UNC's quest for a ACC Tournament title has come to an end.
The Tar Heels couldn't secure a third meeting with rival Duke as they fell to Louisville in the semifinal round. With the loss, North Carolina will head home and await their NCAA Tournament fate, as we'll have to wait and see if they did enough to convince the committee that they deserve to host games during the first two rounds of action.
Offensive struggles
Neither team shot the ball particularly well throughout the first half, as the two top-25 ranked squads combined for a total of 57 points. While Louisville held a one-point lead at the break, the hope was that the Tar Heels would be able to build a better second half overall, but unfortunately, couldn't make that happen.
The Tar Heels shot just 36% from the floor, including a rough 27% from three-point range. North Carolina's front court duo of Nyla Harris and Ciera Toomey, both of whom have been stellar all season long, didn't have it in this one, as Harris contributed just six points and eight rebounds in 37 minutes of action while Toomey went scoreless while hauling in one rebound in her 20 minutes of work.
Aarnisalo stars again
The sophomore guard played the entire game and was outstanding, scoring 17 points while adding five points and four rebounds to her stat line.
Other notables
Lanie Grant, coming off a career-high 21 points against Virginia Tech, scored 11 against Louisville, knocking down a trio of three-pointers.
Indya Nivar made just two of her 9 shots from the floor but still impacted the game in a variety of ways, as she finished the afternoon with 10 points (going 6-6 from the free throw line) to go along with six rebounds, five steals and two assists.
Nyla Brooks was the only reserve to play more than 13 minutes, as she added 13 points while doing most of her damage from the free-throw line.
So... will UNC host?
It will be interesting to see how the committee views this team heading into March Madness.
A win over Louisville (plus some other help) would have likely guaranteed a few more home games at Carmichael Arena this season, but the loss in the ACC Tournament semifinals might not be enough secure the title of hosting.
Regardless, the Tar Heels will be ready to play, as they simply now await their fate next weekend on Selection Sunday.