No. 16 UNC women's basketball blasts past No. 14 Kentucky in ACC-SEC Challenge

The No. 16 UNC women’s basketball team (8-1) got the win over No. 14 Kentucky (7-1) on Thursday evening, 72-53. 

North Carolina's 42 points in the paint and sophomore guard Reniya Kelly’s team-leading 18 points sent the Tar Heels to the ranked win with points to spare. 

“To beat a ranked team this well at home, that’s good,” head coach Courtney Banghart said. “That’s real good.” 

UNC quickly broke away from Kentucky, with graduate forward Alyssa Ustby’s seven early points propelling the Tar Heels to a 16-6 lead halfway through the first quarter. 

After graduate guard Lexi Donarski blocked a Kentucky shot and senior center Maria Gakdeng recovered, Ustby hit a three from the top of the arc to extend the lead to 10. 

With just over three minutes remaining in the first, junior guard Indya Nivar missed a 3-pointer, but Ustby grabbed the rebound on the baseline and Kentucky fouled to extend UNC’s possession. On the resulting play, Kelly missed another three, but Ustby and redshirt first-year forward Ciera Toomey combined for the rebound and dished the ball back to Nivar, who tipped it in to extend the lead to 21-6. 

But Kentucky didn’t go away. They went on a 10-0 run to end the first quarter, including a three in transition, to cut the score to 21-16 at the end of the first. 

The game cooled down in the second quarter, but Maria Gakdeng helped North Carolina as the team built their lead back. 

With 2:40 left in the half, Gakdeng blocked a shot under the basket. After Kentucky fouled, she missed the free throw, but got the ball back and tipped it in. 

Gakdeng led the team in the first half with 10 points, pushing the team to 24 points in the paint compared to Kentucky’s six and a 36-25 lead at half. 

“Being as efficient as I am, I think I do deserve to take more shots,” Gakdeng said. “So, our guards getting the ball inside more, they’re really effective with that.” 

The third quarter started with the teams trading three-pointers, but after that, both teams struggled. Following a made Kentucky jumper, neither team scored for three minutes until Donarski fouled and sent Kentucky to the line for two. 

Still, the Tar Heels continued to gain an advantage in the paint. After the scoring drought, they hit three layups in two minutes — two by junior guard Trayanna Crisp. 

With 1:28 remaining in the third, Donarski sidestepped a defender and hit a three to extend North Carolina’s lead to 12. 

Halfway through the fourth quarter, Kentucky had drained four threes, but they struggled to keep UNC out of the lane on the other end, as Kelly reached 12 points on a layup to put North Carolina up by 10. 

“We shared the ball really well and we got them to move,” Kelly said.”

With one minute left and up 13, Gakdeng, Kelly, and Donarski  hit a trio of layups to put UNC up 72-53 at the final buzzer. 

The Tar Heels will be back in Carmichael Arena on Sunday at 2 p.m. to take on Coppin State.

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