UNC women's basketball handles sixth-seeded West Virginia, 58-47, in second round of NCAA tournament

No. 3 seed North Carolina (29-7, 13-5 ACC) took down No. 6 seed West Virginia (25-8, 13-5 Big 12), 58-47, in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Monday night in Carmichael Arena.

Thanks to exceptional defense in the second half, UNC advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2022. 

North Carolina found itself in a defensive battle in the first half and only led 24-21 going into halftime. However, as they’ve been known to do, the Tar Heels turned up the heat for a highly offensive third quarter. Then, in the final quarter, the North Carolina defense caught up with the offense, leading to a West Virginia scoring drought for more than 10 minutes and a comfortable UNC win. 

“Two Sweet 16s in four years and this team making it this way, and hosting in front of their own home crowd and people showed up for them both nights,” head coach Courtney Banghart said. “If I don't take that in, I’m not going to last long in this business.”

West Virginia’s daunting press bothered UNC from the start. Just after senior center Maria Gakdeng won the opening tip, the Mountaineer backcourt swarmed sophomore guard Reniya Kelly, forcing a near turnover. 

North Carolina answered the full-court man press early, taking a 10-4 lead with all starters contributing at least a point. Then work started on the defensive end, as UNC forced four West Virginia turnovers in the first six minutes of play, creating six points off those mishaps. 

While UNC managed to grow the lead to eight, West Virginia had tied the game 12-12 by the end of the first quarter. The Mountaineers shot 0-7 from 3-point land, but made up for it with their defense, which held UNC to 1-7 shooting from the field in the final minutes. 

Jordan Harrison cashed in West Virginia’s first 3-pointer at the beginning of the second quarter for the first Mountaineer lead of the game. 

But graduate guard Lexi Donarski took the ball from Ja’naiya Quinerly and made an and-1 fast break layup, giving UNC the edge again, 17-16. 

Both teams in the defensive battle went without a score for over three minutes until Donarski faked a 3-pointer and made a mid-range jumper.

Further exchange of buckets had the fans in Carmichael on their feet as UNC went into halftime with a 24-21 advantage. 

By putting bodies in the paint, North Carolina held West Virginia to 1-11 shooting beyond the arc and allowed for only six total made shots. 

North Carolina found success on the offensive glass to open scoring in the third quarter. On the other hand, West Virginia got into early foul trouble, reaching five at the 5:47 mark. 

The Mountaineers were called for three fouls on one possession. Two of those fell on Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Quinerly, who accumulated three total fouls.   

UNC found itself down 35-33 with three minutes remaining in the third, but tides changed for the Tar Heels. 

North Carolina went on a 12-3 run to close the quarter thanks to a variety of contributors. The stretch was capped off by junior guard Indya Nivar’s block on Quinerly’s desperation 3-pointer and Euro-step down the court for a layup that barely beat the buzzer. 

The Tar Heels went into the final frame with a 45-38 edge. 

A physical West Virginia squad collected five fouls by the 8:14 mark of the fourth quarter before even scoring a point. The final of the five fouls put West Virginia’s Kylee Blacksten on the bench, reaching her limit. 

In the meantime, Ustby was able to put together four points, giving UNC an 11-point lead — its largest of the game at that point.  

In the third and forth quarters, North Carolina truly turned up its defensive jets. UNC didn’t allow a Mountaineer field goal for over 10 minutes from the end of the third quarter to the end of the fourth, including 13 straight missed shots. North Carolina held West Virginia 2-21 from deep on the night. 

“​​All year we focused on our defense, and we knew our defense was one of the best in the country,” Nivar said. “That's because everybody on our team takes accountability to stop people on the other team, stop them from their favorite moves.”

Ustby led the way for UNC, recording 21 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and three steals. Donarski and Kelly each added 11 points. Gakdeng and Nivar grabbed nine boards apiece. 

“We just had a lot of fire,” Ustby said. “We are really excited. We love playing with each other. We want to keep playing, and we want to keep the season going. So there's not anything that's going to stop us." 

With the win, the Tar Heels advance to the Sweet 16 where they will face their rival — second-seeded Duke — for the third time this season. The Duke-UNC battle is slated for Friday at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.

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