Down to the wire: Three takeaways from UNC women’s basketball’s win over rival NC State
North Carolina had not beaten N.C. State in back-to-back contests in 10 years.
Until Sunday.
The Tar Heels defeated the Wolfpack, 66-65, Sunday afternoon in Chapel Hill in the lone regular-season meeting between the rivals in a heated and emotional matchup. Carolina’s victory extended its winning streak to five games, while snapping the Wolfpack’s nine-game streak.
Despite the win, the Tar Heels may have suffered a bigger long-term loss when, in the first quarter, do-it-all graduate student Alyssa Ustby left the court with an apparent leg injury and did not return.
It was not immediately clear what happened to Ustby, but sources told the News & Observer she was taken for an MRI.
The teams started the game with high energy, especially on defense. At the first media timeout, Carolina had forced three Wolfpack turnovers. The Wolfpack (20-5, 12-2 ACC) ran UNC from the paint, forced the Tar Heels to take seven shots from 3-point range, and held North Carolina to 2-for-8 on layups, leading to a 19-12 N.C. State lead at the end of one.
Despite N.C. State’s strong start, UNC’s defense locked in on the Pack in the second quarter. The Tar Heels held the visitors to four points, the second-fewest points in a quarter in N.C. State history, and did not allow the Pack to score in the final six minutes.
UNC (23-4, 11-3 ACC) used a 13-0 run on the other end to take a 30-23 lead into the break. Reniya Kelly led the Heels with 13 first-half points, while Indya Nivar contributed eight points and a pair of steals.
Carolina also held N.C. State star Aziaha James scoreless in the first half.
N.C. State clawed back into the game in the third after Carolina led by as many as 10. The Wolfpack outscored the Tar Heels 22-18 in the third and cut the home team’s lead to three points going into the fourth . James’ slow start did not deter the senior as she scored 14 of the Pack’s 22 third-quarter points.
Saniya Rivers tied the game at 50 points each with 7:38 remaining. Madison Hayes did it again, tying the game at 54, a little more than two minutes later.
The Wolfpack used a 10-0 run to take a six point lead in down the stretch, but, in true rivalry fashion, the Heels surged back. They took a 66-65 lead with 5.2 seconds left when Grace Townsend hit a pair of free throws — which decided the game.
“How resilient they are is is not something you draw up on the board,” UNC head coach Courtney Banghart said. “Had you told me that Alyssa would be out, Indya would foul out and that Lexi (Donarski) would sprain her ankle, and we’d still win, I would have been surprised.
“With a lot going against them, they just kept going.”
N.C. State head coach Wes Moore said he’s pleased the team responded after trailing by double digits, but he admits the team is heartbroken and disappointed about giving up two 3s late. The Wolfpack is typically a team that finishes well. It couldn’t do that at Carmichael.
“We’ve got to have more energy and urgency all the time,” Moore said. “That’s what I told the team. They’ve got to look in the mirror.”
Hayes finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. James led the Pack with 16 points. As a team, N.C. State only scored six fast break points. It averages nearly 14 points per game.
“I made it really simple,” Banghart said. “We have to take away their transition and make them play against our quarter court (defense). Have to, have to, have to, have to, have to, 1000 times. That was basically the key to the game.”
Kelly finished with a game-high 23 points on a 9-of-18 shooting performance. Maria Gakdeng finished with eight rebounds to lead UNC the metric.
“Obviously it’s a rivalry,” Kelly said. “We hate State. So, I had to come out and play my best and my hardest.”
Here are three takeaways from the Triangle rivalry game:
Ustby unavailable
Ustby left the game early in the first quarter and did not return. She subbed out with 7:25 remaining in the period, and went straight to the locker room.
Ustby, a key cog in UNC’s offensive and defensive schemes, played just two minutes and pulled down one rebound. She did not return to the bench.
The combo guard/forward is the Tar Heels’ do-it-all player. She entered the game leading the team with 11.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
Banghart said the team did not know whether she would return to the game until it received an update at halftime.
“Alyssa has been here for five years. I don’t really play a lot of possessions without Alyssa Ustby,” Banghart said. “If we didn’t have her, we would have practiced something perhaps that would be relevant to not having Alyssa Ustby, because she’s your rim runner, she’s your rebound clean up, she’s your heart and soul in a lot of ways.”
Banghart said she looked at the players remaining and made adjustments. The team did just enough to pull off the victory without the graduate student.
“That’s why you build a team,” Banghart said. “I did say at one point, ‘Alyssa wants nothing more than you to win this game whether she’s playing or not.’ They found a way.”
Carolina capitalizes on first-half fouls, turnovers
The Wolfpack entered the game leading the nation in fewest fouls committed per game and No. 11 in turnovers committed. It did not show the same discipline against Carolina that it has in previous games.
N.C. State picked up nine first-half fouls, including three on Lorena Awou. James and Zoe Brooks went to the locker room with two each. The team averages 11.9 foul calls per game.
Additionally, Carolina forced 10 first-half Wolfpack turnovers. N.C. State typically commits just under 12 turnovers per game. The Tar Heels scored six points off the Pack’s miscues. Moore said the team has to be better. The Heels “got after us” on the defensive end, Moore said, which led to the errors.
Rivers picked up a technical foul midway through the third quarter for comments made. It’s unclear what she said or to whom. Lexi Donarski hit both free throws.
The Wolfpack finished with 20 fouls and allowed the Heels to shoot 10 of 16 on free throws. Additionally, the Pack ended the game with 13 turnovers that Carolina turned into eight points.
UNC was called for 16 fouls of its own, but N.C. State did not capitalize in the same way. It went 5 of 13 from the line, which made a difference in the one-possession game.
“I thought there were some times that we didn’t get the whistle when I thought we could have had it, but they don’t give you points at the paint, they don’t give you free throws. They just don’t,” Banghart said. “The fact that we even took 16 is pretty remarkable.”
Large rebounding differential
The teams finished with a large rebounding margin, despite finishing with similar shooting percentages and field goal attempts.
N.C. State jumped out to a quick advantage in the first half, leading the Tar Heels on the boards, 29-18.
At the end of three, the Pack extended that advantage. N.C. State pulled down 42 rebounds, including 15 on the offensive end, compared to UNC’s 27.
The Pack finished with a 55-35 rebounding advantage. It grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and scored 18 second chance points, which kept the team competitive.
“It’s good that we were active on the boards, because think Carolina is really good on the boards. I think they’re really good in transition,” Moore said. “It was important, but, hopefully, we make more shots so we don’t have to rely on that as much.”
N.C. State entered the game 15-0 when out-rebounding its opponent. It averages 41 rebounds per game, which ranks No. 3 in the ACC. It also ranks No. 2 the league in defensive rebounding per game (28.9). Unfortunately, its unblemished record when winning off the glass did not stand.
UNC entered the game recording 39.4 rebounds, including 27.6 on the defensive end.
This story was originally published February 16, 2025 at 4:14 PM.
