Paris Kea leads UNC to ACC Tournament second-round win over Georgia Tech, 80-73

GREENSBORO — Right as the Georgia Tech defender went up, Paris Kea timed her own jump. As North Carolina head coach Sylvia Hatchell says, you can’t go up and down at the same time. 

So with her defender on her way back down, Kea rose into a mid-range jumper, her favored shot.

It clanked out.

The shot missed, just like six of Kea's first seven attempts. With her shots not falling, the redshirt senior and UNC's (18-13, 8-8 ACC) leading scorer needed to find another way to contribute. No. 8 seed UNC was missing two starters, with sophomore Janelle Bailey suspended for a game after getting ejected in the regular season finale at Duke and redshirt junior Stephanie Watts still day-to-day with a hyperextended knee suffered against Virginia.

Even with just four points in the first half, Hatchell wasn’t worried about Kea, a Greensboro native.

“Everybody else just looks at all the scoring that she does,” Hatchell said.

Kea’s nine assists and zero turnovers in the game helped the Tar Heels seal an 80-73 victory over the No. 9 seed Yellow Jackets in their ACC Tournament opener.

Georgia Tech had implemented a lethal trap defense this season, forcing an average of 19.4 turnovers per game. The Yellow Jackets focused their defensive intensity on Kea Thursday afternoon, face guarding her with two players.

Kea said that without Watts or Bailey to draw attention, her typical role as a scorer changed.

“I think I've become more of a facilitator,” Kea said. “Just facilitating the ball, two people on me, somebody's open and finding them.”

Kea found a bevy of open teammates. With just over three minutes left in the first half, Kea stole the ball and threw it forward to a quick-streaking Shayla Bennett who punctuated a 9-0 UNC run with a game-tying layup.

Bennett, a junior transfer, helped pick up the slack, joining Kea for all 40 minutes on the court.

Kea’s spin move into a layup to open the third quarter marked an offensive turnaround. Bennett knocked down a long three, one of her 18 total points and then Kea broke a double team and slid to the center of the arc, knocking down a 3-pointer to bring UNC within one early in the third.

After back-to-back missed 3-pointers by Kea and Leah Church with UNC down by three, the Tar Heels got a third fresh shot clock of the possession when Kea was fouled driving to the basket.

On the ensuing inbound, Bennett found Kea in the middle of the paint. Kea made the midrange jumper from the middle "C" of the ACC logo to put UNC down one, 46-45.

Kea had 11 points in the third quarter.

Patience in the fourth quarter allowed UNC to grow its lead to 77-70 in the closing minute. The Tar Heels only turned the ball over five times in the game.

With 25 seconds remaining in the game, Kea was fouled and fell awkwardly in the backcourt. She limped off the court as Olivia Smith subbed in to take her free throws.

Kea was subbed in immediately afterward, not technically leaving the court for any elapsed time, and was fouled again. She made two free throws, the last two points of the game. Her hometown fans loved it.

“Playing here in the (Greensboro) Coliseum is absolutely amazing,” Kea said. “It's always great to see a lot of faces and family and friends that I haven't seen in a while. It's just an amazing atmosphere in Greensboro, and I absolutely love it.”

With the win, UNC moves on to face No. 1 seed Notre Dame Friday at 2 p.m. for a spot in the semifinals. UNC defeated then-No. 1 Notre Dame in Chapel Hill earlier this season. 

Kea will have at least one more game in Greensboro.

But on Thursday, there was only one thing in front of Kea. And with 19 points, nine assists and no turnovers, Kea got it done.

“I just wanted to give my team whatever it took to get the win.”

@James_Tatter

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com