If you were looking for a high scoring affair, the game at McCamish Pavilion on Thursday night was far from it.
North Carolina put together an outstanding effort on the defensive end to secure a victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The victory improves the Tar Heels to 16-5 on the season and 5-3 in ACC play.
Offensive struggles
Offense typically isn't hard to come by for Courtney Banghart's team, but Thursday night it was certainly a challenge.
The Tar Heels didn't connect on a three-pointer until the third quarter, finishing the night shooting 4-18 from beyond-the-arc. Overall, North Carolina shot just 29% from the floor, but made up for it by dominant defense and rebounding.
Defense and Rebounding
On the boards, North Carolina claimed a 21-rebound advantage over the host Yellow Jackets. The Tar Heels snagged 55 rebounds, led by Ciera Toomey's 15. Both Indya Nivar (9) and Nyla Harris (8) contributed in a big way on the glass, while Lanie Grant and Taliyah Henderson added five rebounds apiece in this effort.
The Tar Heels were locked in defensively, as the Yellow Jackets shot just 32% from the floor. They missed 18 of their 20 shots from deep, as neither team was hot from three-point land in this one.
Ugly Wins are Still Wins
It wasn't North Carolina's best performance by any means, but good teams find ways to win the games when they aren't at their best. Fortunately for the Tar Heels, they are a very good defensive unit, as the ability to lock in on that side of the floor was the difference in this given game.
Wins aren't asterisked when a team doesn't shoot the basketball well. Even if it was ugly, you will certainly take the win and prepare for Sunday afternoon's snowy clash against Syracuse in Chapel Hill.