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Leaning on No. 11 Carolina’s young talent, the Tar Heels showed resiliency playing without two starters. With fifth-year guard Eva Hodgson already out for three to four weeks with an upper-body injury, junior wing Alyssa Ustby also was out Sunday with a lower-body injury against a talented Louisville team in a tough road environment.
Check out the updated ACC men’s and women’s basketball standings, scores and schedule.
CHAPEL HILL — No. 11 North Carolina can’t keep all of its guards healthy, but whoever the Tar Heels roll out there, they just keep rolling. A game after redshirt freshman Kayla McPherson made her long-awaited college debut came news that fifth-year player Eva Hodgson will miss three to four weeks with an upper-body injury. She joins reserve guard Ariel Young (knee injury) on the sidelines.
Some fans who can’t make it to Carmichael Arena on Thursday to see the No. 11 Carolina women face Virginia may have a tough time watching the game from home. The 6 p.m. game is one of three remaining UNC women’s games that will air on regional sports networks, and not everybody has access to one of them or an easy alternative way to watch. Tickets are still available for only $10 each.
Deja Kelly is one of 20 players in the country on the midseason watch list for the Wooden Award Women’s Player of the year. Kelly, a junior guard from San Antonio, Texas, was one of 50 to make the preseason watchlist, which got pared down Monday.
By R.L. Bynum After putting up season-high numbers of 22 points, six 3-pointers and five steals in her first college … More
Carolina jumped four spots to No. 11 in the AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll, thanks to a pair of road victories that extended the Tar Heels’ ACC win streak to seven games and losses by six teams ahead of them in last week’s poll. The Tar Heels (16–5, 7–3 ACC) try to keep the momentum going on Thursday at 6 o’clock (regional sports networks), when they return home to face Virginia (14–8, 3–8), which they beat 70–59 in Charlottesville, Va., on Jan. 12.
With Kayla McPherson and Paulina Paris in Carolina’s backcourt for years to come, the Tar Heels will create nightmares for opponents with three versatile lead guards. Anybody who didn’t already consider No. 15 UNC a national contender should reconsider as quickly as McPherson can whip by a defender on a drive.
Today’s Carolina students have no idea how much better seats their predecessors enjoyed at Tar Heels games decades ago — or how much easier ticket distribution is for them. The university has to take care of Rams Club members who support the athletics programs. But college sports should be all about the athletes and their fellow students, and it’s too bad that UNC students don’t get better seats at games.
A hungry and determined Pittsburgh team put up an unexpected fight against No. 15 North Carolina but became the latest team to learn how hard it is to beat the Tar Heels. A tie game entering the final quarter turned into a blowout in a flash. The Panthers led for more than 17 minutes before Carolina took control with a 17–1 run to start the fourth quarter as the Tar Heels won 72–57 Thursday for their sixth consecutive victory. After scoring 29 points in the first half, Carolina poured it on with 28 fourth-quarter points.
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