Carolina held visiting Virginia Tech scoreless for the final 2:51 of Thursday night’s contest at Carmichael Arena, and the Tar Heels rallied from a late deficit to win 67-62. The win snaps a six-game losing streak against the Hokies and is UNC’s first win against Virginia Tech since 2022.

Reniya Kelly tied her career high with 20 points, the last two coming on free throws in the final seconds to seal Carolina’s win. Lexi Donarski was the only other Tar Heel in double figures with 15 points. Alyssa Ustby only scored four points, but the fifth-year senior grabbed 16 rebounds — almost half of Carolina’s 34 in total. Thanks to Ustby’s efforts, the Tar Heels outrebounded the Hokies by six and held a decisive 13-3 advantage in second-chance points.

Donarski made all three of her three-pointers in the first quarter, and the Tar Heels led 24-15 after the opening 10 minutes. The lead grew to as large as 11 points in the second quarter, but Virginia Tech whittled it down to five points at halftime and took its largest lead of the game at 51-47 late in the third quarter. Carolina closed the quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 52-51 lead into the fourth.

The Hokies once again led by four points at 58-54 early in the quarter, but six points from Grace Townsend in a span of 3:08 slingshot UNC back in front. Virginia Tech tied the game at 62-62 with 2:51 to go with what would prove to be its final points of the night.

Freshman Lanie Grant split a pair of free throws to give UNC a 63-62 lead before Donarski scooped home a driving layup with 27 seconds remaining to extend the lead to three. The Hokies missed a potential game-tying three on the other end in the waning seconds.

Despite that last miss, Virginia Tech finished 8-13 (61.5 percent) from three, compared to just 6-17 (35.3 percent) from the Tar Heels. The Hokies shot 5-6 from long distance in the third quarter alone and 6-9 in the second half.

The victory improves Carolina to 22-4 overall and 10-3 in ACC play. The Tar Heels have already surpassed their win total from the 2023-24 season and have now matched the total from the 2022-23 season. Up next for UNC is a nationally-televised showdown with No. 10 NC State in Chapel Hill on Sunday at 2 p.m. ESPN will broadcast the game.

 

Featured image via UNC Women’s Basketball on Twitter

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