UNC Women's Basketball Drops Fourth Straight Game at Miami

Miami residents know the phrase all too well: when it rains, it pours. It certainly did for the No. 22 UNC women’s basketball team Thursday night in Coral Gables, as the Tar Heels dropped their fourth straight game in a 62-58 loss to Miami. The loss also sent Carolina to an 0-3 start in ACC play for just the fourth time in program history.

Carolina fell behind by 10 points midway through the first half, but fought back to within two points at halftime, trailing 32-30. The Tar Heels managed to take a one-point lead in the third quarter, but it was short-lived. That period saw the team post its most meager offensive output of the game: just nine points. Carolina shot 3-15 in the quarter, 9-32 in the second half and 21-60 for the game. It’s the third time in four games the Tar Heels have ended shooting worse than 40 percent. UNC hasn’t shot higher than 50 percent in a game since December 16, which by no mere coincidence was its last win.

“There’s no secret we’re not shooting the ball very well,” said head coach Courtney Banghart, whose team’s four-game losing streak is the longest since her first season in Chapel Hill. “Statistically, we’re really struggling. Every possession is so hard.”

UNC did show signs of life in the fourth quarter, cutting the Hurricane lead from seven points down to just one with under a minute to go. Junior guard Deja Kelly converted a four-point play during the rally and eclipsed the 1,000 point mark for her career. She ended as UNC’s leading scorer on the night with 19 points.

Carolina missed two late opportunities to tie the game: one on a missed Alyssa Ustby free throw at 59-58 (she had made the first to cut the lead to one) and the second on a Kelly three-pointer in the final seconds. The Tar Heels also committed three turnovers in the game’s final 3:01, all of which prematurely ended possessions in which Carolina could have tied or taken the lead.

“It comes down to small possessions in the end,” Kelly said. “And I think they don’t matter enough to us right now.”

Now 9-5 overall and still winless in conference, Carolina stares down a fearsome foursome of upcoming games. No. 4 Notre Dame visits Carmichael Arena on Sunday at 4 p.m. UNC then travels to Virginia before hosting No. 10 NC State and No. 19 Duke in Chapel Hill. The four-game losing streak could prove to be a slippery slope.

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati

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UNC Women’s Basketball Drops Fourth Straight Game at Miami

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