The No. 24 North Carolina women’s basketball team (21-5, 11-5 ACC) continued conference play on Sunday against the Florida State Seminoles (14-12, 8-8 ACC)in Tallahassee. Sophomore guard Deja Kelly proved her utility all the way around the court, scoring 26 points to lead the Tar Heels to a 64-49 victory.
What happened?
The first quarter was an even match between the two teams. The matchup started off with a layup from Kelly in the paint followed by a series of three free throws to give the Tar Heels an early 5-0 advantage over the Seminoles. After a quick series of three turnovers in the last four minutes of the first quarter, North Carolina lost offensive momentum and trailed 14-13 at the end of the period.
Kelly gave the lead back to the Tar Heels with a 3-point shot more than three minutes into the second quarter. In a defensive battle, Florida State held North Carolina scoreless for nearly four minutes as the Seminoles the game at 20 late in the second quarter. Graduate guard Carlie Littlefield scored a fast 3-point shot to give UNC the advantage once again, and later posted two more points for the Tar Heels to give them a 25-22 lead.
The third quarter started off with sophomore guard Alyssa Ustby scoring four points in under 30 seconds. Sophomore guard Kennedy Todd-Williams followed Ustby with a quick score in the paint to give the Tar Heels a 31-26 lead. Kelly capitalized off of a foul by Florida State to add two points to UNC’s score, and after a long seven-minute scoring drought, Ustby sank a 3-pointer to help the Tar Heels enter the final quarter with a five-point lead.
After an early foul to start the fourth quarter, Kelly added three points for the Tar Heels from the free throw line. Using a spread out offense, North Carolina was able to pull away thanks to an 11-0 run. Kelly sank a 3-point shot to give UNC the victory with a final score of 64-49.
Who stood out?
Since the start of her sophomore season, Kelly has proven to be a key component of the Tar Heels offense. This victory against Florida State marked her sixth time this season she has scored above 20 points.
Ustby tallied her 12th double-double for this season with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the match. Standing at 6-foot-1, she is able to both put valuable points on the board in back-and-forth games like this and gain possession of the ball for North Carolina with rebounds.
