No. 20 North Carolina vs Virginia | ACC | 1.14.24

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina vs Virginia

North Carolina never trailed on its way to an 81-68 Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball win Sunday over Virginia at Carmichael Arena. With more than 90 former players and staff members in the crowd for the annual Alumni Day celebration, the No. 20 Tar Heels improved to 4-1 in ACC play and 12-5 overall.

Senior Deja Kelly finished with a season-high 27 points, including a season-best four three-pointers, to lead all scorers. Senior Alyssa Ustby added 17 points and 12 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the year and the 30th of her career.

The Tar Heels combined for 20 assists, with five each by Kelly and Ustby, for their high so far in ACC play. Their six blocks – three by Ustby – also marked an ACC high, while the nine turnovers were a team low in conference play play.

Camryn Taylor led Virginia (8-8, 0-5 ACC) with 16 points. The Cavaliers got 13 from Kymora Johnson and 12 off the bench from Olivia McGhee.

"Hats off to a really good Virginia team," UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. "Those guys have had a really tough conference schedule so far, they've already played NC State twice, they've played us, they've played Duke, and Georgia Tech. And Camryn Taylor – hats off. She's a hard kid to guard."

Kelly hit a three just under a minute into the game to put the Tar Heels up and they never trailed, jumping ahead by as many as nine midway through the first quarter. By the second they had their largest lead of the game, 14 at 28-14, after a jumper by Teonni Key with 7 minutes to play in the first half. Virginia closed the gap to five by halftime, when the Tar Heels led 37-32.

The Cavaliers chipped away to finally tie the game at 52-52 with 28 seconds to play in the third, but a free throw by Ustby – a bonus try after a lane violation on a miss – gave Carolina a one-point lead heading into the fourth.

UNC outscored Virginia 28-16 in the fourth quarter to seal the win. The Tar Heels shot 50 percent (7-14) in the period to finish at 45.2 for the game.

The Tar Heels won the rebounding battle, 44-39, against a Virginia team that came in averaging 46.5 rebounds per game, which ranks eighth in the nation. The success on the boards is one of the areas in which Banghart has seen her team improve.

"This is a team that in the beginning of the season, we couldn't outrebound anybody," Banghart said of her Tar Heels. "We couldn't have outrebounded my kids' 9-year-old basketball team. (Virginia) is a top-10 rebounding team in the country and we outrebounded them."

This year is the 30th anniversary of the 1994 NCAA Championship, so those coaches and players were the guests of honor on Sunday. All of the Tar Heel alums in attendance were honored at halftime, and then the 1994 squad was introduced again to a standing ovation between the third and fourth quarters.

Three of the four head coaches in program history were in the building, with Jennifer Alley (1977-86) and Sylvia Hatchell (1987-2019) sitting courtside as Courtney Banghart (2020-present) led the Tar Heels to the homecourt victory.

Notes:
• Prior to the game, Alyssa Ustby was presented with a ball honoring her triple-double on Jan. 4. That was the first triple-double in 50 years of program history, but during the game it appeared she just might do it again three games later. At halftime, Ustby had eight points, seven rebounds and five assists. She finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
• Deja Kelly has scored 50 points in the past two games, with 23 at Florida State on Thursday.
• The Tar Heels played in retro uniforms that copied those worn by the 1994 NCAA Champions in the title game.