UNC Women’s Basketball: Destiny to win against NC State

The UNC women’s basketball program secured another top-25 victory on Sunday, as a fourth-quarter charge helped lead the Tar Heels over NC State.

In front of a sold-out crowd at Carmichael Arena, the first three-quarters of the UNC women’s basketball contest against No. 11-ranked NC State was an offensive struggle between two of the best teams in the country.

However, it seemed like Destiny for the Tar Heels to pull out a victory on their home court, as a strong fourth quarter, led by sophomore Destiny Adams, helped secure the win.

Trailing by one heading into the fourth quarter, Courtney Banghart’s team was looking for a spark. On Sunday, it wasn’t the likes of Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby taking over the game, it was Adams, who came into the fourth quarter without a single point.

Her first basket came with 3:22 to play, as her two-pointer extended North Carolina’s lead to six. On the ensuing possession, Alexandra Zelaya found Adams in the corner for a three, and a few minutes later, Adams connected on a similar shot that essentially served as the final dagger in the Wolfpack’s comeback trail.

Both Kennedy Todd-Williams and Paulina Paris also had strong fourth quarters, as both players registered five points over the final 10 minutes of action. Todd-Williams finished the night with a game-high 15 points, while Paris finished with eight points off the bench.

The Tar Heels shot just 29.7% percent from the floor but were fortunate that the Wolfpack, who shot 29% percent overall, struggled just as much. Both sides played great defense, which caused the opposing offenses to settle for some errant shot attempts.

Diamond Johnson, NC State’s leading scorer, was limited to just eight points, which is well below her average of 14 points per game coming into this contest. As good of a job as North Carolina did in slowing down Johnson, NC State did just as good of a job keeping star Deja Kelly in check, as she was held to just five total points.

Alyssa Ustby struggled offensively, but dominated the glass, hauling in 18 rebounds. Eva Hodgson, who hasn’t been shooting the ball as well as she’s capable of as of late, knocked down three three-pointers, which is an encouraging sign for the UNC women’s basketball program.

For the first time in almost seven years, Carmichael Arena reached max capacity. You could feel the energy of the crowd, as it definitely made a major impact on the outcome of this game.

Winners of three straight, North Carolina has no time to dwell on this win, as they’ll prepare for another upcoming Top-25 duel in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels will host rival Duke on Thursday night, as the hope is that the atmosphere will be similar to the one we saw on Sunday afternoon.

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