Playing in her hometown of Greensboro, UNC junior guard Paris Kea made sure the Tar Heels’ stay in the ACC Tournament would last longer than one day.
Kea scored 28 points in Wednesday afternoon’s First Round action to lead the 12th-seeded Tar Heels past the No. 13 seed Boston College Eagles 69-64.
The win snaps a nine-game losing streak for UNC (15-15), which advances to face rival NC State on Thursday.
UNC built held a 31-28 lead at halftime thanks to 20 points in the first half from Kea, who was recently named a First Team All-ACC selection.
The junior sank four of her five three-point attempts and contributed five rebounds and three assists while playing all 40 minutes.
Boston College (7-23, 2-14) managed to pull ahead 42-41 midway through the third quarter, but the Tar Heels closed the period on a 10-4 run and held onto the lead the rest of the way.
In total, the Eagles held the lead for just 28 seconds.
As the Boston College defense began to lock in on Kea following her hot start to the game, ACC Rookie of the Year Janelle Bailey piled up all 16 of her points during the second half. Bailey also added 13 rebounds for her 13th double-double of the season.
The Eagles, meanwhile, were led by 23 points from guard Taylor Ortlepp. That would not be enough, however, to prevent their season from coming to a close.
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UNC is scheduled to take on NC State Thursday morning at 11 a.m.
Photo via UNC Athletics
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