Reniya Kelly leads No. 13 UNC women's basketball past Clemson

Two weeks ago, No. 12 UNC women’s basketball found themselves on the wrong side of a buzzer-beater. 

But on Sunday against Clemson, UNC up by two in the final three seconds, sophomore guard Reniya Kelly made sure it didn’t happen again. 

“We can’t lose,” Kelly said. “Can’t.” 

Clemson had hit six 3-pointers throughout the game, but when the Tigers needed one more to win, Kelly ensured they never got the chance. She tracked her man through on the inbound pass, forcing her into traffic and prevented her from getting the ball. Then, she jumped the passing lane, swiping the ball as time expired. 

Kelly made the game-winning play on both ends of the floor against Clemson on Sunday, leading the Tar Heels to a 53-51 win at Littlejohn Coliseum. She finished the afternoon with 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

With under a minute left at Clemson, score tied at 51, Kelly drove left. Senior center Maria Gakdeng set a screen, and Kelly weaved through. She found space in the paint and took the shot. It clanked off the front and back of the rim, eventually falling in. The basket proved to be the game-winner. 

Banghart said that she trusts Kelly — a trust she's earned throughout the season.

“She’s becoming a lot of people’s favorite for good reason,” Banghart said.

On Jan. 26, Florida State sent the Tar Heels home with an 86-84 loss — a game where UNC couldn’t make the one stop it needed. Learning from the mistakes of the FSU game, UNC’s defense — led by Kelly — held strong on the final possession, forcing Clemson into a turnover to seal the win. The win marked UNC's seventh away win of the year to remain unbeaten on the road. 

It wasn’t pretty, but it was enough. 

“You got to win a lot of ways in a conference as hard as this, and to win ugly is a part of it,” head coach Courtney Banghart said. “And today, we won ugly.”

On Sunday, Kelly finished with a game-high 17 points, but her rebounding and steals were just as crucial in a game where neither team shot well. The Tar Heels went 3-for-18 from beyond the arc, and when the offense sputtered, it was Kelly who found other ways to make an impact. 

That meant getting to her spots instead of settling for outside shots. 

“Obviously the threes weren't going at first, so I needed to touch [the] paint a lot more,” Kelly said. “Get to my pull-up. I feel like the post players can’t really guard me, so I think just attacking that post player was the best option.”

It also meant spreading the energy to the rest of the team.

Graduate guard Grace Townsend, who shot a perfect 4-for-4 in the fourth quarter, helped keep UNC in it while Kelly rested briefly. 

“She played her ass off the entire time,” Banghart said. “It’s exhausting. So if I can put Grace in and let Grace dog the ball for a little bit, if I can let Grace bring the ball up a little bit, then you’re almost getting a rest for Reniya while you’re still playing [someone like] Reniya.”

And when Kelly came back in, that rest proved pivotal. 

“She made two big plays on the defensive end and made a big bucket,” Banghart said. She later added, “They were trying to isolate us, but Reniya runs over, and I said, ‘Iso's for them doesn’t mean iso's for us,’ and she was already saying the same thing at the same time.”

Two weeks ago, UNC’s defense collapsed at the buzzer. This time, Kelly refused to go down. 

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