Eight is great for the UNC women’s basketball team.

The Tar Heels kept the good times rolling in Carmichael Arena Thursday night, defeating Virginia 73-62 to clinch their eighth consecutive win, all of which have come in ACC play. It’s the program’s longest ACC winning streak under fourth-year head coach Courtney Banghart.

Five Tar Heels scored in doubles figures: Deja Kelly, Kennedy Todd-Williams, Anya Poole, Alyssa Ustby and redshirt freshman Kayla McPherson. McPherson scored a team-high 14 points on 6-10 in just her second collegiate game after missing all of last season and much of this one with lower-body injuries. She also dished out a team-high four assists.

McPherson was one of multiple Tar Heels who shot the ball efficiently against the Cavaliers. The team’s shooting percentage of 53.1 is its highest in ACC play this season by a healthy margin: it hadn’t even broken 50 in its previous 10 conference games. Even more impressive is that UNC did much of its scoring from inside the arc: the Tar Heels made only three three-pointers on eleven attempts. Carolina outscored the Cavaliers 26-22 in the paint and held a decisive 12-2 advantage on fast-break points. The team’s 18-23 (78.3 percent) at the free throw line is also its best on at least 20 attempts in ACC play.

As she did against Clemson, McPherson provided a spark for Carolina in the first half. Amid a dismal first quarter in which the Tar Heels managed just five points in the opening eight minutes, McPherson scored four consecutive points to end the period and give UNC a 9-8 lead. She hit a three-pointer early in the second quarter and provided a layup on the fast break later in the period as the Tar Heels stretched their lead to as large as 17 points. McPherson hit one more three in the fourth quarter, providing two of UNC’s trio on the night.

With the win, Carolina improves to 17-5 overall, 8-3 in ACC play and 11-1 at Carmichael Arena this season. The Tar Heels remain in the thick of the ACC’s top 4 race with Duke, Notre Dame and Florida State, with Carolina holding head-to-head tiebreakers over the Blue Devils and Fighting Irish.

But Carolina will now hit the road once again amid its challenging stretch of four games out of five played away from Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels will visit Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center this Sunday, a place the program has never won. UNC edged the Cardinals by a point in Chapel Hill last season.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications

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