Conference play didn't get off to the way the UNC women's basketball program had hoped, as the Tar Heels suffered a 82-76 loss to No. 25-ranked Georgia Tech on Sunday afternoon in Chapel Hill.
Not only was it the start of conference play but yet another opportunity for North Carolina to compete against one of the hottest teams in the early season. While the Tar Heels got off to a great start, Georgia Tech essentially dictated the rest of the game by knocking down shots at an impressive rate.
The UNC women's basketball program scored the first seven points of the game, as Lexi Donarski got the Tar Heels going with five early points. While the Tar Heels connected on four of their first five shots, they cooled down drastically, allowing Georgia Tech to take control.
In just one half, the Yellow Jackets put up 50 points. To put it into perspective, the Tar Heels had been limiting teams to an AVERAGE of 49 points per-game over their seven game winning streak.
It goes to show you just how good of a first half Georgia Tech was able to put together.
Although the Tar Heels faced a 15-point deficit heading into the final 10 minutes of action, they wouldn't give up. They made a pair of offensive runs that cut the Yellow Jackets lead to six, but that's as close as they would get as their comeback effort fell just short.
Tonie Morgan and Dani Carnegie were too much for the Tar Heels to handle, as the duo combined for 45 points. Carnegie, a newcomer who has been one of the best freshman in the entire country this season, fell just one rebound shy of a double-double.
Georgia Tech knocked down 51.7% of their shot attempts, including 16 of 18 at the free-throw line. On the other side, the Tar Heels shot the ball at a 45% clip, but missed eight of their 21 shots at the charity strike.
Missed free throws will come back to haunt ya.
Maria Gakdeng was outstanding, scoring a team-high 21 points. Three other starters scored in double-figures, as Indya Nivar finished with 16 points while Reniya Kelly and Lexi Donarski contributed 15 points a piece. Unlike we've seen in recent games, scoring was essentially done by the starting unit, as the four aforementioned starters accounted for 67 of the team's 76 points.
Georgia Tech's athleticism was too much for the Tar Heels to handle, as they controlled the glass by a large margin and put an emphasis on making life difficult for Alyssa Ustby. The fifth-year forward scored just two points while not making a shot from the floor, but still found ways to contribute, recording 10 assists to go along with eight rebounds.
While the loss isn't how the UNC women's basketball program envisioned ACC play starting, they'll have a chance this week to bounce back as non-conference play resumes. North Carolina will take on Florida on Wednesday as part of the annual Jumpman Classic in Charlotte, North Carolina.