UNC women's basketball defeats Wake Forest, 76-51, in huge second half

The No. 13 North Carolina women’s basketball team (18-3, 6-2 ACC) defeated Wake Forest (7-12, 0-8 ACC), 76-51, on Thursday evening in Carmichael Arena.

The Tar Heels built a large lead against the last-ranked team in the ACC thanks to shooting from graduate guard Lexi Donarski. The second quarter, though, was a different story, with the Demon Deacons outscoring North Carolina 22-10 and UNC committing careless turnovers. In the second half, the Tar Heels cleaned things up, scoring 44 points in the half compared to Wake’s 23.

In the opening few minutes, North Carolina got out to a slow start — shooting 1-7 from the field — and allowed the Demon Deacons to take a 5-2 lead. However, the Tar Heels regrouped against Wake after a floater through traffic from sophomore guard Indya Nivar and a 3-pointer from Donarski. Following those two made shots, UNC continued on a 10-0 run. 

With 30 seconds left in the first quarter, graduate guard Grace Townsend made an and-1 layup, but missed the free throw. On the following play, she came racing down the court again, earning another and-1 with just one second remaining. This time she Townsend cashed in the extra point. 

North Carolina held Wake Forest without a field goal for the final five-and-a-half minutes of the first quarter, taking a 22-6 lead. Donarski went 3-3 from the perimeter with nine points. 

The Deacons finally found the bottom of the mesh with a 3-pointer by Alyssa Andrews at the 7:43 mark in the second quarter. Two possessions later, Andrews drained another bucket from beyond the arc. 

The Tar Heels, on the other hand, struggled to open the frame, committing five turnovers before making a shot. By the 4:19 mark, Wake had amassed an 15-2 start, closing UNC’s advantage to 24-21. 

It seemed like North Carolina could only score from the charity stripe. UNC only recorded two made field goals in the second quarter, but had six free throws. The second made shot was another last-second attempt, with senior center Maria Gakdeng converting on a layup delivered to her accidently between the legs of a Wake defender. 

The Tar Heels turned the ball over a total of nine times throughout the quarter, as compared to only three in the first period. They went into the lockerroom clinging to a 32-28 edge. 

UNC flipped the script to open the second half. What was a four-point lead extended to 13 for North Carolina by the media timeout at the 4:33 mark. The Tar Heels looked like themselves again, with graduate forward Alyssa Ustby using fancy footwork in the post to get around her defender and Donarski making her fifth 3-pointer of the game, making it her third-straight game with five. 

“It’s been feeling really good,” Donarski said. “I feel like we’ve played three really solid team offensive games over the last three games, and so that just opens up things on the inside and outside for us.”

Just like she did to end the first quarter, Townsend just barely beat the buzzer. The Richmond native made a layup with only four seconds left in third quarter, pushing North Carolina’s lead to 50-38. 

Carmichael’s volume raised to as loud as it’s been all night when Townsend banked in a 3-pointer with the clock running down, giving UNC a 55-42 advantage. She had 13 points and four rebounds in 16 minutes of playing time, going 5-5 from the floor. 

“I was aggressive, but also trying to stay under control and look for my shot, so taking the shot without trying to force it, but definitely start hopefully getting on a good run now,” Townsend said.

When redshirt first-year forward Ciera Toomey entered the game for the first time with around four minutes left in the game, she immediately made her presence felt. Donarski found Toomey cutting through the paint and she finished an and-1 layup only nine seconds after substituting in. 

North Carolina had little left to do after that. With contributions from a multitude of bench players, UNC sealed the victory, 76-51.

“We’ve been able to get kids that believe in the work that needs to be put in, and then they trust the work that needs to be put in,” head coach Courtney Banghart said. “And that they’re here for the right reasons. They’re here to win. They’re here to be a part of something transformative.”

The Tar Heels will take on Florida State next on Sunday in Carmichael at noon. 

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