No. 8 UNC women's basketball falls, 78-75, to Virginia in final regular season game

The No. 8 North Carolina women’s basketball team (25-6, 13-5) closed out the regular season with a 78-75 loss to Virginia (16-14, 8-10 ACC) on Sunday afternoon in Carmichael Arena. 

UNC built several large leads, but poor shooting in the second half allowed the Cavaliers back in the game, and last-minute attempts fell short on the way to the close loss. 

“We ran out of gas, I thought, and really couldn’t get out of playing tired in that second half,” head coach Courtney Banghart said.

Graduate guard Lexi Donarski started off hot, hitting two 3-pointers and a jumper to put UNC up 8-4 early. 

The Tar Heels kept their foot on the gas. Senior center Maria Gakdeng pushed through a double team for a layup and an and-1. She missed the free throw, but Virginia knocked the ball out of bounds on the rebound. First-year guard Lanie Grant took a pass from Gakdeng on the left wing and drained a 3-pointer. 

Virginia pushed the pace, getting several quick looks from behind the arc. It finally capitalized with about two minutes remaining in the first quarter to make it 21-14. 

A buzzer-beating jumper by Grant capped off the frame with UNC up 27-17. 

Junior guard Indya Nivar hit a left-handed fast-break layup off a euro step as North Carolina went on a 6-0 run to start the second quarter. 

On her first offensive possession, first-year center Blanca Thomas drove for an and-1 layup. 

The Cavaliers went on a 7-0 run to end the quarter initiated by a corner 3-pointer. At the half, the score was 41-30 North Carolina. The Tar Heels capitalized on rebounds in the first half, recording nine second-chance points to Virginia’s zero. 

“They shot the ball really well from three,” Banghart said. “They made 11 threes on us. Not something that they do that well. That’s kind of what you have when you’re playing with house money.”

Virginia stayed hot into the beginning of the third quarter. It went on an 8-2 run in the first two minutes. UNC’s two points came from free throws. 

North Carolina struggled from the field until the teams began trading baskets from downtown. Several physical possessions ended in foul shots and North Carolina’s lead dwindled to four. 

A 3-pointer off an inbounds brought Virginia within one, but Gakdeng responded with an and-1 layup and drained the free throw. 

On the other end, Gakdeng forced a turnover, and Nivar threw an outlet pass to Donarski for a fast-break layup. 

Her 3-pointer moments later put the Tar Heels up by seven but the lead was back down to four at the quarter break. 

Gakdeng put the offense on her back in the fourth quarter, making three early layups as UNC tried to break away from Virginia.  

Up six points, Nivar blocked a 3-point attempt and drove down the floor for a fast-break layup with an assist from redshirt first-year forward Ciera Toomey. The shot made it 71-63, UNC’s biggest lead of the quarter. 

But after a few turnovers and missed shots, Virginia was again within one. 

“We shot 6-29 from three, that’s tough to win that way,” Banghart said. “And then we also turned the ball over, uncharacteristically, especially late in that fourth quarter.”

The teams traded one-point leads. An offensive foul on Nivar gave the Cavaliers the lead with 13 seconds remaining, and the Tar Heels couldn’t pull out the win, missing a layup and a 3-pointer. 

UNC awaits its matchup in the 2025 ACC tournament, which begins March 5 at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C. 

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