No. 14 UNC women's basketball's offense shows up too late in loss to No. 25 Georgia Tech

North Carolina was on a tear. 

Five minutes into the fourth quarter, senior center Maria Gakdeng muscled her way to the basket for a trio of contested layups. Graduate guard Grace Townsend nabbed a steal and scored in transition. Junior guard Indya Nivar hit a smooth elbow jumper to ignite UNC’s 11-2 scoring run to kick off the final frame.

But one glance at the scoreboard nullified the dominance that North Carolina showed in the fourth quarter. The Tar Heels were still trailing by double digits.

“I’m just glad the clock ran out,” Georgia Tech head coach Nell Fortner admitted. “They were coming at us really hard in the fourth quarter.”

No. 14 North Carolina’s scoring came too late in its 82-76 loss to No. 25 Georgia Tech on Sunday afternoon at Carmichael Arena. A 31-point fourth quarter shrank UNC’s 23-point deficit in the second half, but offensive woes from earlier in the game prevented the Tar Heels from making a complete comeback. All afternoon, scoring droughts afflicted North Carolina’s ability to keep pace with Georgia Tech, leading to UNC's first loss at home this season.

To head coach Courtney Banghart, the streaky shooting from UNC wasn’t a byproduct of bad shot selection; it was just an inability to make open looks. 

“I don't think I'll hate the shots,” Banghart said. “I haven't hated the shots most of the year.” 

In the first quarter, North Carolina didn't make a field goal for nearly five minutes, spoiling its 7-0 start, as the Tar Heels missed six shots in a row in the opening frame. Untimely shooting droughts throughout the first half made it difficult for UNC to keep up with the GT's 50-point first half, where the Yellow Jackets shot above 56 percent from the floor and never missed more than three attempts in a row all game. 

Later in the game, in a similar dry spell, UNC missed five shots straight — all three-pointers — to close out the third quarter. 

North Carolina’s leading scorer Alyssa Ustby had the worst of the shooting woes. The graduate forward failed to record a made basket against the Yellow Jackets for the first time since her first year at UNC. 

She finished with two points — a pair of free throws in the fourth quarter — as she shot 0-6 from the field.

“She didn't shoot the ball enough,” Banghart said. “[And] she didn't shoot the ball well enough when she did.” 

With Ustby struggling from the field, Gakdeng led the team in scoring. Her 21 points on 9-11 shooting was efficient for North Carolina. But it came too late to be truly effective. 

In the fourth quarter, she took over. She scored on all four of her attempts, doing so in a heavily guarded post position. When she demanded the ball she got it. And when she got it, she scored. 

It's a trend she wishes she would have exploited earlier in the game.

“I need to be more aggressive,” Gakdeng said. “I feel like in the second half that's kind of where I started to score more, started to ask for the ball more, and that's kind of where I got my points from.” 

It’s not the first time this season the Tar Heel offense sputtered until showing signs of life in the fourth quarter. In a marquee matchup with No. 2 UConn earlier this year, North Carolina’s fourth-quarter comeback fell short in similar fashion. 

Problems like veteran scoring disappearing, poor shooting leading to droughts and a dismissal of Gakdeng’s presence in the paint created an insurmountable deficit. All shortfalls that Banghart looks forward to ironing out in practice.

“Just like we didn't play well enough the last time out, we got a lot better from it,” Banghart said. “And so I'm excited to get back in the gym with this team.”

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