CHAPEL HILL – Strong three-point shooting and an early second-half run pushed the No. 8 Maryland women’s basketball team past No. 10 North Carolina, 79-70 Sunday afternoon in the ACC tipoff.

Free throws kept the Tar Heels in the game early. UNC shot 10-13 from the charity stripe in the first half.

Maryland’s Alyssa Thomas and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough couldn’t be stopped in the first 20 as the two combined for 24 of the 40 first half points. The Terrapins also out rebounded the Tar Heels 22-15 taking the 40-31 score into the locker room.

Maryland went on a 17-9 run to open the second half in which Carolina had to burn two timeouts. That run also included a 13-2 run in three minutes resulting in the second of the timeouts.

***Listen to the Call by Walter Storholt on the Tar Heel Sports Network***

However, UNC came out of that timeout with a 9-0 run of its own.

 ***Listen to the Call by Walter Storholt on the Tar Heel Sports Network***

The Tar Heels brought it all the way back to a six-point hole, but didn’t have enough time to stay out of the fouling game, and the contest came down to free throws.

Just as Carolina was so strong from the free-throw line in the first half, it struggled in the second. UNC only shot 10-23 in the second frame. Maryland connected on 20 of 23 from the charity stripe in the game.

Stephanie Mavunga led the Tar Heels for the second-straight game with 15 points and seven rebounds. Latifah Coleman added 13 points; Diamond DeShields had 12.

With the loss, Carolina fell to 12-3, 0-1 in the ACC; Maryland improved to 13-1, 1-0.

The Tar Heels host the NC State Wolfpack Thursday at 6:00 p.m. closing their four-game homestand that spans more than two and a half weeks.

Box Score