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CHAPEL HILL — Most Carolina players were in elementary school the last time the Tar Heels beat Louisville nearly 14 years ago. None of them remember that NCAA tournament victory, but they’ll never forget the No. 23 Tar Heels’ 66–65 upset of No. 3 Louisville at Carmichael Arena on Thursday night. It was a signature win and their biggest since knocking off No. 1 Notre Dame in 2019.
North Carolina, one of 10 ranked teams to lose last week, fell one spot to No. 24 in the AP Top 25 women’s poll released Monday after beating Pittsburgh 64–54 and losing Sunday at Virginia Tech 66–61. The Hokies, who have played like a ranked team for a few weeks, finally debuted in the poll at No. 23 after also defeating Georgia Tech 73–63 to give the ACC six ranked teams.
When North Carolina blew out Virginia Tech in Chapel Hill last month, the Tar Heels limited one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the ACC. On Sunday, whenever the No. 23 Tar Heels tried to make a run, big Virginia Tech 3-pointers kept them at arm’s length in a physical battle.
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina guard Eva Hodgson is the perfect example of a player who brings energy and versatility off the bench, and she’s done it all season. When she entered the No. 23 Tar Heels’ 64–54 Thursday victory over Pittsburgh late in the first quarter, she scored a pair of 3-pointers in 64 seconds. By the time she returned to the bench 11 minutes later, she already had nine of her 14 points, three of her five rebounds and a steal. When a 10–0 Panthers run cut UNC’s lead to seven in the fourth quarter, she shot down their chances.
After two impressive blowout ACC victories last week, North Carolina moved up one spot to No. 23 in the latest AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll. The Tar Heels (18–4, 8–4 ACC), who won 78–59 at Wake Forest on Thursday and 85–38 Sunday at Carmichael Arena against Miami, more than doubled their poll points from 66 to 136.
CHAPEL HILL — With an attention-getting blowout of a good Miami team, No. 24 North Carolina showed that it belongs in the upper-tier of the rugged ACC and that Deja Kelly is still one of the most dangerous scorers in the league. No. 4 Louisville and Miami are the only conference teams to defeat No. 12 Georgia Tech. But the Hurricanes never had a chance against a UNC team that played well in all phases of an 85–38 victory Sunday at Carmichael Arena.
WINSTON-SALEM — After battling four talented ranked ACC teams in the last five games, No. 24 North Carolina took full advantage of a night against a struggling league team. The Tar Heels’ 78–59 win over Wake Forest looked and felt like many of their dominant games of their 13-game unbeaten streak, particularly in the first half, and they led by 29 midway through the final quarter.
North Carolina gave AP Top 25 women’s poll voters plenty of reasons to correct their error of a week ago when they dropped the Tar Heels out of the poll after seven consecutive weeks. Add the fact that two teams ranked No. 21 or below lost and fell out of this week’s poll helped put UNC No. 24 this week after being ranked No. 20 two weeks ago.
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina showed much more fight in its rematch with No. 3 N.C. State and even delivered a solid punch early. But that only delayed the Wolfpack’s big punch until midway through the game. The difference from the first meeting was that an 18–0 Wolfpack run wasn’t a knockout punch. The Tar Heels battled back until the end before falling 66–58 Sunday at Carmichael Arena in front of a season-high home crowd of 4,136.
DURHAM — Any questions from the AP poll voters who didn’t think North Carolina’s women deserved to be ranked? The Tar Heels, who fell out of the AP Top 25 after seven consecutive ranked weeks, blew past No. 21 Duke in the second quarter and rolled to a 78–62 victory Thursday at Cameron Indoor Stadium to snap a five-game losing streak to their rivals.
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