No. 19 UNC women's basketball soars past Boston College, 80-67, thanks to third quarter surge

The No. 19 North Carolina women’s basketball team (15-3, 3-2 ACC) defeated the Boston College Eagles (10-8, 1-4 ACC), 80-67, on Sunday afternoon at Carmichael Arena. 

Down at the half but propelled by a third quarter surge, UNC was led by a 17-point effort from graduate senior Alyssa Ustby. Intense second half defense allowed North Carolina to prevail. 

The Tar Heels struck first on what became a back-and-forth opening frame of play. Senior center Maria Gakdeng remained steadfast in the post, putting away two shots in the opening five minutes and helping to propel UNC to a 7-4 lead. 

After the first timeout, UNC’s offense intensified. Back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore guard Reniya Kelly and graduate guard Lexi Donarski increased UNC’s lead to six. 

“As a point guard, you always want to push the pace.” Kelly said. 

The first quarter ended with a buzzer-beater 3-pointer from Boston College’s Tatum Green. At the break, North Carolina led, 21-16. 

To open the second quarter, Kelly found first-year center Blanca Thomas inside the post. Reaching above her defender’s hands, Thomas found the backboard and made the shot. 

After consecutive turnovers and missed shots, UNC found themselves trailing, 27-24. Despite another Gakdeng basket inside, UNC struggled to reestablish the offensive drive they started the game with. 

“I thought we really came out flat in the first half, and that made our job a little bit harder,” head coach Courtney Banghart said. 

A 3-pointer from first-year guard Lanie Grant evened the game at 31, but the energy was short-lived. The Eagles reestablished their lead on the next possession, and UNC couldn’t capitalize on successive clean looks. 

The Eagles reached their largest lead of the game, 6, with under two minutes to go in the half. A long jumper from Kelly with three seconds on the clock brought the Tar Heel deficit to three, at the half with a score of 40-37. 

“Defensively, I didn't recognize what we were doing,” Banghart said. “We just weren't urgent. That's kind of what it comes down to.”

To open the second half, North Carolina jumped to a 6-0 run. Ustby, who leads UNC in points per game but only scored 5 in the first half, scored the opening basket. Nivar put away a jumper, then stole the ball from the Eagles on the next possession and acquired UNC’s first fast break points of the day. 

After finding this rhythm on fast break chances, UNC capitalized. Ustby scored on two consecutive defensive rebounds turned into layups. At 51-44, Boston College called a timeout. 

“Being able to slow down and just continue to do things that we can control, which is on the defensive end, translates into the [offensive] end,” Ustby said. 

With UNC’s lead extended to ten, Ustby went up for a shot inside and got called for a flagrant offensive foul. 

As the seconds ticked down in the quarter, two Kelly free throws lifted UNC to an 8-point lead heading into the final ten minutes. 

UNC continued to pressure on both sides of the court in the fourth quarter. Layups from Thomas and Ustby brought North Carolina’s lead to 14 with five minutes left in the game. Strong defense forced consecutive turnovers to quell the Eagles’ hopes for a comeback. 

Allowing just 27 points in the second half, and scoring 43 of their own, UNC came back in the second half to secure the win against the Eagles. 

The Tar Heels will take the court again when they play SMU in Dallas on Thursday. Game time is set for 8 p.m.

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