A basket from Ohio State’s Jacy Sheldon with 1.8 seconds left broke a 69-69 deadlock between the No. 3 seed Buckeyes and No. 6 seed Tar Heels Monday afternoon in Columbus, and Carolina was dealt a heartbreaking second-round loss in the NCAA Tournament.
The Tar Heels trailed by as many as 12 points midway through the fourth quarter and looked down for the count after star junior guard Deja Kelly had to be carried off with an ankle injury. But Carolina put together a gutsy rally with their leading scorer out of the game, trimming that deficit down to three with 2:33 remaining. It was then that, gimpy ankle and all, Kelly re-entered. UNC stayed hot with her back in the fold and even took its first lead of the day, 67-66, on a layup from Paulina Paris at the 2:09 mark.
Unfortunately, the comeback was undone by several miscues down the stretch. The UNC defense lost Sheldon in transition after a miss, and she beat every Tar Heel down the court for the go-ahead layup. Kennedy Todd-Williams then missed a layup on the other end, and after a Buckeye free throw, Teonni Key committed a moving screen violation to give the ball back to Ohio State.
But even after all of that, Carolina had the ball down just two points with 38 seconds to go. As in Saturday’s game against St. John’s, the ball went to Kelly in crunch time. And like Saturday, she delivered the needed basket, knotting the game at 69-69 with nine seconds left. But those nine seconds were all Sheldon needed to deliver the knockout punch and end Carolina’s quest for a second consecutive Sweet 16.
Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon (4) hits a game-winning shot over North Carolina guard Deja Kelly (25) and guard Alyssa Ustby (1) in the second half of a second-round college basketball game in the women’s NCAA Tournament in Columbus, Ohio, Monday, March 20, 2023. Ohio State defeated North Carolina 71-69. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Kelly finished as Carolina’s leading scorer with 22 points. It’s the third time in her last five NCAA Tournament games she’s scored at least 20. Todd-Williams and Alyssa Ustby each scored 16. Sheldon was one of four Buckeyes to score at least 14 points.
Monday marked the final appearance in a Tar Heel uniform for Eva Hodgson, who started and scored six points but had to sit out the final minutes with an apparent injury. Malu Tshitenge and Ariel Young are also graduating seniors, but neither logged any minutes.
In a two-point final, Carolina finished 16-28 on layup attempts. Convert even one of those misses, and it’s possible the two teams are still battling it out. And therein lies the rub of March Madness. For every team’s One Shining Moment, it’s darkness and misery for the opponent. This time it was the Tar Heels.
O-H, the humanity!
Photo via AP Photo/Michael Conroy
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