By Bob Sutton
RALEIGH — North Carolina had enough answers at convenient times and that gave the Tar Heels a memorable outcome Monday night.
The Tar Heels clung to the lead during anxious late-game sequences for a 61–59 victory, providing Coach Courtney Banghart her first victory in Reynolds Coliseum in five visits.
When it was finished, Banghart was high-fiving players as they left the court at this historic venue.
“This rivalry seems to have a lot of these games,” Banghart said following the only scheduled meeting of the season between the teams.
The Tar Heels, who returned to the national rankings hours earlier at No. 25, withstood the atmosphere.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a gym that was that loud,” guard Lanie Grant said. “I think my ears actually popped after we turned the ball over in the middle of the court.”
That’s five straight North Carolina victories after Grant’s 18 points, Indya Nivar’s 16 points and Nyla Harris’ 10 points and nine rebounds led the Tar Heels (18–5, 7–3 ACC).
Khamil Pierre had eight of her 14 points in the first half for N.C. State (15–7, 8–3), which had won four of its previous five games.
“This is hard to swallow right now,” N.C. State coach Wes Moore said.
Grant’s 3 gave the Tar Heels a 44–38 lead. Her launch put Carolina up 48–42 going to the fourth quarter.
Harris began the fourth with a lay-in and Nivar followed with a drive in transition, providing a 52–42 for the largest margin in the game for either team.
N.C. State managed only eight points for the first 12 minutes of the second half.
If it seemed like the Tar Heels weren’t hitting many shots for segments, they deserved credit for good timing.
“Our team really showed some resolve,” Banghart said. “The game pressure was there, for sure.”
The Wolfpack was within 52–46 when Reniya Kelly drained a 3 from the right wing, dulling the roar of the crowd. Kelly sank a 3 from the other wing a couple of minutes later, re-establishing a 10-point cushion with slightly more than four minutes left.
After Harris batted a ball away on N.C. State’s pass into the post, the Tar Heels turned that turnover into a Kelly free throw for a nine-point edge. Carolina was up seven with two minutes left before it got dicey.
“Two key turnovers in the middle of the floor,” Banghart said. “They made two huge shots. In an environment like this, it feels like you just gave up the game.”
Still, Nivar rebounded her miss and the Tar Heels ate up more clock before a turnover and Qadence Samuels’ 3-pointer made it 59–57.
The teams traded turnovers, with Kelly coming up with the ball on the latter with 42 seconds remaining. Harris rattled in two free throws at the 20.3-second mark.
“You can practice them all you want, but until you’re at Reynolds, until you’re playing in a rivalry game,” Banghart said of the moment.
There were no fourth-quarter fouls on Carolina until 18.1 seconds to go. But Tilda Trygger scored for the Wolfpack.
Then, a held ball with 10.6 seconds left benefited the Wolfpack because of the alternating possession.
N.C. State’s Zamareya Jones missed a potential go-ahead or winning 3. Nivar missed two free throws at the 1.6-second mark, but then snatched the ball away from N.C. State players to end the game.
A high-scoring game seemed possible based during the opening minutes. The Tar Heels scored on their first five possessions, but they trailed 15–12 at the first media timeout. N.C. State’s lead was 20–14 at the end of the quarter, with Carolina 0-for-4 on 3s. The Tar Heels made only two of their last 13 shots in the quarter.
The Wolfpack held a 34-30 halftime lead.
“We’re only down four and we haven’t really done anything yet,” Banghart said.
Carolina was even with the first two baskets of the third quarter.
Emotional night
The scene was dripping with emotion with the 21st annual Play4Kay Game on N.C. State’s campus in recognition of the late Kay Yow.
“This game meant a lot,” Banghart said. “Basketball is a huge part of our lives, but doesn’t supersede the importance of tonight. Women’s basketball got put on the stage that I think it deserves.”
Tar Heels players and staff wore T-shirts with “Akula-White 6” on the back in recognition of assistant coach Joanne Akula-White’s battle with breast cancer, which was diagnosed within the past year.
Within a pink ribbon on the front was “DG” in memory of Dana Gelin, the team’s former sports information contact, who died from breast cancer last year.
Former Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell was on hand for the game and halftime ceremony recognizing breast cancer survivors.
Moore also noted the significance.
“At the end of the day, we lost, so it’s kind of hard to enjoy the other stuff,” Moore said. “It’s an important night for N.C. State.”
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Notes
— It was the first of three games in seven days for the Tar Heels, who are home Thursday night vs. Clemson and at Wake Forest on Sunday.
— Carolina used 11 players, while the Wolfpack used seven.
— All three of the Tar Heels’ offensive rebounds were collected by Nivar.
— Pierre outrebounded Carolina by 8-7 in the first quarter.
— “They outrebounded us by, it felt like a million,” Banghart said. “I can’t believe it was only six [41-35 for the game].”
— The Tar Heels held Jones and Zoe Brooks, the main backcourt scorers for the Wolfpack, each to 3-for-11 shooting.
— N.C. State shot 1-for-12 on second-half 3s.
— The Wolfpack’s only two free-throw attempts came in the third quarter. “So we must not have been very aggressive to the rim,” Moore said.
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.
No. 25 UNC 61, N.C. State 59
| Team | League | Overall | NET* | WAB* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 13 Duke | 16–2 | 21–8 | 10 | 13 |
| No. 12 Louisville | 15–3 | 25–6 | 13 | 10 |
| No. 16 North Carolina | 14–4 | 25–6 | 19 | 14 |
| N.C. State | 13–5 | 20–9 | 23 | 27 |
| Syracuse | 12–6 | 22–7 | 40 | 31 |
| Virginia Tech | 12–6 | 22–8 | 41 | 34 |
| Notre Dame | 12–6 | 20–9 | 24 | 23 |
| Clemson | 11–7 | 20–10 | 44 | 40 |
| Virginia | 11–7 | 19–10 | 36 | 49 |
| California | 9–9 | 18–13 | 53 | 60 |
| Stanford | 8–10 | 19–12 | 42 | 56 |
| Miami | 8–10 | 16–13 | 58 | 65 |
| Georgia Tech | 7–10 | 12–17 | 76 | 109 |
| Florida State | 5–13 | 10–20 | 107 | 138 |
| Wake Forest | 4–14 | 14–16 | 121 | 134 |
| SMU | 2–16 | 9–21 | 220 | 209 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–17 | 8–23 | 262 | 238 |
| Boston College | 1–17 | 5–26 | 247 | 283 |
* — Through Sunday games
Thursday’s results
No. 16 North Carolina 82, Virginia 70
No. 12 Louisville 69, Georgia Tech 50
Notre Dame 72, Syracuse 62
Miami 79, Pittsburgh 58
N.C. State 65, Wake Forest 58
No. 13 Duke 80, Florida State 52
Stanford 87, SMU 57
Clemson 70, California 63
Sunday’s results
No. 16 North Carolina 74, No. 13 Duke 69
Virginia Tech 83, Virginia 82
Georgia Tech 79, Miami 49
N.C. State 93, Pittsburgh 43
Stanford 85, Clemson 50
Syracuse 90, Boston College 65
Notre Dame 65, No. 12 Louisville 62
Florida State 77, Wake Forest 74, OT
California 78, SMU 34
End of regular season
ACC tournament
Gas South Arena
Duluth, Ga.
March 4–8
| 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 |
Photos by Joshua Lawton
