No. 3 seed UNC women's basketball falls, 47-38, to No. 2 seed Duke in Sweet Sixteen

A season-low in scoring plagued No. 3 seed North Carolina (29-8, 13-6 ACC) as it fell, 47-38, to No. 2 seed Duke (29-7, 14-4 ACC) on Friday afternoon at Legacy Arena in Birmingham. 

UNC finished the game 14-for-52 from the field a 28.9 percent shooting struggle that is was the third-worst of the season. No Tar Heels finished in double figures and recorded only six points in the fourth quarter. 

“We just didn’t have enough,” sophomore guard Reniya Kelly said. “It was frustrating just because we missed so many shots. So many open shots.” 

The Tar Heels began the game on an 11-0 run by the first media timeout. Baskets by Alyssa Ustby, Lexi Donarski and Maria Gakdeng contributed offensively, while UNC’s defense forced Duke to miss its first nine shots of the game. 

But by the end of the first quarter, Duke erased most of the early deficit. The Tar Heels only led 13-9 after failing to record a field goal in the final four-plus minutes of the first period. 

In the second quarter, UNC’s scoring drought continued, as the Tar Heels missed 12 straight shots over nearly 12 minutes. A lower-body injury to Gakdeng at the start of the quarter also hurt North Carolina, as she exited the game with eight minutes remaining in the half and did not return. She was the only Tar Heel who recorded a positive plus/minus (+9) in the first two periods. 

“I tried to act like it was next man up, but when you lose Maria [early] in the game, you're up nine, that's a big loss,” head coach Courtney Banghart said.

After junior guard Indya Nivar’s layup ended the drought and a Donarski 3-pointer moments later, UNC cut Duke’s lead to three. On the next possession, the Blue Devils answered with a three of their own. It added another a few possessions later, along with a free throw, to take a double-digit lead right before halftime.

Throughout the third quarter, North Carolina clawed its way back into the game. A pair of threes by sophomore guard Reniya Kelly, two baskets from Nivar and a tough-driving layup by first-year guard Lanie Grant brought UNC within two points of the lead. 

Five offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter by Duke helped the Blue Devils build their lead and shut the door on the chances of a North Carolina comeback. Five second-chance points nearly outscored UNC’s offense entirely in the final frame.

UNC shot 2-of-11 in a make-or-break final 10 minutes of its season.

“Basketball is a two-sided game, and we did the best we could on the defensive end,” Nivar said. “When you hold a team to under 50 points you would expect that your team wins.”

With the loss, North Carolina’s most successful season under head coach Courtney Banghart comes to a close. The Tar Heels stacked up 29 wins — the most since the 2012-13 season — and will have four players graduate, including three starters. 

“I think the next step for us is learning from these losses and these tournaments and continuing to pursue farther runs and Elite Eights, Final Fours,” Grant said. “But the good thing is, we know what it takes to get here.”

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