Stephanie Mavunga caps off Senior Night with buzzer beater

Stephanie Mavunga didn’t want the ball in her hands.

With time running out in Thursday’s contest and the North Carolina women’s basketball team knotted at 70 apiece with Virginia, the sophomore forward hoped the ball would go to anyone else but her.

“I think I like it when someone else hits the shot,” she said. “Because then I’m really nervous, and you think, ‘Oh, gosh. I’ve got to make this. Because if I miss, I’m going to have to think about this all night.’”

But as sophomore guard Allisha Gray’s missed layup ricocheted off the top of the backboard, Mavunga made sure she was the one deciding the outcome — positioning herself for a putback layup as time expired to give No. 15 UNC a 72-70 victory on Senior Night.

“I just held my spot and held my ground, and then I just got the ball," Mavunga said. “I knew there was no time left — because we timed it perfectly and I knew some pretty good time had passed. So I just got the ball from where I was, and then I just shot it.”

The game-winning shot capped a 23-point performance by the forward in which she shot 10-of-15 from the field.

Two of her handful of misses came early, as the Cavaliers (16-12, 6-9 ACC) pressured Mavunga into shooting jump shots instead of attacking the rim.

“Xylina (McDaniel) told me, ‘Stephanie, establish yourself in the paint. Just start off easy and worry about that later,’” Mavunga said.

Listening to the advice of her teammate, Mavunga began attacking the basket — scoring nine first-half points and not missing another field goal for the final 17 minutes and 50 seconds of the first half.

Behind the 6-foot-3 forward, the Tar Heels (23-6, 10-5 ACC) went into the locker room grasping onto a 35-33 lead despite allowing UVa. to shoot 58.3 percent from the field.

In order for UNC to hold its advantage in the second half, Coach Sylvia Hatchell knew exactly what the team needed to do.

“The second half, we went inside. We came out, and our first three plays were going to her,” said Hatchell, nodding toward Mavunga during the post-game press conference.

And the Tar Heels did just that.

UNC opened the first half by feeding Mavunga the ball, and she capitalized on her opportunities — scoring seven points in the first two minutes and 42 seconds to put the Tar Heels up 44-37 on an and-one that got the fans in Carmichael Arena on their feet.

As dominant as she was on the offensive end, Mavunga made just as much of an impact on the defensive end of the floor — highlighted by two blocks and three steals.

“She’s a great shot blocker. She’s just a space eater,” said Virginia coach Joanne Boyle. “She takes up a lot of room in the paint, so it’s tough to get anything off of her. She’s very talented.”

With 5:10 left in the game, Mavunga made a free throw to push the UNC lead to 68-60. It was the last point scored by the Tar Heel forward for nearly the rest of the game, however, as the Cavaliers stormed back.

With 46 seconds left, Mavunga missed a jumper, and UVa. proceeded to tie the game at 70 with 21 seconds remaining on a floater by freshman guard Mikayla Venson.

Hatchell called a timeout immediately. As the Tar Heels gathered at their bench, they made it clear there would be only one outcome.

“We were all saying in the huddle before, ‘We’re going to win this game in regulation. We’re not going into overtime,’” Mavunga said.

She wouldn’t let it happen.

As Gray drove toward the left side of the basket, Mavunga pushed her defender out of the way, setting up her buzzer-beater and the ensuing celebration.

After the Tar Heels finished shaking hands with the Cavaliers, her teammates jumped on top of her shoulders in jubilation.

But only for a short while.

As her teammates lined up along the free throw line and stared at the big screen above them to watch a video honoring the seniors, Mavunga was pulled aside to undergo the superstar treatment — a TV interview.

Tears rolled down her face while she watched the video and waited for her interview to begin. She clinched the win in the last home game for the seniors, who evoked these emotions.

Mavunga couldn’t deny the moment’s meaning — even if she didn’t want the ball.

“Man, it’s one of the greatest feeling ever,” she said.

sports@dailytarheel.com