By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina battled Louisville well in the regular-season meeting before falling in overtime, but the Tar Heels didn’t have enough offensive firepower down the stretch on Saturday at the ACC tournament.
The No. 12-ranked and No. 2-seed Cardinals took control in the second half and eased to a 65–57 victory at the Gas South Arena in Duluth, Ga., for the Tar Heels’ third consecutive loss in the semifinals and second in as many seasons.
“Quite honestly, we had just too many breakdowns and didn’t quite have enough execution, which is uncharacteristic of us,” Banghart said. “Part of that was their pressure. We didn’t handle that very well. And then part of it was some blockouts and some ball-screen coverages that we just weren’t as sharp as always.”
Still, UNC (26–7) left Duluth believing its body of work should be enough to host NCAA tournament games. Louisville coach Jeff Walz backed that argument.
“I’ll be shocked if they’re not hosting the first two rounds,” Walz said. “I think they’ve shown that they deserve to be a top 16.”
The Tar Heels showed the defensive resolve that has defined their late-season surge. They held Louisville (27–6) without a field goal for nearly six minutes in the fourth quarter and repeatedly chipped away at deficits.
But the offense could not keep pace during the same stretch. UNC went nearly 4½ minutes of the final quarter without a field goal and never cut the deficit below five.
Imari Berry delivered the decisive plays for Louisville, scoring six of her 22 points in the final 3:46 while also grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds.
For North Carolina, Elina Aarnisalo carried the offense for long stretches. The sophomore guard played all 40 minutes and finished with 17 points to lead four Tar Heels in double figures. Nyla Brooks added 13 points, while Indya Nivar contributed 10 points, six rebounds, five steals and two assists.
Banghart said Aarnisalo’s growth has been one of the most important developments for the Tar Heels as the season progressed.
“She’s really gotten really aggressive,” Banghart said. “She can score, she can handle the ball, she’s starting to call offenses on her own. She’s just grown so much.”
When Louisville’s pressure disrupted Carolina’s flow late in the third quarter and into the fourth, Aarnisalo helped steady the attack with drives and midrange scoring.
But UNC struggled to generate consistent production inside. Nyla Harris finished with six points and eight rebounds, while Ciera Toomey was held scoreless. Banghart said the Tar Heels did not establish the interior presence they usually rely on.
“As a group, we didn’t get enough from the interior,” Banghart said. “Obviously their ball pressure took away our vision a little bit, but I’m not sure I’ll love that we got into bodies enough for positioning in the interior. We just weren’t physical enough down there pre-catch.”
The game opened with Louisville seizing early momentum. After a Harris jumper gave UNC a brief lead, the Cardinals closed the first quarter on an 11–3 run. Berry knocked down three consecutive 3-pointers during that stretch as Carolina finished the quarter with more turnovers than field goals.
Louisville pushed the lead further early in the second quarter before the Tar Heels settled in. Nivar’s free throws ended a 5½-minute scoring drought, and Lanie Grant added a 3-pointer as part of a 10–4 push. UNC then closed the half with a 7–2 run, including five points from Brooks, to trail just 28–27 at the break.
Aarnisalo helped Carolina briefly grab control in the third quarter. She scored four points in a 9–3 run that gave the Tar Heels a three-point lead with 6:13 remaining in the period.
But another scoring drought followed. UNC went without a field goal for the final 3:54 of the quarter and trailed 45–40 entering the fourth.
Louisville extended the margin to 10 early in the final quarter before Carolina responded again. Aarnisalo ended a long drought with a basket that trimmed the lead, and Nivar’s free throws later capped a short run that cut the deficit to six.
Even when the offense stalled, Nivar said the Tar Heels leaned on their defense to stay within reach.
“Nothing was easy,” Nivar said. “They played a really aggressive defense. And even though we broke the first line of defense, they had really big bigs on the second line. I just feel like we weren’t getting into our rhythm and flow. We usually kick out for threes a lot, just didn’t get into that today. But we tried to shift our focus to defense because if we can get stops, we can kind of keep the game close if the offense is not on our side that day.”
Berry answered with consecutive jumpers in the closing minutes to restore Louisville’s cushion.
UNC made one last push. Harris scored on a transition drive with 51 seconds remaining, and Brooks hit a corner 3-pointer with 21 seconds left to trim the margin to five. Reyna Scott sealed the game at the free-throw line moments later.
Despite the loss, Banghart said her team’s response over the past two months gives her confidence heading into the NCAA tournament.
“We’ve won 12 of our last 14,” Banghart said. “This is a group that’s really been focused on continuing to get better.”
Nivar echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that the Tar Heels’ confidence remains intact.
“I’ll take our connectedness and aggression and our belief in ourselves,” Nivar said. “Each time we lose, we always bounce back stronger and better, so I’m really excited about what’s ahead.”
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Notes
— Grant sat on the bench for 5½ minutes of the second half after scoring a career-high 21 points in Friday’s quarterfinal victory over Virginia Tech, scoring 11 points and three 3-pointers against Louisville.
— Carolina shot 27.3% from 3-point range, their lowest percentage in the last eight games.
— Junior guard Reniya Kelly missed her ninth consecutive game.
— UNC failed to make the ACC tournament championship game for the 13th consecutive season.
— Louisville has won both ACC tournament matchups, with the Cardinals winning in the 2015 quarterfinals 77–75 in overtime. They lead the all-time series with UNC 11–6.
— The Tar Heels are 67–40 in ACC tournament play and 4–7 under Banghart.
— The Cardinals are 24–0 when leading at halftime.
No. 12 Louisville 65, No. 16 UNC 57
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 |
Photos courtesy of the ACC
