Tar Heels Struggle at Syracuse

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The North Carolina women’s basketball team fell 88-76 at 23rd-ranked Syracuse on Tuesday afternoon in the Tar Heels’ first road trip of 2021. The matchup at the Carrier Dome was the second of the season with the Orange. UNC won the first game in Chapel Hill on December 17.

Despite a sterling third quarter that saw UNC shoot 61.1 percent from the field and led by as many as nine points.

Carolina returns to action on Sunday at noon, hosting Notre Dame at Carmichael Arena.

“There’s a lot to look forward to,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. “This group shows a lot of fight.”

Senior center Janelle Bailey lead UNC with 22 points, her second-highest total this season, behind only the 25 she scored in the first matchup with the Orange. Bailey had 14 of her points in the third quarter when she went 6-for-7 from the field and 2-2 from the foul line.

Graduate guard Stephanie Watts came off the bench for 15 points, including 3-for-6 shooting from three. After snapping a three-point drought that had stretched to 0-for-20 over the past six games, she is now just three long-range shots from moving into second place on UNC’s career three-pointers list. Watts also led the team Tuesday in rebounds with six, along with four assists and a team-high four steals.

“I thought we fought, played hard, and came out with a lot of energy,’ said Watts, part of that reserve group on Tuesday. “We just need to maintain that for the entirety of the game, but I think that’s going to come. We have a lot of young players and they’re coming along every single game. Everyone is, so I’m excited for where this team is going from here.”

Freshman Alyssa Ustby was also in double figures for UNC with 13 points. Freshman Deja Kelly had nine points and a team-high five assists. Kennedy Todd-Williams, another freshman, came off the bench for eight points.

Syracuse led by three at halftime, 40-37, after a back-and-forth 20 minutes that saw six lead changes and three ties.

Coming out of the break, Syracuse stretched the lead to five before UNC caught fire, led by Bailey. The Tar Heels went on a 14-2 run that consisted of a four-point play from Kelly and 10 points by Bailey to give the visitors a 53-46 lead. Carolina eventually stretched the lead to nine on a three by Watts with 1:16 to play in the period. After Syracuse freshman Priscilla Williams put back her own shot to trim the lead to seven, Todd-Williams answered with a fast-break layup to make it nine again. SU’s Emily Engstler hit a three with seven seconds in the period to make it a six-point Tar Heel lead, 67-61, heading into the final 10 minutes. The Tar Heels outscored the Orange 30-21 in the period for their highest-scoring quarter in ACC play this season.

The fourth quarter belonged to the home team as Syracuse outscored UNC 27-9, shooting 66.7 from the field to seal the win. The game included 12 lead changes.

For the game, the UNC bench outscored the Syracuse bench 27-17, marking the 10th time in 12 games that the Tar Heel subs have outscored the other team’s reserves.

North Carolina (7-5, 2-5 ACC) returns to action on Sunday at noon, hosting Notre Dame at Carmichael Arena.