Miami, FL
Despite late push by Miami, No. 20 UNC women's basketball takes down Hurricanes at home
The combo scoring of Reniya Kelly and Deja Kelly lifted UNC into a comfortable 17-point lead. Yet, a trio of Miami 3-pointers near the end of the half kept the Hurricanes within arm’s length by the end of the second period.
At the break, UNC led 38-28. Reniya Kelly and Deja Kelly carried the offensive load with 10 and 11 points apiece.
The game’s sporadic pace spilled over into the second half where the two teams traded bucket for bucket in the early going. Yet by the under-five timeout, another Tar Heel run emerged to bolster their lead back up to 17.
Three baskets in the paint for Gakdeng and another 3-pointer for Donarski chalked four Tar Heel players into double-digit scoring.
A handful of Miami possessions late into the shot clock, as well as defensive blocks from senior forward Alyssa Ustby and senior forward Anya Poole, kept UNC afloat despite a nearly five-minute scoring drought to end the quarter.
However, a second flurry of Miami 3-pointers cut the Tar Heel lead to six points, as the game fell under four minutes left to play.
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With under two minutes left, a physical and-1 by Ustby was quickly answered by a Hurricane 3-point play on the opposite end. Even later, a turnover by Deja Kelly led to a Miami basket to cut the lead to one.
Yet, a pair of clutch free throws from Kelly at the line sought redemption for her previous mistake and extended UNC’s lead to three. Stout defense in the final possession by Indya Nivar drew a charge against a driving Miami ball-handler, which allowed the Tar Heels to later ice the game from the charity stripe.
North Carolina will travel to face the Virginia Cavaliers in its next matchup, this Sunday at noon.
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