After a blow-out loss to unranked Pitt earlier this week, No. 8 North Carolina women’s basketball needed some redemption. They got just that Sunday afternoon with a 96-81 win over Georgia Tech at Carmichael Arena to give head coach Sylvia Hatchell her 950th career win. The Tar Heels are now 15-2 on the season and 2-1 in the ACC. With the loss, the Yellow Jackets fall to 12-6 overall and 2-2 in conference play.

Carolina was led in scoring once again by sophomore standouts Stephanie Mavunga and Allisha Gray. The duo combined for 35 of Carolina’s points as well as 21 rebounds.

The high-scoring game was a confidence booster for UNC – all but one active player scored for the Tar Heels, creating 38 much needed points from bench players including nine from junior Hillary Fuller.

“Fuller is tough, now, and she’s just going to get better and better,” Coach Hatchell said. “She loves the contact and she won’t flinch a bit, she just loves it. And I call her ‘Mayor’ because she’s just like, ‘what do you need me to do?’ She doesn’t have to get the praise or anything she’s just like ‘Coach. What do you need me to do?’”

Carolina began the game at a sluggish pace, missing numerous opportunities to score in transition and clinch a large early lead. Finally, UNC found its rhythm and prevented Georgia Tech from playing a game of catch-up, led by one of two triples knocked down by sophomore Jessica Washington, who scored a career high 16.

Washington, along with Junior N’Dea Bryant, saved the Tar Heels’ offense when Mavunga hit her first half shooting slump at only 2-8, reminiscent of her struggles under the basket at Pitt.

“I do agree that we have to step up a lot more,” Mavunga said. “We’re still adjusting (without Xylina McDaniel) for sure, but I think we’re bouncing back slowly but surely.”

The largest lead of the half was set at 17 and Carolina led 50-35 at intermission.

Georgia Tech never recovered thereafter, only coming within 13 points after a made freethrow by Zaire O’Neil with less than 8 minutes remaining in the game. Tech’s leading scorer, Kaela Davis, fouled out minutes later and was held to only 6 points. As a sophomore, Davis averages 20.7 points per game and is on track to become the fastest player in school history to reach 1,000 points.

The Yellow Jackets were led in scoring by junior Aaliyah Whiteside with 22 and Roddreka Rogers with 13 points and 11 rebounds, notching her 5th double-double of the season.

UNC is set to host a tough match against No. 4 Notre Dame this Thursday at 7:00 p.m. The Fighting Irish is also 15-2 this season.

FINAL BOX SCORE

Related Stories
‹
Tar Heels Take Down GT in First Round of ACC's
Stephanie Mavunga led the Tar Heels to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament Thursday night with a game-high 23 points over Georgia Tech in an 84-64 win in Greensboro.
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.
UNC Women's Basketball Blows Out Georgia Tech on Senior Night
Celebrating the final career home game for a trio of talented seniors, the UNC women’s basketball team was phenomenal on Thursday night at Carmichael Arena–delivering an 84-59 win over Georgia Tech. All three seniors scored in double figures to help guide the Tar Heels (12-9, 7-9 ACC) to their fourth win in their last five […]
Women's Basketball: UNC Outlasts Georgia Tech in Overtime On the Road
It took overtime on Thursday night in Atlanta, but the UNC women’s basketball team managed to prevail over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets by a score of 67-60 in its first game since putting a scare into No. 5 Louisville. Senior guard Medinah Muhammad scored seven of her 17 points in overtime to lead the […]
UNC Bounces Georgia Tech in ACC Women's Basketball Tournament, Moves On to Quarterfinals
The No. 8-seeded UNC women’s basketball team got its ACC Tournament off to a good start Thursday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum, defeating the No. 9 seed Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 80-73 even while missing a pair of key players. Sophomore forward Janelle Bailey–an All-ACC Second Team performer–was sidelined for disciplinary reasons, while guard Stephanie […]
UNC Women's Basketball Defeats Georgia Tech, Extends Winning Streak to Three Games
A last second free throw from sophomore forward Janelle Bailey on Thursday night at Carmichael Arena helped seal up a 91-90 victory for the UNC women’s basketball team over the visiting Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The win marks three straight for the Tar Heels (13-9, 4-4 ACC), who appear to have finally found their stride […]
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 […]
›