Valiant UNC Women's Basketball Effort Falls Short vs. No. 1 South Carolina

The Tar Heels gave it all they had.

But in the end, South Carolina was just better.

The top-ranked Gamecocks fought off a gutsy effort from the Tar Heels to win 65-58 in Carmichael Arena on Thursday night in the ACC-SEC Challenge. It’s UNC’s third straight loss.

The Tar Heels started strong, leading 19-10 and forcing six Gamecock turnovers in the first quarter. UNC extended that lead to 11 points at 23-12 early in the second. But South Carolina steadied itself after that and methodically chipped away at the lead, cutting it to 29-26 at halftime and eventually going in front midway through the third. The Gamecocks outscored UNC 16-10 in the second quarter and 21-12 in the third.

The Tar Heels kept things interesting late into the night, cutting the lead to one at 49-48 with 7:21 left in the game, but ultimately could not find the shot-making necessary to knock off a No. 1 team. UNC shot just 9-31 (29 percent) in the second half and 21-67 (31.3 percent) for the game. In addition, the Tar Heels shot a paltry 4-21 on three-pointers, compared to a more efficient 5-11 from the Gamecocks.

Senior guard Deja Kelly led all scorers with 20 points, but shot just 6-16 from the field and fouled out late. Alyssa Ustby contributed 18 along with 12 rebounds for a strong double-double, but shot 8-20. No other Tar Heel scored in double figures. Ustby’s effort on the glass helped UNC out-rebound the bigger Gamecocks, 45-39.

North Carolina’s Alyssa Ustby (1) shoots during the first half of the team’s NCAA college basketball game against South Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)

The sell-out crowd kept the energy up even after Carolina fell behind and ramped up again as the Heels clawed back to a one possession game. UNC head coach Courtney Banghart said after the game she believed the atmosphere was great for the sport, but specifically a reflection of her program.

“To have a crowd like that, that was a mix of friends and family, community members, and students… it was just a really great environment,” she said. “I’m really proud of the following that we’ve earned, and they gave us what they [had] — as did our team.”

UNC’s performance may provide plenty of reason for optimism for Banghart’s team, but in the end a loss is still a loss. The defeat is UNC’s third straight after stumbling during the Gulf Coast Showcase and drops the team to 5-3 on the season. And Carolina’s fifth-year head coach said moral victories are not her end goal.

“They didn’t hire me here to be happy that we came close,” said Banghart on Thursday. “Those fans didn’t come out and sell out this arena to be close. They have high hopes that this program continues to grow, and so do we.”

The Tar Heels will host UNC-Greensboro on Wednesday at 7 p.m. After that, the team travels up north to face No. 11 UConn in the Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase on December 10.

Featured image via AP Photo/Ben McKeown.

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Valiant UNC Women’s Basketball Effort Falls Short vs. No. 1 South Carolina

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