By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — There was no stopping No. 15 North Carolina in its pursuit of a second straight Sweet 16 trip, not even on a day when the Tar Heels had to battle foul trouble.
The Tar Heels fought through all of that for a gritty 74–66 victory over No. 17 Maryland in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Carmichael Arena.
“You don’t go this long into the season and not trust your guys,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. “These are close games you know they’re going to be prepared for. I trust them.”
UNC (28–7) will face the winner of Monday’s second-round game between No. 1 UConn and Syracuse in the Fort Worth Regional 1 Sweet 16 on Friday at either 2:30 p.m. or 5 p.m. ET..
The unlikely path to victory, with the number of starters in foul trouble matching the number of Tar Heels 3-pointers (4), worked because they consistently beat Maryland one-on-one.
Banghart said the approach was deliberate.
“I just kept imploring them, honestly, it’s so against our style, spread them out and just take your guy, and they just kept doing it,” she said.
Elina Aarnisalo, playing the last 11:44 with four fouls, consistently slithered through the Terps’ defense on her way to 21 points.
“Their defensive style kind of gave us the opportunity to attack the paint and go one-on-one against them,” Aarnisalo said. “There were often times when Lanie had the ball at the top or Indya, we just saw the paint empty and it’s go time at that point.”
Fellow sophomore guard Lanie Grant, who finished with three fouls, turned in magical offensive work again with 20 points, four rebounds and a team-high three assists.
Indya Nivar (11 points and six rebounds) and Nyla Harris (14 points, 8 rebounds) went out in style in their final appearances in Carmichael.
Maryland took the lead early in the fourth quarter, but Grant said the Tar Heels never wavered.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight throughout the entire time, so even though we were up by double digits, we couldn’t really let up,” she said, acknowledging a late Terps run. “We kind of just did the job of absorbing that and not panicking and not trying to do too much, not getting away from our game plan.”
But the player who allowed UNC to play one big for much of the game was freshman Nyla Brooks, who tied Harris for the rebounding lead with eight and sank a mammoth 3-pointer from the left wing with 1:43 left. That gave the Tar Heels a six-point lead, and Maryland never came closer after that.
Brooks never hesitated, even though it was early in the shot clock and she knew that if she missed, the Terps had a chance to tie it.
“Honestly, open three, and I just took it,” said Brooks, who was a team-high +15. “It’s March. You gotta do what you do best, and that’s shoot. I’ve been shooting well all season.”
Banghart backed that confidence without hesitation.
“Kid pours so much into it, and what makes her so good is she believes in herself,” Banghart said. “I’m not going to be the one to put any doubt in that kid’s head. She knows, as she said, the money is always good.”
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Brooks’ shortcomings on defense limited her playing time early in the season, but her progress in that part of her game was evident Sunday. Banghart said she loves that growth.
“She wasn’t elite on the defensive end,” Banghart said. “She was really good for a freshman, and she’ll continue to get even better.”
Maryland went on a 10–2 early run to take a six-point lead. UNC responded with a 9–0 run after Brooks replaced Ciera Toomey for a smaller lineup, taking a three-point lead on an Nivar three-point play with 2:12 left in the first quarter.
Aarnisalo scored all eight of her first-quarter points on drives. A late Brooks 3-pointer helped Carolina earn a 22–17 lead after one period, as she stayed in when Toomey returned to replace Harris.
UNC stretched the lead to 11 with five minutes left in the first half with a 12–4 run, after which the Terps went to the zone. It started with a Grant 3 and a Grant drive, the latter followed by her flexing toward a Maryland defender, and ended with five points, including a three-point play, from Harris off an excellent Aarnisalo bounce pass.
“We like making people do what they don’t like to do,” Banghart said. “Maryland doesn’t zone much? We got to the zone at half, I was like, ‘Yah, now they’ve done what they don’t want to do.’ “
Maryland cut the lead to six, but an Aarnisalo layup and 3-pointer gave the Heels a 42–33 halftime lead.
The Terps pulled within five in the first two minutes of the second half. Nivar went to the bench with 7:06 left in the third quarter after picking up her third and fourth fouls in 58 seconds.
