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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.
Heading into two games this week against ranked rivals, North Carolina fell out of the AP Top 25 women’s basketball after being ranked seven consecutive weeks. The Tar Heels (15–3, 5–3 ACC) beat Virginia 61–52 Thursday but lost to Georgia Tech (which stayed at No. 18) 55–38 on Sunday after being ranked No. 20 last week. The Yellow Jackets (15–4, 6–2) moved up four spots to No. 14 after also beating Syracuse 65–55.
Against the best defense in the country and one of the tallest teams, the No. 20 North Carolina women had a tough time finding an offensive rhythm all day. The Tar Heels countered that with some of their best defense of the season in stretches but it wasn’t enough. No. 15 Georgia Tech pulled away in the fourth quarter and led by as many as 22 points in a 55–38 victory Sunday at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.
CHAPEL HILL — With six ranked ACC teams, there aren’t many nights when you can turn the ball over too many times, shoot poorly, give up too many offensive rebounds and still easily win. Virginia offered that rare night, and No. 20 North Carolina (15–2, 5–2 ACC) did all four in a 61–52 victory Thursday night at Carmichael Arena. The Cavaliers didn’t make it easy at the end, though, coming within seven points late.
North Carolina, which was one of 11 ranked teams to lose last week, moved up one spot to No. 20 in the latest AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll. UNC (14–2, 4–2 ACC) lost 70–65 Sunday at Notre Dame (13–3, 4–1) in the Tar Heels’ only game of the week. The Irish moved up one spot to No. 19 after also defeating Wake Forest (12–6, 2–5) 74–64 earlier in last week.
Against a tough ACC team on the road, No. 21 North Carolina showed resiliency by not wilting when No. 20 Notre Dame surged to an 11-point third-quarter lead. The Tar Heels rallied back to make it close after never trailing in the first half, but Dara Mabry was too much for them in a 70–65 Notre Dame victory Sunday in South Bend, Ind.
After splitting a pair of ACC games by similar one-sided margins, North Carolina fell two spots in the AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll to No. 21. The Tar Heels (14–1, 4–1 ACC) rebounded from a 72–45 loss at N.C. State (14–2, 5–0), which moved up a slot to No. 4, on Thursday with an impressive 71–46 home win Sunday against Virginia Tech (11–4, 3–1).
CHAPEL HILL — How a team responds to a devastating defeat is a good test of its character, resolve and resilience. No. 19 North Carolina was off the charts in all three categories Sunday night against a good Virginia Tech team. The Tar Heels (14–1, 4–1 ACC) used an 18–2 first-half run to take control, led by as many as 32 points and rolled to a 71–46 victory at Carmichael Arena to snap a three-game home losing streak against the Hokies.
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