No. 15 North Carolina was knocked out of the ACC Women’s Tournament Saturday night by No. 10 Louisville in a 77-75 overtime loss. The Tar Heels had made it to the quarterfinals and looked to knock out at least one of the top-seeded teams from reaching the semifinals.

UNC freshman Jamie Cherry threw up a 40-foot nail-biter with less than two seconds left on clock to tie the game at 66 and send the game into overtime.

In Louisville’s first ever ACC Tournament game, the Cardinals quickly trimmed a 10-point lead UNC held over them with fewer than 10 minutes to play.

With 40 points scored in the paint compared to UNC’s 28, U of L knew just where to attack.

“We were letting Carolina do what they wanted to do, and we just talked about getting back to the basics,” Louisville Head Coach Jeff Walz said. “We tried to make sure we played scouting report defense and on the offensive end, we actually finally started to execute. We pushed the ball in transition and got some layups and also ran through some things.”

Louisville senior Sara Hammond led the Cardinals with 20 points as she scored eight times on nine shots at the free throw line – a key statistic for her team at the end of the game.

UNC’s Jessica Washington scored a team high 16 points and netted three 3-pointers. Junior N’Dea Bryant also played big for Carolina as she scored 13 points and snatched three steals.

Allisha Gray was evidently off beat on the court. She only scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds in 30 minutes on the floor.

Her time was cut short when she committed her fifth foul with 2 minutes left in regulation. Coach Sylvia Hatchell said losing her at the end of the game was reminiscent to the February 15th matchup between UNC and Louisville.

“The first time, she played really well, and this is probably the worst I’ve seen Allisha play,” Coach Hatchell said. “I kept thinking she was going to get going but she didn’t and they were targeting her a lot.”

Even amid her slump, Gray still made history that night as the 35th player in program history to obtain 1,000 points. With Gray only in her second year at Carolina, that mark shows very promising for the Heels.

And Carolina’s season is not over yet. The NCAA will determine the bracketology of the big dance in the coming weeks as the Tar Heels take on March Madness.

FINAL BOX SCORE

Related Stories
‹
Kelly, No. 15 UNC Women's Basketball Hand No. 19 Cal First Home Loss of Season
No. 15 UNC women’s basketball started its trip out west with a win on Thursday night, as the Tar Heels’ defense powered them to a 65-52 over No. 19 California. It was the Golden Bears’ first loss in Haas Pavilion this season, and keeps Carolina undefeated on the road in ACC play. Sophomore guard Reniya […]
UNC Men's and Women's Basketball Unveil Their 2023-24 ACC Schedules
The final pieces of the scheduling puzzle for UNC’s basketball programs fell into place on Tuesday, as the Atlantic Coast Conference released the schedules for 2023-24 conference play. The Carolina men’s and women’s teams joined the other 14 teams in seeing their schedules revealed during an ACC Network special Tuesday night, rounding out their games […]
Kelly, Ustby Pick Up Preseason Awards; UNC Women's BBall Predicted 5th in ACC
The Atlantic Coast Conference has recently fielded some strong women’s basketball programs, with UNC looking to break into the competitive upper-tier. Heading into the 2022-23 season, media members throughout the conference are predicting this may indeed be the year. The ACC released its preseason predictions from voting media on Wednesday, with the Tar Heels listed […]
Stroman on Sports: Women's Basketball in the ACC
Dr. Debbie Stroman joins 97.9 The Hill's Brighton McConnell to discuss the start of women's basketball season and the landscape around the ACC. Stroman shares her thoughts on the Triangle's three programs, the competitiveness of the conference and a remarkable coaching streak potentially coming to an end.
Janelle Bailey Named ACC Women's Basketball Player of the Week
UNC sophomore forward Janelle Bailey was named the ACC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week on Monday, coming off an 85-63 win against Howard this past Friday that saw her pour in a career-high 30 points to go along with 14 rebounds. This is Bailey’s first ACC Player of the Week honor, after winning the […]
ACC Names Janelle Bailey Its Women's Basketball Rookie of the Year
ACC commissioner John Swofford announced Wednesday that UNC forward Janelle Bailey has been named the league’s women’s basketball Rookie of the Year. The 6-foot-4-inch native of Matthews, North Carolina has been a revelation for head coach Sylvia Hatchell in the frontcourt this season–leading all freshmen in the conference with 15.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per […]
Watts, Walker Honored by ACC Ahead of Tournament Tipoff Wednesday
Members of the North Carolina women’s basketball team have been honored by the Atlantic Coast Conference ahead of the conference tournament beginning on Wednesday. UNC guard Stephanie Watts was selected as the ACC Freshman of the Year, the league announced on Wednesday. Watts won ACC Rookie of the Week honors four times over the course […]
Art's Angle: Hatchell Should Go Gracefully
Hiring Sylvia Crawley as an assistant coach is the right play for Sylvia Hatchell. Getting her friends and colleagues in the university to lobby for an extension to her contract is the wrong play. Crawley, a star player and captain of the 1994 Tar Heels, will be seen by many people as Hatchell’s successor after […]
UNC Women's Basketball To Host Opening Rounds of NCAA
Hall of Fame coach Sylvia Hatchell’s team received an at-large bid and was placed at a No. 4 seed in the Greensboro region after the tournament bracket was announced Monday afternoon.
Heels Tumble Out of Tourney in OT Loss
No. 15 North Carolina was knocked out of the ACC Women’s Tournament Saturday night by No. 10 Louisville in a 77-75 overtime loss.
›