UNC women's basketball survives Boston College, 78-71, in second round of ACC tournament

No. 5 seed North Carolina (26-6, 13-5 ACC) bested No. 12 seed Boston College (16-17, 6-12 ACC), 78-71, in the second round of the 2025 Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament in the Greensboro Coliseum on Thursday morning. UNC moved to 2-5 all-time in the ACC tournament under head coach Courtney Banghart. 

North Carolina saw the return of graduate forward Alyssa Ustby who played for the first time since exiting the game against N.C. State on February 16. Sophomore guard Reniya Kelly — who earned the second-most votes for ACC Most Improved Player — missed her third consecutive game. 

While the Eagles kept it close for much of the match and led by nine early in the fourth quarter, the Tar Heels responded. UNC outscored Boston College, 24-17, in the final quarter, despite the Eagles shooting 12-26 from behind the 3-point line throughout the afternoon. 

“I really feel like it came from within all of us,” graduate guard Lexi Donarski said. “Just knowing that we’re better than this and we’re not going to accept anything but the best from each other and from ourselves.”

UNC converted on five of its first six possessions while holding the Golden Eagles scoreless. Ustby had two of those buckets in the 11-0 Tar Heel start. 

The Eagles committed seven turnovers in the first quarter, which UNC turned into 10 early points. However, Boston College shot 4-6 from behind the arc. North Carolina led after 10 minutes of play, 18-14.

UNC cycled through 11 different players in the first half with eight recording a bucket. North Carolina collected eight bench points in the second quarter. Boston College’s Tatum Greene led all scorers with 13 points, shooting 3-3 from 3-point territory.  

North Carolina went into the locker room without relinquishing its lead, clinging to a narrow 36-30 advantage. 

Ustby opened the scoring for the Tar Heels in the second half with an and-1 layup on the baseline assist from junior guard Indya Nivar. 

Boston College later went on a 7-0 run until the 4:05-mark when first-year guard Lanie Grant made two free throws. The Eagles took their first lead of the game at 51-50 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. 

Other than from the charity stripe, there seemed to be a lid on the basket for the Tar Heels as they went without a field goal for nearly four minutes and shot just 33 percent from the field in the quarter. North Carolina led by as many as 10 in the quarter, but went into the last frame tied at 54-54. 

After shooting 4-4 from beyond the perimeter in the third quarter, Boston College opened the fourth quarter with three straight 3-pointers against an unresponsive UNC. 

Ustby finally ended North Carolina’s bleeding with a layup after three minutes of play. The First Team All-ACC selection ignited a 7-0 run for the Tar Heels, with all field goals coming from inside the paint. 

“I think a lot of that came down to buying into one another,” Ustby said, “because we knew that we could only pull out that win if we had team defense.”

With Grant’s fast break layup after her steal, UNC only faced a one-point deficit. Nivar flexed after her and-1 layup, and North Carolina regained the lead, 68-66, at the 3:07-mark for the first time since the third quarter. 

While the Tar Heels dominated on the offensive side, UNC also didn’t allow the Eagles to score a field goal for almost five minutes, highlighted by an Ustby-Maria Gakdeng swat on Greene’s attempt in the paint. Boston College finally made a layup with 37 seconds remaining to cut the North Carolina advantage to four. 

Graduate guard Lexi Donarski sealed the victory with a rebound after a BC missed 3-point attempt, then made two free throws at the line afterwards. The UNC bench celebrated the victory after Donarski dribbled out the remaining few seconds of the clock after an Eagle turnover.

North Carolina took the win, 78-71. 

Donarski led the way with 20 points while Nivar had 14. Ustby and Grant each added 11. 

“Last time out, that was our shortcoming: we looked tired, we played tired and we got quiet tired,” Banghart said, reflecting on UNC’s loss to Virginia in its regular season finale.  “And then, fast forward less than a week, and they did the opposite.”

North Carolina will face No. 4 seed Florida State in the quarterfinals on Friday at 11 a.m. in the Greensboro Coliseum. 

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