Carolina fought through a slow start and erased a 12-point deficit to beat Louisville 79-75 on the road Sunday afternoon. It’s UNC’s first ever road win against the Cardinals, and the 12-point deficit is the largest overcome by the Tar Heels this season. The Tar Heels are also now 9-0 in true road games, making them the only Division 1 team to be undefeated on the road.
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9-0 on the road!#InPursuit x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/1FQekau0ry
— Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) February 23, 2025
Louisville led 18-6 late in the first quarter and kept the Tar Heels at bay for much of the game, staying in front for 36:02 of game time. But Carolina steadily chipped away at the deficit, cutting the Cardinal advantage to six points at halftime and five points by the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Louisville led 60-52 less than a minute into the quarter, but the Tar Heels made their move thanks to clutch baskets from freshman Lanie Grant, who scored 14 of her 19 points in the final 10 minutes. That includes knocking down a game-tying three-pointer while drawing a foul and making the ensuing free throw with 2:30 to go. The four-point play gave Carolina a 72-71 lead, its first since the score was 3-1.
The Cardinals restored their lead to 75-73 with 1:39 to go, but Reniya Kelly tied the game at 75 apiece on a layup just 17 seconds later. After the Tar Heel defense forced a stop, Trayanna Crisp muscled in the final two of her season-high 19 points to put UNC back in front. Louisville wouldn’t score for the rest of the game, and Kelly made two free throws in the final seconds to ice the win.
Kelly finished with 16 points, while Grant and Crisp tied for the team lead. Lexi Donarski added 13 on a perfect 5-5 shooting day. As a team, the Tar Heels shot 10-22 (45.5 percent) on threes ad 13-16 (81.3 percent) on free throws. Six different Cardinals reached double figures, but Louisville shot just 5-16 (31.3 percent) in the fourth quarter. Still, the Tar Heels’ 75 points allowed are the most in a win this season; UNC had not won when giving up more than 67.
Alyssa Ustby missed her second straight game with a knee injury, while Ciera Toomey dressed but did not play with an illness. In their stead, freshman Blanca Thomas started. She finished with three rebounds but did not score.
The win is UNC’s seventh in a row and improves Carolina to 25-4 overall and 13-3 in ACC play, tying highs in both overall wins and conference wins in a single season under head coach Courtney Banghart. The Tar Heels will be back in action when they visit No. 11 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium Thursday night at 7 p.m.
Featured image via Associated Press/LM Otero
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