UNC Women's Basketball gets back in the win column with victory over Pittsburgh

Behind a strong second half performance, the UNC women's basketball program snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over the visiting Pittsburgh Panthers.

Both teams struggled offensively over the first 20 minutes of play, as it took both sides quite a bit of time to get into a groove. By the end of the first quarter, North Carolina held a 9-6 lead, as scoring was hard to come by early on.

However, the UNC women's basketball program started to get into a groove, led by a strong second half surge from Lexi Donarski. The Iowa State transfer, who scored her 1,500th career point in the first half, knocked down five three pointers in the second half to lead all scorers with 20 points.

Deja Kelly finished the night with 17 points while Alyssa Ustby had another night in which she filled up the stat sheet, scoring 14 points while recording 10 assists, seven rebounds, three steals as well as three blocks.

The turning point of the game came in the fourth quarter, as a Indya Nivar three pointer capped off a 10-0 run, one that served as the dagger for the visiting Panthers.

North Carolina was even more shorthanded than usual, as Reniya Kelly missed the game due to a lower body injury. Nivar (six points) and Teonni Key (11 points) provided valuable contributions off the bench on a night where the starters were heavily relied upon.

It was good to see the Tar Heels get into a groove and to find a way to close out the victory. The latest stretch of games have been tough for the UNC women's basketball program, but they responded nicely in the win on Thursday night in front of the home crowd.

North Carolina will be back in action on Sunday evening as they travel to Wake Forest in hopes of starting a winning streak. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 PM EST on the ACC Network.