A 23-point night from Lexi Donarski and a 23-5 bench points advantage helped the UNC women’s basketball team earn its best win of the season, 80-70 against No. 6 NC State in Chapel Hill.

Donarski was one of five Tar Heels to reach double figures on the night, including reserves Alexandra Zelaya and Indya Nivar. Zelaya gave Carolina a major boost in the first half, sinking three three-pointers on her way to 12 points. Her previous high in a game this season had been six points.

Zelaya’s outburst came as Carolina rallied from a seven-point deficit in the first quarter to lead by two at the end of the period. The Tar Heels stretched that lead to eight in the second quarter, 10 in the third and 14 in the fourth. NC State never led after the 19-second mark of the first quarter.

Alyssa Ustby posted yet another double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Though Deja Kelly scored only nine points, she dished out eight assists and grabbed seven rebounds, coming close to matching Ustby’s triple-double from earlier in the season. Maria Gakdeng added 12 points, half of which came in the fourth quarter as Carolina closed out the win.

The victory is the team’s third in a row after dropping four straight (one of which came at NC State) and improves Carolina to 18-9 overall. It also keeps the Tar Heels in the hunt for a Top 4 seed and a double-bye at the ACC Tournament. At 10-5 in league play, UNC sits a half-game behind fifth-place Florida State at 11-5 and fourth-place Louisville at 11-4. Carolina is tied with Notre Dame, but the Tar Heels hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.

UNC will be back in action when it visits No. 8 Virginia Tech at 4 p.m. on Sunday. The Hokies defeated Carolina in Chapel Hill in overtime earlier in the month, and ESPN College GameDay will be in Blacksburg for the game.

 

Featured image via UNC Women’s Basketball on Twitter

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