A player named Jordan helps knock UNC from NCAA tournament
While North Carolina’s players not named Stephanie Watts struggled to find their shooting range, Jordan Lewis’ accuracy was enough for Alabama to end the Tar Heels’ season on Monday.
Lewis poured in a career-best 32 points, including four 3-pointers, as the No. 7 seed Crimson Tide took the lead early and never let UNC catch up in beating the 10th-seeded Tar Heels 80-71 in an NCAA women’s basketball tournament first-round game at San Antonio’s Alamodome.
“Jordan Lewis was a woman among children it looked at times,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said.
North Carolina (13-11) hit just 2 of its first 16 shots in the first quarter as the Crimson Tide led by as many as nine and never trailed the rest of the game. The Tar Heels finished 26-70 (37.1%) from the field, including 10 of 24 on 3-pointers.
Watts hit seven of UNC’s 3-pointers, on 11 attempts, while scoring 29 points. She made 10 of 16 shots overall in what is the final game of her UNC career. She first came to UNC in 2015, playing through 2019 while missing one season to injury.
After attending Southern California as a graduate transfer last season but only playing four games due to injury, Watts returned to UNC when the NCAA granted her a final year of eligibility for this season.
“There was no way that Steph Watts was going to come back to Carolina, do everything she could to get this team back to the NCAA tournament and then lay an egg,” Banghart said. “That was never a thought. It was never a worry. I didn’t have to worry.”
UNC’s Janelle Bailey, after missing her first six shots of the game, finished with 16 points on 8 of 19 shooting. She also grabbed nine rebounds. The senior center was the only player on UNC’s roster who had started an NCAA tournament game prior to Monday.
Freshman guard Deja Kelly, who made the ACC’s all-freshman team, struggled in a return to her hometown. The San Antonio native hit just 1 of 13 shots to score seven points.
A senior guard, Lewis added 10 rebounds and eight assists to lead Alabama (17-9). Playing in their first NCAA tournament since 1999, the Crimson Tide will play either No. 2 seed Maryland or No. 15 seed Mount Saint Mary’s in the second round.
Lewis made 11 of 21 shots, including 4 of 7 3-pointers. She also hit 6 of 8 free throws.
“We are not elite at guarding the ball yet,” Banghart said. “Athletically we don’t always have the speed and the length that we need to do that really well. Watts is not included in that statement. But we knew against a team that was going to really push it down our throats that was going to be a little bit of a problem for us. We were just ok with that and they punish you in too many ways if you are just ok. So Jordan Lewis was a problem.”
Guard Hannah Barber added 14 points for Alabama while forward Jasmine Walker scored 13. Another forward, Ariyah Copeland, posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
This story was originally published March 22, 2021 at 2:02 PM.