Carolina fought through a slow start and erased a 12-point deficit to beat Louisville 79-75 on the road Sunday afternoon. It’s UNC’s first ever road win against the Cardinals, and the 12-point deficit is the largest overcome by the Tar Heels this season. The Tar Heels are also now 9-0 in true road games, making them the only Division 1 women’s team to be undefeated on the road.

Louisville led 18-6 late in the first quarter and kept the Tar Heels at bay for much of the game, staying in front for 36:02 of game time. But Carolina steadily chipped away at the deficit, cutting the Cardinal advantage to six points at halftime and five points by the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Louisville led 60-52 less than a minute into the quarter, but the Tar Heels made their move thanks to clutch baskets from freshman Lanie Grant, who scored 14 of her 19 points in the final 10 minutes. That includes knocking down a game-tying three-pointer while drawing a foul and making the ensuing free throw with 2:30 to go. The four-point play gave Carolina a 72-71 lead, its first since the score was 3-1.

The Cardinals restored their lead to 75-73 with 1:39 to go, but Reniya Kelly tied the game at 75 apiece on a layup just 17 seconds later. After the Tar Heel defense forced a stop, Trayanna Crisp muscled in the final two of her season-high 19 points to put UNC back in front. Louisville wouldn’t score for the rest of the game, and Kelly made two free throws in the final seconds to ice the win.

Kelly finished with 16 points, while Grant and Crisp tied for the team lead. Lexi Donarski added 13 on a perfect 5-5 shooting day. As a team, the Tar Heels shot 10-22 (45.5 percent) on threes ad 13-16 (81.3 percent) on free throws. Six different Cardinals reached double figures, but Louisville shot just 5-16 (31.3 percent) in the fourth quarter. Still, the Tar Heels’ 75 points allowed are the most in a win this season; UNC had not won when giving up more than 67.

Alyssa Ustby missed her second straight game with a knee injury, while Ciera Toomey dressed but did not play with an illness. In their stead, freshman Blanca Thomas started. She finished with three rebounds but did not score.

The win is UNC’s seventh in a row and improves Carolina to 25-4 overall and 13-3 in ACC play, tying highs in both overall wins and conference wins in a single season under head coach Courtney Banghart. The Tar Heels will be back in action when they visit No. 11 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium Thursday night at 7 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Women’s Basketball on Twitter

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.

Related Stories
‹
UNC Women's Basketball Falls to No. 2 Duke in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
UNC women’s basketball put up its worst offensive showing of the season in a 47-38 loss to No. 2 seed Duke in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 Friday afternoon in Birmingham, AL, ending Carolina’s tournament run. The poor showing came after an extremely bright start for the Tar Heels, who led 11-0 midway through the […]
UNC Women's Basketball in the 2025 NCAA Tournament: How to Watch, Cord-Cutting Options and Tip-Off Time
No. 3 seed UNC is headed to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 for the first time since 2022, and the Tar Heels will face No. 2 seed Duke in Birmingham, AL Friday for the right to advance to the regional finals Sunday. If you aren’t making the trip with the Tar Heels, here’s how to […]
Chansky's Notebook: Happening Again
UNC and Duke faced each other for the first time in the NCAA Tournament three years ago. It's happening again today with their women’s teams.
UNC Women's Basketball Opponent Breakdown: Duke
No. 3 seed UNC will face a familiar opponent in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 Friday afternoon: No. 2 seed Duke, which defeated No. 15 Lehigh and No. 10 Oregon to reach the regional semifinals. The Blue Devils are 28-7 overall this season and finished 14-4 in ACC play. Here’s a quick breakdown of Duke: […]
Chansky's Notebook: Women Move On!
UNC's second-round win against West Virginia was a special home send-off for the team's seniors, including Alyssa Ustby.
UNC Women's Basketball NCAA Tournament Opponent Breakdown: West Virginia
UNC will take on No. 6 seed West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament’s second round Monday night for the right to advance to the Sweet 16. The Mountaineers defeated No. 11 seed Columbia 78-59 in the first round Saturday and are 25-7 overall this season. They finished with a 13-5 record in the Big 12 […]
Ustby Sets Record as UNC Women's Basketball Beats Oregon State in NCAA Tournament
Alyssa Ustby scored 10 points and added nine rebounds to become UNC’s all-time leading rebounder as the No. 3 seed Tar Heels defeated No. 14 seed Oregon State 70-49 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Carmichael Arena Saturday afternoon. It was the first NCAA Tournament game to be played at Carmichael since […]
Chansky's Notebook: Hoops Galore
Between the men's and women's NCAA Tournaments, the Triangle will be the capital of the college basketball world this weekend.
UNC Women's Basketball NCAA Tournament Opponent Breakdown: Oregon State
UNC will host an NCAA Tournament game at Carmichael Arena for the first time in a decade Saturday afternoon, and the Tar Heels’ opponent will be No. 14 seed Oregon State. The Beavers enter the game with a 19-15 overall record and finished 12-8 in the West Coast Conference. If you aren’t familiar with Oregon […]
UNC Women's Basketball Earns No. 3 Seed in NCAA Tournament, Will Host Games at Carmichael Arena
The NCAA Tournament is coming back to Chapel Hill. The UNC women’s basketball team earned a No. 3 seed in the tournament field Sunday night and will host postseason games at Carmichael Arena for the first time since 2015. Joining the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill will be No. 6 seed West Virginia, No. 14 […]
›