In front of a rowdy Carmichael Arena crowd, the UNC women’s basketball team took down No. 13 Louisville 79-68 on Sunday afternoon. The result is the Cardinals’ first conference loss, and also vaults Carolina into first place in the ACC at 6-1.

“We knew it was gonna be a fight,” said head coach Courtney Banghart afterward. “So we asked ourselves… to contain our emotions and just lock in to how we wanted to play.”

Deja Kelly led Carolina with 23 points, 14 of which came at the free throw line. She’s reached the 20-point plateau in four straight games. Kelly set career highs in both free throws made (14) and free throws attempted (16). She entered the game shooting just 64 percent on free throws this season.

“It just came down to me continuing to believe in myself in that regard,” said Kelly. “The past couple games, I was just doing whatever my team needs to get wins. It’s really hard to win in this league. Whether that was making 14 free throws… whatever it is my team needs for us to win, that’s what I’ve been focusing on.”

Lexi Donarski recorded 13 points, 10 of which came in the opening quarter for Carolina’s first 10 points. But Donarski picked up her second foul shortly after, forcing her to the bench. In her absence, all the Tar Heels did is finish the quarter on a 12-2 sprint, taking a nine-point lead as the period drew to an end.

Louisville responded in the second quarter, opening on a 14-3 run to take a 27-25 lead. Carolina stablizied, using a banked-in three-pointer from Kelly and a fast-break layup from Alyssa Ustby to slingshot back in front. The two teams entered the half tied at 36-36.

The Cardinals led midway through the third quarter, but UNC used an 11-0 run (in which Kelly made five throws) to take command, entering the fourth quarter with a 60-49 lead. Though Louisville got within five late in the period, clutch outside shots from Donarski and Indya Nivar kept Carolina in front. More free throws from Kelly sealed the deal.

Ustby stuffed the stat sheet all game, finishing with 10 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a career-high seven blocks before fouling out late. With her leading the way, Carolina dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Cardinals by 14. UNC had more defensive rebounds (29) than Louisville had in total (28).

“This team has continued to come together and grow,” said Banghart. “Our guards are doing a better job on the glass. Our bigs are doing a better job on the glass… we know it’s an important stat.”

Now 14-5 overall and winners of seven of their last eight games, Tar Heels will be back in action on Thursday night when they host Miami at Carmichael Arena at 8 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Women’s Basketball on Twitter

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