Making the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Courtney Banghart, the No. 10 seed UNC women’s basketball team came up short in Monday’s First Round–falling 80-71 to No. 7 seed Alabama in San Antonio.
Senior guard Stephanie Watts was tremendous for the Tar Heels (13-11), making seven of her 11 three-point attempts on the way to a team-high 29 points. UNC also received 16 points and nine rebounds from senior forward Janelle Bailey.
Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, Alabama had its own spectacular performance from a senior guard–as Jordan Lewis ended the day with 32 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, numbers that ranked either first or second on the Crimson Tide (17-9) in all categories.
Behind Lewis’ efforts, Alabama took the lead in the opening minutes and held onto it for the rest of the game.
The Crimson Tide led by 10 points at halftime and never let UNC pull closer than five points at any time during the second half despite Watts’ spirited efforts to bring the Tar Heels back.
For the game, UNC shot just 37 percent and connected on only 16 of its 46 attempts from inside the three-point line. Alabama also had a massive edge in the rebounding department, grabbing 46 rebounds compared to only 33 for the Tar Heels.
In addition, Tar Heel freshman point guard Deja Kelly struggled mightily in her first taste of NCAA Tournament action, scoring just seven points on 1-for-13 shooting from the floor.
This ends a season filled with plenty of growing pains for a young, but talented UNC roster. With the No. 2 recruiting class in the country set to join the Tar Heels next season, there should be plenty more NCAA Tournament appearances on the horizon for Banghart and her team.
FINAL BOX SCORE
Photo via UNC Athletics
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