The UNC women’s basketball team picked up its first win at Notre Dame in program history Sunday evening, knocking off the No. 16 Fighting Irish 61-57. It’s Carolina’s fifth straight win and moves the team to 11-4 overall and 3-0 in ACC play.

Carolina used a 15-0 run in the second half to seize control after trailing by seven. A three-pointer by Lexi Donarski to beat the third-quarter buzzer cut the Irish lead to 46-45, and a personal 7-0 run from Indya Nivar extended that lead to 52-46 in the opening minutes of the fourth. A Deja Kelly made that lead 54-46 before Notre Dame finally scored.

The Irish fought back to tie the game at 55-55, but it was Nivar again in the clutch who spun in a layup to give the Tar Heels a three-point lead with 1:44 to go. She added a free throw down the stretch as UNC salted the game away. Nivar ended the night as Carolina’s leading scorer off the bench, pouring in 16 points on 7-11 shooting. She added five rebounds and a career-high five steals. Donarski was the only other Tar Heel in double figures, adding 13.

Carolina’s defense held the Irish – the ACC’s highest-scoring offense – to a paltry 4-18 (22.2 percent) shooting performance in the fourth quarter and a 19-61 (31.1 percent) showing overall. Notre Dame star freshman Hannah Hidalgo scored 17 points, but needed 16 shots to do so and didn’t make a three-pointer.

UNC leapt out in front in the first quarter by shooting 9-17 (52.9 percent) from the field and grabbing a lead as large as 20-8. The Irish cut the lead to 22-21 in the second, but wouldn’t lead until they scored the first five points of the third quarter. That lead grew to 46-39 on a Sonia Citron three-pointer before Carolina began its game-changing run.

Alyssa Ustby followed up her historic triple-double on Thursday with just seven points, but led Carolina with 11 rebounds while adding three assists and two steals. As a team, the Tar Heels outrebounded the Irish 47-41. Maria Gakdeng grabbed four boards, with her finest sequence coming in the final seconds. The Boston College transfer blocked a lay-up from the Irish’s Anna DeWolfe with 19 seconds remaining, then grabbed a critical offensive rebound four seconds later after Deja Kelly missed consecutive free throws. Nivar then split a pair, giving Carolina a critical four-point lead.

Carolina has defeated consecutive ranked opponents for the second straight season under head coach Courtney Banghart. The Tar Heels can make it three in a row on Thursday when they visit No. 22 Florida State at 6 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Women’s Basketball on Twitter

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