March Madness: UNC women punch ticket to Sweet 16

March Madness will continue for the North Carolina women’s basketball program, as the Tar Heels beat the Arizona Wildcats on their home court.

The North Carolina Tar Heels are headed to the Sweet 16 following a blowout victory over the fourth-seeded Arizona Wildcats on their home court.

The Tar Heels took an 11-point lead into halftime before putting on an absolutely dominant performance in the third quarter that left them with a 20-point advantage heading into the game’s final 10 minutes. North Carolina extended its lead to 22 points before a furious Arizona comeback attempt closed the gap to 13.

That’s when the Tar Heels went back to work and put the game out of reach for the last time. By the time it was all said and done, they’d defeated Arizona by a final score of 63-45.

The Tar Heels were led by Kennedy Todd-Williams, who scored a game-high 19 points to go along with seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Deja Kelly added 15 points, two rebounds, two assists, and one steal while hitting 9-of-10 at the free throw line. Alyssa Ustby played all 40 minutes of the game and notched a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double.

North Carolina shot 41.2 percent (21-for-51) for the game, 22.2 percent (2-for-9) beyond the three-point line, and 79.2 percent (19-for-24) at the foul line. The Tar Heels outrebounded the Wildcats by six (40-34) and assisted on 15 of their 21 made buckets.

Arizona, 21-8, was led by Sam Thomas, who scored a team-high 15 points of 6-for-12 from the floor. Bendu Yeaney was the only other Wildcat to notch double-digit points; she finished with 10. The Wildcats shot less than 29 percent as a team and 26 percent from long-range. They only made it to the free throw line seven times to the Tar Heels’ 24.

The 25-6 Tar Heels will now head back to their home state to take on the nation’s No. 1-ranked team, the South Carolina Gamecocks. This marks the first time since 2015 that the women have made it to the Sweet 16, as well as the first time since then that both the men’s and women’s teams have advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend.

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