The Daily Tar Heel
Printing news. Raising hell. Since 1893.
Thursday, March 28, 2024 Newsletters Latest print issue

We keep you informed.

Help us keep going. Donate Today.
The Daily Tar Heel

UNC women's basketball falls into quick hole in loss to struggling Boston College

After losing a double-digit lead in its loss at Clemson, the North Carolina women's basketball team (13-11, 2-9 ACC) faced an ACC opponent in Boston College (9-16, 2-10 ACC) that looked to halt a 10-game losing streak. The Tar Heels couldn't shoot their way out of a first-half deficit, falling to the Eagles, 88-77.

What happened?

After a lagging start for both teams, it was the Eagles who regained their shooting touch first. While the Tar Heels ended the quarter with a 0-for-7 drought from the field, the Eagles went on a 14-0 run over the final 3:58.

The run continued into the next period. The Eagles built a 19-point lead before a 3-pointer by sophomore Stephanie Watts at the 7:39 mark of the second quarter stopped the UNC dry spell. The Tar Heels walked off the floor after the half facing a 15-point deficit.

While North Carolina tightened up its offense in the third quarter, Boston College shot an improbable 100 percent on nine attempts from 3-point range in the third quarter to expand its lead to 72-52.

The fourth quarter saw a herculean effort from the Tar Heels. A Paris Kea layup with 4:53 left brought UNC within eight, but North Carolina wouldn’t get any closer en route to an 11-point defeat.

Who stood out?

While the UNC offense barely seemed to be stirring in the first half, when there was life for the Tar Heels it came from sophomore Paris Kea. Kea had 13 points and three steals in the half, showing flashes of her athleticism on loose ball plays.

Kea was helped by Watts and junior Jamie Cherry, all of whom scored double-digit points. Kea finished with 22 points, six rebounds and four steals, while Cherry found her shooting touch too late as she dropped a career-high 31 points on 10-of-20 shooting in the loss.

When was it decided?

After shooting 25 percent in the first half, including 2-of-11 from beyond the arc, UNC desperately needed to establish a shooting rhythm at the beginning of the second half.

While UNC made some corrections — shooting 57.1 percent and 42.9 percent from three in the third quarter — the Tar Heels' effort was lost in the noise of an astonishing shooting performance from the Eagles in the quarter. Boston College shot 68.8 percent, including a perfect 3-point percentage, to build its lead to 20 heading into the fourth.

But with under five minutes left in the game, the Tar Heels had trimmed the deficit back to single digits. However, Boston College’s program-record 15 three-pointers were too much for the Tar Heels to overcome.

Why does it matter?

Coming into the game, UNC had only two wins in ACC play and couldn’t afford to suffer another loss to a conference foe, particularly one that was in the last spot in the standings. The Tar Heels have been struggling to put together complete games, and this served as another example of things coming together for the team — but not for long enough to come away with a victory.

Where do they play next?

The Tar Heels travel to New York to take on Syracuse at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

@James_Tatter

sports@dailytarheel.com

To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.