Miami Breezes Past UNC with Comeback

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Miami punctuated a stout second-half defensive effort with the ultimate final stand on Thursday, turning back North Carolina for a dramatic 60-59 victory in the second round of the 2024 Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament.
 
Following a turnover that set up a final Tar Heel chance with seven seconds remaining, the Hurricanes smothered UNC standout Deja Kelly with a double team as she drove to the hoop in search of the winning score. 
 
Flanked by Miami defenders Ja’Leigh Williams and Jaida Patrick, Kelly was forced into a hurried, contested shot that did not reach the rim and was snared by the Hurricanes’ Lazaria Spearman as time expired.
 
The ninth-seeded Hurricanes (19-11) move on to face top-seeded Virginia Tech in Friday’s 11 a.m. quarterfinal. No. 8 UNC (19-12) will await an at-large bid from the NCAA Tournament selection committee when that bracket is unveiled on Sunday, March 17.
 
Miami, which trailed by 14 points at one stage of the first half, limited the Tar Heels to 22 second-half points on 7-for-30 shooting from the floor. UNC led 54-48 with less than seven minutes to play, but then suffered an 0-for-9 shooting drought that sparked a 12-1 run by the Hurricanes.
 
A layup by Spearman and a three-point play by Latasha Lattimore – both on rebound follow shots that typified a day in which the Hurricanes scored 16 second-chance points – capped the flurry and left Miami ahead 60-55 with 2:02 remaining. 
 
The Tar Heels quickly got four points back. An intentional foul call on Spearman that resulted in two Lexi Donarski free throws and a driving layup by Kelly made it 60-59, but neither side scored again in the final 1:54. Each team turned the ball over twice, Spearman missed a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left, and UNC’s final chance went for naught.
 
Spearman finished with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Shayeann Day-Wilson led Miami’s scoring with 13 points.
 
Kelly and Alyssa Ustby finished with 15 apiece for the Tar Heels.
 
Kelly scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the opening 20 minutes to pace the Tar Heels to a 37-30 halftime lead. North Carolina led 31-17 at one stage of the second quarter before the Hurricanes staged a late run, capped by Williams’ running 3-pointer that beat the halftime buzzer.
 
Miami’s comeback continued into the third quarter, in which they outscored the Tar Heels 15-10 and briefly pulled even at 45-all on Day-Wilson’s free throw with 1:03. But Kelly countered with a driving layup to put UNC back in front 47-45 heading into the final period.
 
The Hurricanes, who have won five of their last seven ACC Tournament games dating back to 2022, suffered a 76-52 loss to Virginia Tech in the regular-season meeting Jan. 11 in Blacksburg. The Hokies (23-6) enter Friday’s game ranked No. 11 nationally.

(Courtesy of the Atlantic Coast Conference)