Tar Heels lose it in the final five minutes

Stephanie Mavunga says there is no better feeling in basketball than going on the road and silencing the visiting crowd. 

But she walked to the locker room in disappointment as the 13,000-plus fans at the KFC Yum! Center were on their feet cheering as the final buzzer sounded.

Even though No.17 North Carolina (20-6, 7-5 ACC) controlled the game for the first 35 minutes, the No. 9 Louisville Cardinals (22-3, 10-2 ACC) dominated the final five minutes of the game and defeated the Tar Heels 75-66.

“I thought we should’ve won the game,” said Coach Sylvia Hatchell. “We’re good enough to beat them so I hope we get another chance to play them in the postseason.”

After carrying her team down the stretch in a win against Florida State Thursday, sophomore Allisha Gray could only watch the final five minutes of the game from the bench Sunday with her face buried in her jersey. With North Carolina nursing a narrow 62-60 lead, Gray was whistled for her fifth foul with 5:02 remaining while trying to establish position in the paint.

Without its leading scorer, North Carolina could only muster four points over the final five minutes of the game compared to Louisville’s 15. 

“Getting in foul trouble hurt us some and Allisha getting that fifth foul was crucial,” Hatchell said.

Gray was not the only player battling through foul trouble, as Mavunga and senior Brittany Rountree each were forced to play with four fouls. The Tar Heels amassed 24 fouls, compared to Louisville's 14.

“The refs let us play a lot in the first half then all of a sudden it was a whole different ballgame,” said Mavunga. “I’m not saying we lost the game because of the refs but that’s a big factor in the game because you can’t really play as aggressively as you want when you have 3 or 4 fouls."

While Hatchell acknowledged the effect that foul trouble had on the outcome of the game, she pointed to the rebounding disparity as the major difference in the game. 

“I thought we played well in the first half and they only had one more rebound than us,” said Hatchell. “We didn’t battle as hard as we needed to on the glass in the second half and got outrebounded 24-11.”

Even in defeat, Hatchell couldn’t help but praise Mavunga for scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. 

“Stephanie is tough and she was the only one that had a good rebounding game but she needs help,” said Hatchell. “We wanted to get the ball to her more because she can score or find people outside that are open. For being a sophomore, she’s one of the most talented inside players in the country.”

But for Mavunga, a loss didn’t allow her to enjoy her productive outing. 

“It’s just frustrating because we played so well in the first half," she said. "We know we’re capable of beating Louisville.”