The North Carolina’s women’s basketball team's inexperience was prevalent in its Thursday night loss to Georgia Tech.
Despite a valiant comeback effort in the fourth quarter, the Tar Heels suffered an 80-73 loss to the Yellow Jackets at McCamish Pavilion.
The Tar Heels (12-7, 2-2 ACC) started off slowly, falling behind the Yellow Jackets 12-2. Senior Xylina McDaniel led the Tar Heels on an eight-point run to get back in the game, but they trailed 24-15 at the end of the first quarter.
Throughout the game, UNC lacked physicality, posting just 35 rebounds to Georgia Tech’s 41.
“We just need more strength inside, more blocks, more rebounding, and a little smarter playing down the stretch,” Coach Sylvia Hatchell said.
UNC’s first lead of the night did not come until the final 2.5 seconds of the third quarter, when two free throws by sophomore guard Jamie Cherry put the Tar Heels up 57-56. Cherry led the Tar Heels with 15 points.
With 3:44 left in the fourth quarter, a jumper by first-year guard Destinee Walker gave the Tar Heels a 69-65 lead.
But mental errors gave way to an 11-2 run by the Yellow Jackets (11-7, 1-4 ACC) led by senior wing Aaliyah Whiteside that was too much to overcome. The ACC’s leading scorer totaled 27 points against the Tar Heels.
“We just had a couple mental lapses in the last few minutes," Hatchell said. "But you know, we’ll keep working on it — watching film, spending hours in the film room — and just keep battling. We’re battling. We’re fighting.”
