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Lady Tar Heels Knock off No. 1 Fighting Irish 78-73

Landon Bost

CHAPEL HILL, N.c. – The North Carolina Lady Tar Heels (12-9, 3-4 ACC) upset the number one-ranked Norte Dame Fighting Irish (19-2, 6-1 ACC) 78-73 in a game that went wire-to-wire.

With 1:48 left in the game, the score was tied at 71 after Fighting Irish’s graduate senior forward Brianna Turner converted a 3-point play. On the ensuing possession, Tar Heels sophomore guard Leah Church scored, her only basket of the game, a 3-pointer to give the Tar Heels a 74-71 lead with 1:25 left in the game.

Fighting Irish preseason All-American Arike Ogunbowale missed a 3-pointer on the other end. Tar Heels redshirt senior guard Paris Kea came down the floor and made an acrobatic layup over the 6’3″ Turner to extend the Tar Heels’ lead to five with 40 seconds left.

The Fighting Irish were forced to foul. Kea went 2-4 from the free-throw line to end the game, and the Tar Heels defeated the number one ranked team for the third time in program history.

Leah Church after the 3-pointer, which gave the Tar Heels a 74-71 lead with 1:25 left in the game.

Impact Players

Paris Kea, Tar Heels redshirt senior guard: Kea rose to the occasion and delivered in the most critical moments.Kea shot 11-17 (5-8 3PT) from the field for season high of 30 points to go along with a season-high of 10 assists.

Stephanie Watts, Tar Heels redshirt junior guard: Watts gave the Tar Heels a lift on both ends of the court. On defense, she tallied five rebounds, three blocks and three steals. On offense, she made five 3-pointers and finished with 19 points.

Marina Mabrey, Fighting Irish senior guard: Mabrey was the Fighting Irish’s leading scoring with 20 points. She was consistent source of offense all game.

Game Commentary

  • The Tar Heels missed easy layups early in the game.
  • Kea penetrated the gaps in the Fighting Irish defense and found open shooters on the perimeter.
  • The Fighting Irish started in man-to-man, and switched to a 2-3 zone to slow down the Tar Heels’ attack. They would switch between the two defenses the rest of the game.
  • At halftime, the Fighting Irish lead the Tar Heels 36-34.
  • The Tar Heels ran their offense through Kea and Watts down the stretch.
  • The Tar Heels went on a 7-2 run to close the game.
Paris Kea’s layup over Brianna Turner to give the Tar Heels a 76-71 lead with 40 seconds left.

Quick Hits

  • Fighting Irish’s junior guard Jackie Young did not play.
  • Tar Heels sophomore center Janelle Bailey finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.
  • Ogunbowale, shot 5-21 (1-7 3PT) from the field for 13 points.
  • There were 11 ties, and 15 lead changes in the game.
  • Fighting Irish’s starting forwards,Turner and Jessica Shepard, combined for 11 turnovers. The team finished with 20 turnovers.
  • The Fighting Irish outscored the Tar Heels in every period except the third period.

Firsthand Perspective

“Just all of them contributed,” Tar Heels’ head coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “They all played really good team basketball: great crowd. It was fun, and I’m just really happy for these guys because they without a doubt had a ‘wow moment’ today.”

“I love a challenge,” Kea said when asked about her performance. “Really, that’s all I can really say about that. The crowd was absolutely amazing tonight. When we slapped the floor on defense, everybody just went wild. And we came out in the beginning of the fourth quarter: everybody was yelling. When (Church) hit that really big three, and the crowd literally amped me up, amped the team up. It was an amazing atmosphere today.”

“No, not really,” said Fighting Irish’s head coach Muffet McGraw said. “I knew Kea was capable of going off like that, and, her and Watts, just a deadly combination.”

Stephanie Watts driving against Fighting Irish defenders Jordan Nixon and Marina Mabrey

“I think we’re an older team,” Watts said when asked about the Tar Heel’s maintaining composure throughout the game. “(Kea) and I are veterans, and we weren’t too pressed and nervous. Another thing I want to say is, we’re a better team than our record shows. We didn’t come into this game scared. We didn’t come into this game nervous. We’re a good team. We’re a better team than what our record shows, and we knew this was going to be a tough competitive game, and we were going to play it out to the end.”

What’s Next

The Fighting Irish play their final game of three consecutive road games against the Clemson Tigers (14-6, 5-2 ACC) on Thursday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. EST.

The Tar Heels host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (13-7, 3-4 ACC) in Carmichael Arena on Thursday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. EST.