In the toughest test of the season to date for the UNC women’s basketball team, the Tar Heels came up short Thursday night in a 79-68 loss on the road to No. 1 Louisville.

Down by as many as 32 points early in the game, the Tar Heels (8-6, 3-6 ACC) made a spirited comeback attempt late in the game and even outscored the Cardinals (16-0, 9-0 ACC) 22-8 in the fourth quarter. In the final minutes, UNC pulled as close as eight points–having trimmed the deficit down to single digits.

It wouldn’t be enough to overcome the slow start, however, as Louisville was simply too talented to let its big lead slip away.

Graduate transfer Petra Holešínská led the Tar Heels with a season-high 26 points, while Janelle Bailey added 11 and Stephanie Watts chipped in 10.

“I really like what this team is becoming,” UNC head coach Courtney Banghart said afterwards. “There’s no quit in this group. It honestly wasn’t that we played poorly, it was that they really shot lights-out to start the game. It’s something that happens very rarely in a season. Our guys took the punch and then we started punching back. If you take the first quarter out of that game it’s a very good basketball game for both teams.”

Up Next:

The Tar Heels will look to bounce back on Sunday when they host Virginia Tech at 4 p.m.

FINAL BOX SCORE

Photo via UNC Athletics

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