No. 22 Louisville used a 13-0 run across the fourth quarter and overtime to rally from a late deficit and beat UNC 76-66 in Carmichael Arena Sunday evening.

“We didn’t play very well, unfortunately,” head coach Courtney Banghart said afterward. “Didn’t love our shots. I think everybody played with their desire. They wanted it so bad that I’m not sure we stuck to what we do.”

UNC had led 66-63 after clutch baskets from Taliyah Henderson and Lanie Grant, but the Tar Heels committed a turnover and missed two free throws on their next two possessions to give the Cardinals a lifeline. Louisville drew a shooting foul with 0.4 seconds left in regulation and made one of two free throws to force the extra session.

Carolina didn’t score at all in the five-minute overtime period, going 0-7 from the floor and committing three more turnovers. Louisville outscored the Tar Heels 10-0 in overtime.

The Cardinals had led for much of regulation, pushing the advantage to as large as nine points multiple times. But UNC hung tough despite shooting only 3-16 from the field in the second quarter. Louisville led 56-51 entering the fourth quarter when Carolina made its move. Henderson opened the scoring in the quarter with a corner three, and two more in the final minutes gave UNC a 64-63 lead, its first since the score was 40-38.

“She just wants to get better, day in and day out,” said Ciera Toomey, who finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. “And I’m happy that it showed today.”

A Lanie Grant basket with 19 seconds left pushed the UNC lead to 66-63, but it proved to be the last shot the Tar Heels would make from the floor.

“We’re coming out of exams, and we’re hopeful we could garner as much energy as possible,” Banghart said. “And I thought we played a little tired.”

For the game, Louisville outscored Carolina 34-22 in the paint and scored 15 second-chance points to UNC’s 10. The Cardinals also turned 16 Tar Heel turnovers into 12 points. Indya Nivar accounted for seven Carolina turnovers by herself, including two in overtime.

“The only thing that will pick Indya up is to play better and win basketball games,” Banghart said. “And she’ll have to play better to do that, and we have full faith that she’ll do that.”

Sunday’s loss drops UNC to 9-3 overall and 0-1 in ACC play. It’s the third time in four seasons Carolina has lost its ACC opener. The Tar Heels will be back in action when they host UNC-Wilmington at Carmichael Arena Wednesday night at 8 p.m.

 

Featured image via Associated Press/Eric Gay

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