At times, it was a master class of inside-outside offense at its best. Down the stretch, it looked more like a nervy collapse. But above all, for the Tar Heels, it was a win.

***Listen to the story***

The fourth-seeded North Carolina women’s basketball team used sophomore forward Stephanie Mavunga’s 27 points and freshman Jamie Cherry’s patented last-second ‘Cherry Bomb’ to get past Ohio State, 86-84, Monday night at Carmichael Arena and in turn, advance to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen.

Jamie Cherry delivered in the clutch for Carolina (Smith Hardy)

Jamie Cherry delivered in the clutch for Carolina (Smith Hardy)

With the victory, the Tar Heels improved to 26-8 overall while the Buckeyes finished their 2014-15 campaign with a 24-11 record.

After surrendering an 18-point halftime lead, Cherry came up big in the clutch, finding the net with .4 ticks left on the clock.

UNC head coach Sylvia Hatchell says she looked to the heavens for some guidance on the final possession.

“She can shoot and light it up. There at the end, it was sort of divine intervention. I just thought, ‘put Jamie in.’ I knew she could make it,” Coach Hatchell says.

Playing at a staggering pace that had Mavunga herself gasping for air on the sidelines, the Tar Heels used their patented up-tempo, ‘track meet’ offense to motor out to a commanding 50-32 halftime lead. The 50-point output tied Carolina’s season-high for a half of basketball.

In an even bigger first-half surprise, the nation’s leading scorer, Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell, was held down to a mere four points on 2-11 shooting.

In her place, OSU junior guard Ameryst Alston tallied 30 points to lead all scorers. Mitchell eventually found her game as well, finishing with 25 points.

Carolina continued to dominate out of the halftime locker room, inching closer to the finish line with a steady offense and determined defensive effort.

But the Buckeyes continued to fight, hitting key shots and taking full advantage of Tar Heel miscues to eventually tie the game at 84-all with 5.1 seconds remaining.

Sylvia Hatchell has her Tar Heels back in a familiar place - the Sweet Sixteen. (Smith Hardy)

Sylvia Hatchell has her Tar Heels back in a familiar place – the Sweet Sixteen. (Smith Hardy)

And that’s when Cherry checked in, knocking down an aggressive runner to ignite the Carmichael crowd and save the day. The buzzer beater sent the UNC players into a frenzy. Coach Hatchell beamed, clenched fists held high in the air.

“Taking the big shot, it’s a big shot and everybody dreams of hitting the shot,” Cherry says. “I just wanted us to move on to the Sweet 16, especially for our seniors. … I didn’t want it to end here for them.”

Survive and advance they say. Well, survive, Carolina did.

Mavunga credited her little brother for inspiring her standout performance. The secret? A simple slogan.

“I’m a matchup they don’t want to see. He told me that’s what he said all day before his high school game last week. He went off in that game. I’m like, man, spitting some knowledge. I’m a matchup they don’t want to see,” Mavunga says.

The Tar Heels won’t need to travel far for the next round – just down the road to the Greensboro Coliseum. But the opponent may in fact be a ‘matchup they don’t want to see.’

UNC will take on revenge-minded and top-seeded South Carolina Friday in a rematch of last year’s Sweet Sixteen encounter in which the Tar Heels toppled the Gamecocks on their way to the Elite Eight.

FINAL BOX SCORE