Despite UNC going the final 3:34 of regulation without a point and losing an eight-point lead in the final minutes, the Tar Heels did just enough in overtime to beat Syracuse 77-71 in overtime Sunday at Carmichael Arena. It’s UNC’s fourth straight win.

After the teams went into halftime tied at 34-34, UNC opened up what would be its largest lead of the day late in the third quarter at 57-48. The 7-0 run to take the nine-point advantage was capped a fast-break layup from Nyla Harris, who was on her way to her best performance as a Tar Heel.

UNC appeared ready to pull away when it led 68-60 with 3:34 remaining, but Syracuse capitalized on several Carolina turnovers to claw its way back into the game. The Orange’s last six points of regulation all came on free throws, and Syracuse even had two shots to win inside the final 10 seconds.

After Carolina escaped to overtime, the Tar Heels used a Lanie Grant jumper and an and-one layup from Harris to stretch their lead back out to five points, then held on from there as shot after shot from the Orange went begging. Syracuse attempted six three-pointers in the overtime period and missed all of them. In fact, the Orange missed 32 of their final 37 shots in the final 16:28 of game time.

Harris finished the day with season highs in both points (21) and rebounds (11) to pace the UNC offense. Grant added 17 on 6-10 shooting, including 5-7 on threes. Reniya Kelly scored 11 points to notch her fourth consecutive game in double figures. All of that was enough to offset a tremendous game from Syracuse center Uche Izoje, who scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. The Orange finished with 19 offensive rebounds, but could only convert those into 10 second-chance points.

UNC is now 17-5 overall and 6-3 in ACC play after its four-game winning streak. The Tar Heels are tied with the Orange in the conference standings, but now hold the critical head-to-head tiebreaker. Up next, Carolina will travel to Raleigh to face NC State at Reynolds Coliseum Monday, February 2 at 6 p.m. UNC is seeking its first road win against the Wolfpack under head coach Courtney Banghart.

 

Featured image via UNC Women’s Basketball on Twitter

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