tech at Duke, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Monday’s game
No. 23 Notre Dame at No. 1 UConn, 5 p.m., Fox
Thursday, Jan. 22, games
Miami at No. 23 Notre Dame, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Clemson at Virginia Tech, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Pittsburgh at Virginia, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Florida State at SMU, 7:30, ACCN Extra
North Carolina at Georgia Tech, 8 p.m., ACC Network
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 2 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. 3 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. 4 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 9 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, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–0 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–1 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 73–50 | at No. 23 Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–2 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–2 |
| 18 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at Florida State | The CW |
| 22 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| 25 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | The CW |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 6 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 5 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ACCN |
| 8 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 12 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. SMU | ACCN |
| 15 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at Duke | ABC |
| 19 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Virginia Tech | ACCN |
| 22 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Pittsburgh | ACCN |
| 26 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Virginia | ACCN Extra |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Duke | ESPN |
| ACC tournament | ||||
| 4–8 | Wed.-Sun | Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga. | ||
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 20–24 | Fri.-Mon. | First, second rounds | ||
| 27–30 | Fri.-Mon. | Regionals Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, Calif. | ||
| April | ||||
| 3, 5 | Fri., Sun | Final Four Phoenix |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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