The North Carolina women’s basketball team almost did it again.
After snapping a four-game losing streak to rival N.C. State with a win in Raleigh earlier this month, the Tar Heels (17-12, 8-7 ACC) fell to the No. 9 Wolfpack (24-3, 11-3 ACC), 74-69, in Carmichael Arena on Sunday.
What happened?
After a back-and-forth first half, UNC found itself with a 29-26 lead at halftime. But with 4:52 left in the third quarter, a Wolfpack fast break which led to a 3-pointer by junior guard Aislinn Konig sparked a 14-2 scoring run for NC State.
The Tar Heels went scoreless for 4:02, and with 1:32 remaining in the third quarter, UNC saw its halftime lead turn into an 11-point hole. Then, just 22 seconds later, sophomore center Janelle Bailey threw an alley-oop to redshirt senior guard Paris Kea, who finished the play with an and-one layup. Kea’s three-point play and two free throws from junior guard Shayla Bennett helped UNC cut its deficit to six points at the end of the third quarter.
Kea — who scored 15 of her game-high 32 points in the final quarter of play — was determined to get a win on her senior night. With 8:22 left in the game, the redshirt senior guard drove hard to the basket, laid the ball up with her left hand to score and drew a foul in the process. When she finished the three-point play after the media timeout, the game was tied, 50-50, and the crowd was as raucous as it had been all afternoon.
After about six minutes of the contest going back and forth, the Tar Heels had a chance to take a three-point lead with 2:08 to play. Kea drained a jumper on the left baseline through contact but missed the free throw that followed. UNC led 68-66, but NC State’s first-year center Elissa Cunane knotted the game at 68 a piece with 1:29 left to play.
Then, when the Wolfpack scored again, Kea — as always — was ready to take over. The 5-foot-9 guard hesitated before drawing a foul on NC State’s DD Rodgers on an elbow jumper. With 31 seconds remaining in the contest, Kea missed the first free throw but made the second to put UNC within one.
But fouls by junior guard Taylor Koenen and Bailey sent the Wolfpack’s sophomore forward Kayla Jones to the free throw line twice in six seconds — at the 13-second mark and the 7-second mark of the final quarter.
