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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Many have questioned where North Carolina’s passion and fight is during many games this season, and Coach Hubert Davis has done all he can to bring it out. Before Monday’s 96–85 victory, he had another game-day tactic to ensure his team came out fighting.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — North Carolina’s NCAA tournament chances, which were remote two weeks earlier, continue to improve after Monday’s 96–85 Quad 2 victory at Florida State for the Tar Heels’ fourth consecutive victory.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Suddenly, North Carolina is playing confidently, finding the right combinations and looking nothing like the Tar Heels who hit rock bottom two weeks ago at Clemson. With balanced scoring, consistent rebounding and a verve the Tar Heels could only dream of most of the season, the Tar Heels rolled into the Tucker Center — where many better UNC teams have stumbled — looking dramatically different.
North Carolina has ridden a seven-game win streak into the program’s latest top-10 ranking in the AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll in 16 seasons.
UNC sophomore catcher Luke Stevenson ended the Tar Heels’ five-game homerless drought as the unbeaten No. 6 Tar Heels rolled to an 11–6 victory Sunday before 3,940 fans at Boshamer Stadium.
Life without Alyssa Ustby — however long that is — is never going to be easy, but No. 9 North Carolina having junior transfer guard Tray Crisp back and Lanie Grant’s savvy sure make it easier. Both came off the bench to score career-highs and make crucial buckets as the Tar Heels rallied from 12 points down to win 79–75 Sunday at the KFC Yum! Center for the program’s first win in six tries at Louisville, becoming the only women’s team in the country unbeaten on the road.
CHAPEL HILL — There may be many surprised that Jae’Lyn Withers is North Carolina’s most accurate 3-point shooter this season, but the 6–9 graduate forward isn’t one of them.
CHAPEL HILL — While the bubble battle for the ACC’s possible fourth NCAA tournament berth took a lousy turn Saturday for Wake Forest and Pittsburgh, it couldn’t have gone better for North Carolina three weeks from Selection Sunday. With an 81–66 Saturday home Quad 3 victory over Virginia, the Tar Heels (17–11, 10–6 ACC) also gave themselves an outside shot at a double-bye in the ACC tournament while continuing on a possible path to a spot in the NCAA tournament.
CHAPEL HILL — Fighting through the NCAA tournament bubble, North Carolina continues to play well during a stretch where any loss would likely end the Tar Heels’ chances. The Tar Heels jumped to an early 19-point lead and fought some lulls on both ends to come away with an 81–66 victory Saturday at the Smith Center over Virginia for their third consecutive victory, never trailing in any of those games.
No. 6 North Carolina got clutch hitting and made the big pitches to get out of jams as the Tar Heels extended their season-opening win streak to five games. The Tar Heels won the first game of a three-day, three-city series 2–0 over East Carolina on a chilly afternoon before a crowd of 6,695 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park to snap a two-game losing streak against the Pirates, who left 10 runners on base.
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina coach Hubert Davis addressed the media on Friday at the Smith Center ahead of Saturday’s 4 p.m. home game against Virginia. Here’s a full transcript of the press conference and video:
Maria Gakdeng was nearly unstoppable when she got the ball inside Thursday night, and No. 9 North Carolina took advantage of that. The senior center produced her 10th career double-double and third this season with 21 points and 14 rebounds as the Tar Heels moved to 8–0 on the road for the third time in program history with a 68–58 victory over Syracuse at the JMA Dome in Syracuse.
CHAPEL HILL — The only way to help your NCAA tournament resume in a Quad 3 game is to win convincingly, and that’s exactly what North Carolina did with its 97–73 victory on a snowy Wednesday night at the Smith Center over N.C. State.
CHAPEL HILL — The shots fell for Carolina as hard as the snow outside the Smith Center before a rowdy crowd of mostly students. It turned into showtime for the Tar Heels, who forced turnovers for easy shots, dominated the boards and rolled to a 97–73 victory over N.C. State on Wednesday at the Smith Center.
CHAPEL HILL — Much like North Carolina’s 75–63 victory over Maryland in 2000, Wednesday night at the Smith Center should be a student-dominated affair.
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