On Sunday afternoon, the No. 13 North Carolina women’s basketball team (21-4, 9-3 ACC) narrowly defeated Clemson (11-13, 4-9 ACC), 53-51, in Littlejohn Coliseum.
With less than a minute left in regulation, sophomore guard Reniya Kelly slowly drove left around a screen before exploding into an Iverson crossover to the right elbow. Kelly rose and drilled the dagger right into the heart of the Tiger faithful. In the moment they needed her the most, Kelly delivered.
The game was close from the onset. The Tar Heels quickly took a 7-3 lead with a three-pointer from graduate guard Lexi Donarsk and a fast break lay-up from graduate forward Alyssa Utsby.
However, Clemson quickly countered Tar Heel's zone defense. With some swift passing, space opened on the wings, allowing the Tigers to knock down three consecutive shots from beyond the arc.
Both teams were relentlessly suffocating. The Tar Heels tried to feed the ball inside to their senior center, Maria Gakdeng, but the Tigers fronted her at every opportunity. With its inside game struggling, UNC changed its approach. North Carolina began faking inside passes to the high post before quickly rotating the ball to the opposite corner for an open look. Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, the shots did not fall. UNC ended the first half, shooting 3-of-14.
As the halftime whistle blew, Clemson led 25-22.
After the break, the Tar Heels attacked, hounding the opposition’s graduate guard, Loyal McQueen. With McQueen being held down, Clemson could not pull away from the Tar Heels. The score was 36-35 going into the final quarter of action.
During the fourth and final quarter, graduate guard Grace Townsend charged full speed at the basket for a tough layup, extending the Tar Heels’ lead 39-36. She could not miss, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 throughout the fourth quarter.
Despite exchanging baskets to the very last minute, the Tar Heels forced a crucial turnover from McQueen, ending the game 53-51.
