The UNC women's basketball team picked up the sweetest win of the season, with a 53-46 overtime victory over Duke on Thursday.
The Tar Heels and Blue Devils were notched at 16 apiece, before UNC exploded on a 16-0 run in the 3rd quarter to double up Duke. Even though the Blue Devils clawed their way back and forced OT, UNC defended homecourt in a thriller — sending Duke packing for that 10-mile drive to Durham.
North Carolina now prepares for their next matchup, hosting ACC foe Boston College tomorrow. The Tar Heels hope to defend Carmichael Arena once again during their showdown versus the Eagles.
This women’s basketball game is a special one, being played on mascot Rameses’ birthday. There’s also a Kids Club Day event at the game, so bring the whole family to Carmichael Arena for a day of fun!
2024-2025 Season
North Carolina Tar Heels
Overall record: 14-3
Conference Record: 2-2
Home Record: 8-2
Away Record: 2-0
Neutral Site Record: 4-1
Boston College Eagles
Overall record: 10-7
Conference Record: 1-3
Home Record: 8-2
Away Record: 2-3
Neutral Site Record: 0-2
Key Players
North Carolina
Alyssa Ustby (Gr. Guard/Forward) – 11.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists
Maria Gakdeng (Sr. Forward/Center) – 11.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.2 blocks
Lexi Donarski (Gr. Guard) – 9.2 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Boston College
Dontavia Waggoner (Sr. Guard) – 13.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.2 steals
T’yana Todd (Jr. Guard) – 12.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists
Teya Sidberry (Jr. Forward) – 10.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.1 steals
Keys to Victory for North Carolina
Take Care of the Ball!
Winning doesn’t need to look pretty, and North Carolina proved that versus Duke. A win is a win. The Tar Heels put together a gritty, hard-nosed performance versus their rival. There’s nothing wrong with mucking up the game and winning an ugly one. But moving forward, UNC still needs to take care of the ball, play under control and execute.
Versus Duke, the Tar Heels turned the ball over an astonishing 26 times, which kept the Blue Devils in the game. This allowed Duke to score 25 points off of turnovers — over half of their total points in the game. The fact that the Tar Heels were still able to win a game versus No. 14 ranked Duke while playing that sloppily is extremely impressive, and it speaks to the special group that UNC has.
North Carolina is the far superior team to BC. If the Tar Heels just take care of the ball and play their game, they should coast to victory tomorrow. Be strong with the rock UNC!
Something to Watch for
The freshmen duo — Lanie Grant and Blanca Thomas — are coming off of stellar performances versus Duke. It’s a big deal to get a strong showing from freshmen when the stakes are high — especially during their first taste of this historic rivalry.
Thomas logged her season high in minutes with 24, and she was an integral part of the UNC win. Thomas scored seven points, grabbed eight rebounds and made her defensive presence known with three blocks and two steals. Grant added nine points of her own and went a perfect 7-7 from the stripe. She’ll need to take better care of the ball, but her clutch free throws down the stretch were huge. Be on the lookout for this duo to continue their impressive play.
Also, if UNC is able to take care of business versus BC, be on the lookout for UNC’s No. 19 AP Poll ranking to rise come Monday. A win over a ranked rival, plus a win over BC, should absolutely warrant the Tar Heels flirting with a top-15 ranking.
Projected Starters
No. 1 Alyssa Ustby (Gr. 6'1)
No. 5 Maria Gakdeng (Sr. 6'3)
No. 10 Reniya Kelly (So. 5'7)
No. 20 Lexi Donarski (Gr. 6'0)
No. 24 Indya Nivar (Jr. 5'10)