UNC Women’s Basketball: Paulina Paris stars in first college start

Making her first start as a Tar Heel, Paulina Paris rose to the occasion to lead the UNC women’s basketball program to victory.

It was freshman Paulina Paris and redshirt freshman Kayla McPherson who stole the show for the UNC women’s basketball program, as they picked up their seventh consecutive victory on Sunday afternoon against Clemson.

Early on, it appeared as if it would be the Kennedy Todd-Williams show, as the junior scored 10 of the team’s first 20 points. The game appeared to be heading for a blowout, but the Tigers had other plans.

After putting together a 16-0 run, Clemson outscored North Carolina 22-7 in the third quarter, as the lead, which was at one point as much as 22, was down to just four to begin the fourth quarter of play.

Once again, the Tar Heels were able to produce a strong final quarter, as they held on for an 11-point victory.

Let’s start with Paris, who made her first start for the UNC women’s basketball program in replace of Eva Hodgson, who missed her second straight contest. Paris was on fire offensively, knocking down a career-high six three-points en route to a game-high (and also a career-high) 22 points.

McPherson, who had yet to make her Tar Heel debut up until Sunday, was active for the first time and made quite the impression. She showed why Courtney Banghart and her staff are so excited about her potential, as she scored eight points and did a variety of other things on the floor over 17 minutes of action.

The offensive production from Paris and McPherson was huge, considering the Tar Heels “Big Three” had some trouble getting going.

Star junior guard Deja Kelly uncharacteristically did not make a shot from the floor until the fourth quarter, as she was just 2-10 on the night. Fellow junior Alyssa Ustby was efficient (3-4 for 9 total points), but the Tar Heels had trouble getting her opportunities to shoot the basketball.

Combine this with the fact that Todd-Williams, who got off to a tremendous start, was limited to just five points the rest of the game. All three of these factors would make you think that North Carolina didn’t ultimately win the game.

However, they made it happen.

Of course, this game could’ve gone down as a blowout victory, but give credit to Clemson for providing pressure while forcing the Tar Heels to make mistakes. They did everything they could to mount a major comeback, but North Carolina wouldn’t let it happen.

Riding a seven-game winning streak, the UNC women’s basketball program will return home on Thursday night as they’ll host the Virginia Cavaliers at Carmichael Arena.

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