UNC Basketball: Deja Kelly ties career-high in points, leads Heels to victory

Deja Kelly propelled the UNC women’s basketball program to a 14-point comeback victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies on Sunday.

Deja Kelly tied a career-high in points on Sunday afternoon with 22, leading the North Carolina Tar Heels to victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies at Cassell Coliseum. It was the first time in three tries this season that UNC was able to topple the Hokies, having already lost a pair of January games to them — one in Chapel Hill and the other in Blacksburg.

Kelly had one of the best overall performances of her freshman campaign on Sunday, knocking down 8-of-16 shots from the floor and 3-of-7 from three-point range. She also hit all three of her free throw attempts to go along with two rebounds, two assists and a steal in a game-high 40 minutes of play.

Senior center Janelle Bailey had a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Stephanie Watts and Petra Holešínská scored 11 points a piece. The Tar Heels hit 26-of-61 shots for the game, and 8-of-23 from beyond the arc. They won the rebounding battle by a narrow margin (36-33), and had just 11 turnovers to the Hokies’ 16.

Virginia Tech was led by Georgia Amoore, who scored 22 points to go along with five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Aisha Shepard added 14 points and four assists for the Hokies, while Azana Baines scored a dozen points and pulled down a team-high 11 boards. With the loss, the Hokies fall to 13-8 on the season, and 8-8 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.

The Tar Heels, who trailed by double-digits for much of the first half, erased a 14-point halftime deficit. It’s their third comeback victory this season in which they trailed by 14 or more points. North Carolina improves to 13-9 overall, and 8-9 in league play.

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