Three straight.
That’s how many games the UNC women’s basketball team had lost consecutively to N.C. State heading into its Sunday afternoon matchup in Carmichael Arena.
But by the end of the afternoon, which culminated in a 56-47 win over the No. 11 Wolfpack, the No. 22 Tar Heels solidified their own streak with three straight victories against ACC opponents.
Although the victory was not particularly pretty — it was the lowest-scoring game either of the teams had played thus far in the season, with both sides shooting under 30 percent — North Carolina once again found a way to win, speaking to the resilient and gritty nature of the team.
Last season, despite holding a 33-27 halftime lead in their matchup at Carmichael Arena, the Tar Heels were not able to close out the game. UNC fell in a 66-58 loss that seemed to burden the team for the rest of the season.
This year, with past North Carolina women’s basketball stars sitting courtside in honor of Alumni Day, the team dominated in the fourth quarter by outscoring NCSU 25-15 to defeat the Wolfpack for the first time since 2021.
“I mean, this game — it's a rivalry game and everybody comes up to play in this one so it's just something special,” junior forward Alyssa Ustby said. “To have the alums here means a lot, because they played in big games like this as well, so we knew in order to honor them we need to come out with a win.”
In the end, the combination of momentum from the team's two-game winning streak, a rousing show of support and standout performances from players like Ustby and sophomore forward Destiny Adams proved to make the difference in the afternoon showdown. Ustby put up a career-high 18 rebounds — 14 of which came in the second half — and Adams sank a pair of clutch 3-point jumpers to clinch the win for UNC.
“We needed the win against State,” Adams said. “We had to beat them.”