Maryland tied it at 50 with 46 seconds left in the third quarter on a 9–2 run that Kyndal Walker capped with three free throws, and that’s where it stood heading into the fourth quarter. Aarnisalo picked up her third and fourth fouls less than two minutes apart during that run.
The Terps took their first lead since the first quarter on two more Walker free throws 14 seconds into the fourth quarter. UNC countered with a 13–4 run, taking a seven-point lead on a Nivar drive with 4:19 left.
Even while battling foul trouble, Nivar stayed composed.
“I didn’t want the refs to determine the result of the game,” she said. “So, staying composed for my team was the most important thing, staying emotionally stable as well, so that I can still be a leader for my team, even if I wasn’t on the court.”
Two Maryland layups, the second from Oluchi Okananwa, trimmed its deficit to three with 3:03 left. UNC then went on a 7–2 run, sparked by Brooks’ huge 3-pointer and a Grant drive with 49 seconds left.
Grant put the game away on two free throws with 31.1 seconds left.
Down the stretch, Banghart leaned on experience and trust, even with a young roster.
“Take us home,” she remembers telling her team during a late timeout. “It might be a shimmy, it might be a cross, but you’re going to win your matchup, and that’s going to open up yourself or somebody else.”
Her players delivered, possession by possession, one-on-one and unshaken, sending North Carolina back to the Sweet 16.
Okananwa, a Duke transfer, led Maryland with 21 points and six rebounds, with Addi Mack adding 12 points and Saylor Poffenbarger pulling down 10 rebounds.
Notes
— UNC leads the all-time series with Maryland 40–37.
— Carolina, which has won 24 straight NCAA tournament home games, is 56–31 in NCAA tournament play and is one of seven schools with at least 33 appearances. It is 20–8 all-time in second-round games.
— UNC moved to 20–1 when leading at halftime and when leading after the first quarter and is 10–1 with four players scoring in double-figures.
— With six points in her final home game, Brooks eclipsed 300 career points.
— The Tar Heels are 10–5 in NCAA tournament games against Big Ten teams.
— UNC was outrebounded 41–40 and moved to 3–4 this season when getting outrebounded.
— Laila Hull blocked a career-high three shots.
— The Tar Heels are 26–1 in NCAA tournament games at Carmichael.
— Junior guard Reniya Kelly, who hasn’t played since Feb. 4, missed her 11th consecutive game and wasn’t in uniform.
— UNC tied for its season low in 3-point attempts with 11 (also against Texas on Dec 4).
No. 15 UNC 74, No. 17 Maryland 66
Fort Worth 1 Regional
FIRST ROUND
Last Friday’s results
Chapel Hill
No. 5 Maryland 99, No. 12 Murray State 67
No. 4 North Carolina 82, No. 13 Western Illinois 51
Last Saturday’s results
Storrs, Conn.
No. 1 UConn 90, No. 16 UTSA 52
No. 9 Syracuse 72, No. 8 Iowa State 63
Columbus, Ohio
No. 3 Ohio State 74, No. 14 Howard 54
No. 6 Notre Dame 79, Fairfield 60
Nashville, Tenn.
No. 2 Vanderbilt 102, No. 15 High Point 61
No. 7 Illinois 66, No. 10 Colorado 57
SECOND ROUND
Sunday’s result
Chapel Hill
North Carolina 74, Maryland 66
Monday’s results
Columbus, Ohio
Notre Dame 83, Ohio State 73
Storrs, Conn.
UConn 98, Syracuse 45
Nashville, Tenn.
Vanderbilt 75, Illinois 57
REGIONAL SEMIFINALS
Fort Worth, Texas
Friday’s games (ESPN)
Notre Dame (24–10) vs. Vanderbilt (29–4), 2:30
UConn (36–0) vs. North Carolina (28–7), 5 p.m.
REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday’s game
Semifinal winners
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ 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 | 5 p.m. | Sweet 16 in Fort Worth, Texas: vs. No. 1 UConn | ESPN |
Photos by Daniel Walker
