North Carolina
WBB Falls In OT At Duke – University of North Carolina Athletics
DURHAM, N.C. – After not playing to overtime once in the season’s first 22 games, the North Carolina women’s basketball team has now suffered overtime losses in its last two outings, most recently 68-60 at Duke on Sunday afternoon. The Tar Heels (15-9, 7-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) were coming off a 70-61 overtime loss to No. 17 Virginia Tech last Sunday and have now lost four games in a row.
Playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium, senior Deja Kelly scored a game-high 20 points, with 18 of them coming after halftime and 11 in the third quarter alone. Her total included 7-7 shooting from the foul line. Freshman Reniya Kelly added 13 points and graduate student Lexi Donarski 11 as both played in a Carolina-Duke matchup for the first time. Senior Alyssa Ustby led UNC with nine rebounds and three assists.
For the Blue Devils, Delaney Thomas came off the bench for a career-high 19 points, Taina Mair scored 13 and Ashlon Jackson had 10.
The Tar Heels scored the first six points of the game and, although Duke tied the game at 12-12 late in the first quarter, never trailed until the fourth quarter. They held the advantage throughout the first three quarters, eventually stretching it to 14 points, 46-32, after a driving layup by Deja Kelly with 1:15 to play in the third period.
Duke outscored UNC 19-7 in the fourth quarter and grabbed its first lead of the game on a three by Mair with 2:52 remaining. The Tar Heels got the lead back on a three-point play by Donarski to go up by two. Duke tied it at 53-53 on a pair of free throws by Oluchi Okananwa with 1:31 on the clock, and neither team scored again after that. A steal by Reniya Kelly with four seconds to play gave Carolina a late chance for the win, but Duke tied up the ball on Kelly’s drive to the basket with less than a second on the clock, and Ustby’s shot on the inbounds play hung on the rim before falling out to send the game into overtime.
Deja Kelly opened overtime with her first three of the game, but that was the Tar Heels’ largest lead of the period. The Tar Heels were 3-10 from the field in OT and the Blue Devils hit four of their seven shots to take the win. The final score was the home team’s biggest lead of the day.
Free throws were a bright spot for UNC as the Tar Heels made 18 of 21, paced by Deja Kelly’s 7-7 day. Carolina also won the rebounding battle, 44-33. Duke held a 30-14 advantage in the paint and 31-6 lead in points off the bench.
The win gives Duke two in a row in the series, following a victory in the 2023 ACC Tournament. UNC had won four regular-season matchups in a row heading into Sunday’s game.
Carolina is back in action on Thursday, hosting Pitt for a 6 p.m. game at Carmichael Arena.
Notes:
• The game was the 10th time this season that Deja Kelly has scored 20+ points and the 31st time in her career
• With 1,726 career points, Kelly moved into 14th place on UNC’s career scoring list.
• Lexi Donarski finished the game with 1,497 career points and is set to become the second Tar Heel this season, following Kelly, to pass the 1,500-points milestone.
• The game marked the first time in ACC play this season that UNC has led at halftime (26-25) and lost.
• Duke’s nine blocks were a high by a UNC opponent this season and the Blue Devils’ nine turnovers matched the low by an opponent.
Playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium, senior Deja Kelly scored a game-high 20 points, with 18 of them coming after halftime and 11 in the third quarter alone. Her total included 7-7 shooting from the foul line. Freshman Reniya Kelly added 13 points and graduate student Lexi Donarski 11 as both played in a Carolina-Duke matchup for the first time. Senior Alyssa Ustby led UNC with nine rebounds and three assists.
For the Blue Devils, Delaney Thomas came off the bench for a career-high 19 points, Taina Mair scored 13 and Ashlon Jackson had 10.
The Tar Heels scored the first six points of the game and, although Duke tied the game at 12-12 late in the first quarter, never trailed until the fourth quarter. They held the advantage throughout the first three quarters, eventually stretching it to 14 points, 46-32, after a driving layup by Deja Kelly with 1:15 to play in the third period.
Duke outscored UNC 19-7 in the fourth quarter and grabbed its first lead of the game on a three by Mair with 2:52 remaining. The Tar Heels got the lead back on a three-point play by Donarski to go up by two. Duke tied it at 53-53 on a pair of free throws by Oluchi Okananwa with 1:31 on the clock, and neither team scored again after that. A steal by Reniya Kelly with four seconds to play gave Carolina a late chance for the win, but Duke tied up the ball on Kelly’s drive to the basket with less than a second on the clock, and Ustby’s shot on the inbounds play hung on the rim before falling out to send the game into overtime.
Deja Kelly opened overtime with her first three of the game, but that was the Tar Heels’ largest lead of the period. The Tar Heels were 3-10 from the field in OT and the Blue Devils hit four of their seven shots to take the win. The final score was the home team’s biggest lead of the day.
Free throws were a bright spot for UNC as the Tar Heels made 18 of 21, paced by Deja Kelly’s 7-7 day. Carolina also won the rebounding battle, 44-33. Duke held a 30-14 advantage in the paint and 31-6 lead in points off the bench.
The win gives Duke two in a row in the series, following a victory in the 2023 ACC Tournament. UNC had won four regular-season matchups in a row heading into Sunday’s game.
Carolina is back in action on Thursday, hosting Pitt for a 6 p.m. game at Carmichael Arena.
Notes:
• The game was the 10th time this season that Deja Kelly has scored 20+ points and the 31st time in her career
• With 1,726 career points, Kelly moved into 14th place on UNC’s career scoring list.
• Lexi Donarski finished the game with 1,497 career points and is set to become the second Tar Heel this season, following Kelly, to pass the 1,500-points milestone.
• The game marked the first time in ACC play this season that UNC has led at halftime (26-25) and lost.
• Duke’s nine blocks were a high by a UNC opponent this season and the Blue Devils’ nine turnovers matched the low by an opponent.