The UNC women’s basketball team silenced a hostile environment in Tucson late Monday night, taking control early against No. 4 seed Arizona and never relenting in a 63-45 win. With the result, Carolina clinched its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 since 2015. As in that season, the Tar Heels will be playing close to home in Greensboro.

“To say I’m really proud to be bringing a team to the Sweet 16 would be an understatement,” said head coach Courtney Banghart. “There’s been some roster reconstruction… since I got the job, these guys trusted me enough to say ‘Let’s do this.’ And it’s one thing to say it, and another thing to do it.”

The Tar Heels fought through offensive struggles for much of the first half, but capitalized on an extended dry spell from the Wildcats. For a nearly 12-minute span between the first and second quarters, Arizona didn’t score a single point. UNC took advantage by rattling off a 15-0 run, turning what had been a 9-8 deficit into a 23-9 lead.

“We locked into our scout,” said sophomore guard Deja Kelly. “We locked into our principles that we’ve been doing all season. One of our main themes this game was building a wall, and I think we did just that.”

The Wildcats finally found the bottom of the net with a three-pointer and cut the Carolina lead back down to single digits with under a minute to go in the half, but sophomore forward Anya Poole capped off a strong 20 minutes of basketball with a layup to beat the shot clock buzzer and send UNC into halftime up 28-17. Poole finished the first half with eight points on 4-4 shooting.

Poole’s frontcourt partner Alyssa Ustby also stuffed the stat sheet, grabbing nine boards in the first half alone and ending with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds. Ustby also dished out four assists. Five Tar Heels contributed at least one assist in the win, totaling 15 on 21 made shots.

Carolina truly took control of the game in the third quarter, closing the period on a 10-0 run, helped along by six points from Kelly. Kelly made the play of the game as the third quarter clock expired, using a slick crossover to get free of her defender and knock down a mid-range jumper while being fouled. After Kelly made the ensuing free throw, UNC led 47-27 on the home court of last season’s national runner-up.

“I saw who was guarding me and I just attacked,” said Kelly. “She bit, she kind of jumped at that first move and I just crossed, went up, she fouled me, it went in and our little fan section went crazy… that was definitely a momentum-shifter for us.”

Guard play ruled the night for Carolina, as fellow sophomore Kennedy Todd-Williams put together an outstanding all-around performance: 19 points on 7-11 shooting, seven rebounds, a team-high five assists and three steals. Five of Todd-Williams’ points came in the final quarter, when Arizona cut the lead down to 13 points but never seriously threatened to erase the deficit entirely.

“She came out gunning from the jump,” Kelly said of Todd-Williams. “She was running the floor, she was defending, getting steals, she was doing a little bit of everything, which is what we needed her to do. She was our X-factor tonight.”

Todd-Williams and the Carolina defense held the Wildcats to just 29 percent shooting on the night. Star guard Shaina Pellington, who scored 30 in Arizona’s first-round win, scored just three points against the Tar Heels.

With the win, UNC clinched a date with No. 1 overall seed South Carolina Friday night in Greensboro in the Sweet 16. Coincidentally, Carolina’s last trip to the Sweet 16 in 2015 ended in a loss to the No. 1 seed Gamecocks in Greensboro. Despite history being against her team, Banghart is just glad to be playing in her home time zone.

“Going into this game, I had I think 181 unread text messages, people saying ‘Come on, one more so you can come home!’ Banghart said. “I think the environment will be great. Women’s basketball is in the best spot it’s ever been in.”

The same could potentially be said of Banghart’s Tar Heels, at least in recent years. After the program missed the NCAA Tournament entirely from 2016 through 2018, and went seven years without winning a game in the event, Carolina is back in the national spotlight.

“These guys work so hard,” said Banghart. “I know every coach says that. I’ve been coaching for a long time; this group is really, really into it. They earned it. That’s just a gratifying experience for me to be a part of.”

 

Featured image via UNC Women’s Basketball on Twitter

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