The No. 9 UNC women’s basketball (24-4, 12-3 ACC) bested Syracuse (10-16, 4-11 ACC), 68-58, in New York on Thursday night without the presence of leading scorer Alyssa Ustby who did not travel with the team to Syracuse after sustaining an injury on Sunday.
Senior forward Maria Gakdeng led with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Only three Tar Heels reached double digits during the match.
The National Women’s Honoree of the Week guard Reniya Kelly started the game right where she left off with a layup to open scoring for the Tar Heels. Graduate Guard Lexi Donarksi followed with a three of her own.
North Carolina struggled to hold onto the ball, committing three early turnovers, giving the Orange the opportunity to convert down low.
Graduate guard Grace Townsend picked the team up with a strong move to the hole after a four minute scoring drought for the Tar Heels.
Junior guard Trayanna Crisp knocked down a three to end the first quarter and put North Carolina up three.
Gakdeng posted up her defender on the block and spun to her right to put away her bucket of the game. She followed with another layup.
However, the Tar Heels struggled to stop Syracuse’s Georgia Woolley who hit double digits with back-to-back triples.
The Tar Heels failed to convert on two breakaway opportunities with layup misses from Crisp and junior guard Indya Nivar.
