When a layup with 1:11 remaining in Sunday’s game gave Gonzaga a 2-point lead, the North Carolina women’s basketball team needed someone to step up.
And when her team needed her most, senior forward Xylina McDaniel filled this role.
With 42 seconds remaining, McDaniel made a layup while also drawing a foul. After sinking the ensuing free throw, she gave the Tar Heels a 1-point lead over the Bulldogs.
North Carolina (5-3) went on to earn a 67-62 win over Gonzaga (4-3) as part of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Challenge in Uncasville, Conn. — but the game did not start in UNC’s favor.
Gonzaga took over the game at the onset, pushing past the Tar Heels for a 7-2 lead in the first three and a half minutes of the period.
As the half went on, UNC began to reach its stride. After a 15-1 scoring run, the Tar Heels took a 20-12 lead over the Bulldogs with about six minutes left in the half, and would enter the break with a 6-point advantage.
But North Carolina’s comfortable lead did not last long.
Less than one minute into the second half, Gonzaga cut UNC’s lead to two points. A 3-pointer moments later gave the Bulldogs a 33-32 lead, and North Carolina trailed for the first time since the first period.
As the seconds dwindled down, it was anybody’s game — until McDaniel’s 3-point play. In the final 28 seconds, first-year guard Destinee Walker sank two free throws to put the Tar Heels up by three, and McDaniel later extended the lead with two more free throws.