No. 17 Virginia Tech dominated the extra session in Carmichael Arena on Sunday afternoon, outscoring Carolina 16-7 in overtime to earn a 70-61 win. It’s UNC’s third straight loss overall and fifth straight to the Hokies.

Carolina endured a miserable first half shooting the ball, finishing just 7-30 (23.3 percent) from the floor. Fortunately, the Hokies weren’t much better, and the two teams entered the locker rooms with Virginia Tech ahead 26-20. The Tar Heels came out much sharper in the third quarter, opening on a 13-4 run to take a 33-30 lead. After Virginia Tech answered with seven straight points, consecutive threes from Lexi Donarski and Alexandra Zelaya put UNC back on top. Free throws from Georgia Amoore sent the game to the fourth quarter tied at 39-39.

The teams traded punches in the fourth quarter, and it was a fast-break layup from Indya Nivar following a steal which tied the game at 54-54 with 36 seconds remaining. A desperation three from Amoore at the buzzer missed, sending the game to overtime. The Tar Heels never led after that, and consecutive threes from Amoore and Matilda Ekh gave Virginia Tech a 64-57 lead with 1:21 to go. It proved to be too much for Carolina to overcome.

Deja Kelly finished as Carolina’s leading scorer with 26 points, 13 of which came at the free throw line. Alyssa Ustby recorded yet another double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds, adding five assists for good measure.

The loss drops Carolina to 15-8 overall and 7-4 in conference play. The Tar Heels have dropped three consecutive games after starting ACC play 7-1. Their next matchup is another challenge, as Carolina will visit Duke next Sunday at 2 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Women’s Basketball on Twitter


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