UNC Basketball: Women’s team crushes No. 18 Syracuse

The UNC women’s basketball team cruised past No. 18 Syracuse on Thursday night, beating the Orange 92-68 at Carmichael Arena.

Janelle Bailey scored a season-high 25 points and pulled down eight rebounds for the Tar Heels, as North Carolina beat No. 18 Syracuse by a final score of 92-68 at Carmichael Arena on Thursday night.

Bailey was hot from start to finish, knocking down 10-of-15 shots from the floor and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. She also added two assists, two steals and a block in 24 minutes of work against the Orange.

Freshman guard Deja Kelly poured in 22 points, eight assists and five rebounds in a game-high 38 minutes. She shot 6-for-14 from the floor, and converted 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. Petra Holešínská scored 21 points off the UNC bench, hitting 6-of-12 shots for the game and 4-of-10 from the three-point line. Freshman guard Alyssa Ustby contributed 10 points, three rebounds and three assists, while Anya Poole added nine points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

Emily Engstler led the Orange with 18 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. She hit 7-of-9 shots for the game, and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Another Syracuse reserve, Kiara Fisher, scored 11 points of her own, but fouled out of the game after just 16 minutes of court time. Unfortunately for the Orange, though, their starters weren’t able to put together the kind of game they’d hoped to against the Tar Heels.

Kamilla Cardoso and Kiara Lewis combined for just 21 points on 7-for-27 shooting from the floor and 2-of-8 from long-range. Cardoso missed five of her eight free throw attempts, but did pull down a game-high 13 rebounds for the Orange. The other three Syracuse starters combined to shoot 4-for-19 for the game, and scored just 12 points. The team hit just 22-of-75 (29.3) shots overall, including 9-of-36 from three-point range and a putrid 15-of-28 from the free throw line.

The Tar Heels shot a solid 30-for-64 (46.9) for the game, including 8-of-24 from the arc and 24-of-31 from the foul line. They outrebounded the Orange by eight, and dished out 16 more assists. North Carolina converted 14 points off of 13 Syracuse turnovers.

The Tar Heels, now 6-2 overall and 1-2 in ACC play, will take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on December 20. It’s the second matchup between the two teams in the last two weeks after a 57-54 Wake Forest victory in Winston-Salem two Thursdays ago.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the UNC women’s basketball program.