UNC women’s basketball survives NCAA tournament game vs Stephen F. Austin, advances
.JPG "North Carolina guard Deja Kelly (25) celebrates after being fouled on her 3-point shot against Stephen F. Austin during a first-round game in the NCAA women’s college basketball tournament Saturday, March 19, 2022, in Tucson, Ariz. (Rebecca Sasnett/Arizona Daily Star via AP)")
North Carolina and Stephen F. Austin traded one big basket after another during their first-round NCAA tournament matchup in Tucson.
But it was the young Tar Heels who hit the bigger shots in the fourth quarter. North Carolina advanced to the second round after a 79-66 win over the Ladyjacks. SFA shot just 3 of 13 from the field in the fourth quarter.
With the win, UNC (24-6) will face the winner of the UNLV/Arizona game on Monday.
Coming into the game as a No. 5 seed, UNC trailed most of the third quarter to the upset-minded SFA (28-5). The Tar Heels got it going in the fourth quarter, though.
The Ladyjacks led by 10 midway through the third, but UNC closed the quarter on an 8-0 run. The Tar Heels then put on a clinic in the fourth, outscoring SFA 25-10 in the final frame.
The Heels took a two-point lead on a layup from Kennedy Todd-Williams and never looked back. After the Todd-Williams basket, the Tar Heels scored the next five possessions.
That ultimately did in the Ladyjacks, who went cold after an impressive third.
North Carolina had five players score in double digits. All-ACC guard Deja Kelly led UNC with 28 points. Kelly started the game with a rare four-point play, her fifth of the season.
North Carolina’s balanced attack got 15 from Todd-Williams, 13 each from Alyssa Ustby and from Carlie Littlefield. Eva Hodgson added 10 off the bench.
Zya Nugent led SFA with a game-high 26 points.
Carolina has won seven of its last nine games and won its first NCAA tournament game since 2015. UNC had first-round exits in 2019 and 2021.
This story was originally published March 19, 2022 at 9:30 PM.
