No. 8 seed Carolina roared out to a fast start and endured a nervy finish to win 59-56 against No. 9 seed Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Columbia, S.C. on Friday afternoon. UNC will advance to the second round to face either No. 1 South Carolina or No. 16 Presbyterian.

Alyssa Ustby did it all for the Tar Heels, scoring 16 points, grabbing a team-high 17 rebounds, dishing out six assists and blocking three shots. It’s Ustby’s 16th double-double of the season, the most by any Tar Heel in a single season since 2008-09. Ustby was part of a dominant rebounding effort by Carolina all day, as UNC finished with 45 boards compared to 27 for the Spartans. Maria Gakdeng contributed her own double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

With Gakdeng leading the way, UNC erupted in the first quarter, leading by as many as 16 points at 23-7. Carolina shot 10-19 (52.6 percent) in the first quarter, with Ustby and Gakdeng combining for a 7-9 clip. Though the Tar Heels’ offense cooled off in the second and third quarters, they still led 44-35 entering the fourth. The advantage grew to 54-42 with 3:22 remaining before the Spartans started a desperate comeback.

Michigan State scored nine unanswered points to close to within three points with 38 seconds remaining. Thanks to poor free throw shooting from the Tar Heels, the Spartans got to within one at 57-56 with five seconds to go and sent Deja Kelly to the line. Kelly missed her second shot, but Teonni Key secured an offensive rebound and got the ball to Kelly for more free throws. Again, she missed the second, but Ustby grabbed the biggest of her 17 rebounds and ran out the rest of the clock. UNC finished 8-18 from the line, with Kelly accounting for seven of those misses. She finished with 13 points.

The victory is UNC’s third straight in the NCAA Round of 64. It’s also the team’s 20th of the season, marking the third straight season Carolina has reached 20 wins. The team had failed to reach that mark in the previous six seasons.

The Tar Heels will be back in action in the second round on Sunday.

 

Featured image via UNC Women’s Basketball on Twitter

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