She had six points, seven rebounds, an assist and a block after just 10 minutes of play.
Allisha Gray tallied nine points and racked up three more rebounds in the second half alone of the No. 12 North Carolina women’s basketball team’s 81-65 loss to No. 4 Tennessee, and finished the night with a double-double. 15 points. 10 rebounds. 26 minutes of play.
She tirelessly crashed the boards, vehemently attacked the basket in the physical matchup that featured 58 free throw attempts between the two teams. Gray did all she could have done.
It still wasn’t enough — the Tar Heels dropped their first game of their season and another matchup with a storied Tennessee program — but her performance certainly didn’t go unnoticed.
“She went in, she battled,” coach Andrew Calder said, after the game.
“She’s a very talented player and got some impressive rebounds. And she just needs to continue to learn and learn to play with everyone, which everybody does. Again, she battled hard.”
Gray did not attend the post-game press conference, but her teammates, Stephanie Mavunga and Brittany Rountree were quick to praise the freshman’s ability to help lead a team that lacks a single senior.
“We just believe in each other,” Rountree, a junior, said.
Rountree scored 13 points of her own, good for second best on the team behind Gray, and came up with three steals. Mavunga, one of Gray’s fellow freshmen, pulled down 12 rebounds to couple with her 11 points before fouling out with 1:33 remaining.
