The UNC women’s basketball team suffered its first loss of the season Saturday night, falling to No. 16 Kansas State 63-56 in the semifinals of the Gulf Coast Showcase.

Carolina once again struggled to score for a majority of the game, falling behind 16-8 after the first quarter. The Tar Heels shot 4-15 (26.7 percent) in the opening 10 minutes. Kansas State extended its lead to 32-22 at halftime, but Carolina finally found a rhythm on offense after the break.

Three-pointers from Lexi Donarski and Deja Kelly helped the Tar Heels cut the lead down to five at the start of the fourth quarter, and Carolina got as close as two points on multiple occasions in the final minutes. But Kayla McPherson – who earned the start as head coach Courtney Banghart continued to shuffle her lineup – missed a potential game-tying layup with under two minutes to go, and UNC’s best chance went begging. Kansas State would hit its free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Deja Kelly led Carolina with 14 points, and McPherson was the only other Tar Heel in double figures with 11. Donarski struggled to just nine points on 4-16 shooting. Alyssa Ustby had an unusually quiet day on offense, scoring only four points to go along with nine rebounds. She fouled out in the fourth quarter.

Rebounding proved to be a dominant advantage for the Wildcats, who grabbed 46 to Carolina’s 25. Strangely, UNC actually won the battle for points in the paint, 30-26, and tied Kansas State on second-chance points at 6-6.

Now 5-1, Carolina will play in the Gulf Coast Showcase’s third-place game on Sunday. The Tar Heels will face the loser of Florida Gulf Coast and No. 5 Iowa.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati

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