Junior Janelle Bailey scored 23 points on Thursday night as the North Carolina women’s basketball team (15-6, 6-4 ACC) defeated Virginia in Carmichael Arena, 78-68, to sweep the season series.
What happened?
UNC got off to a fast start, leading 11-5 after the first five minutes. The Tar Heels were led by first-year Malu Tshitenge, who scored six points on 3-3 shooting. Defensively, they stifled the Cavaliers (8-13, 3-7 ACC), holding them to under 30 percent from the field.
North Carolina went on an 11-3 run to close out a very efficient first quarter, extending its lead to 13. UNC shot over 50 percent and only committed two turnovers in the opening period.
Virginia struggled significantly on the offensive end. The Cavaliers shot the ball poorly, especially from the 3-point line. They only made one of their first 11 attempts from behind the arc and turned the ball over seven times in the first half.
North Carolina took advantage of Virginia's mistakes to control the first 20 minutes of the game. Redshirt senior Madinah Muhammad tallied 12 points to allow the Tar Heels took a 43-21 into locker room.
Bailey was a force in the post during the third quarter, scoring six of the team’s first eight points in the period, all of which came from the paint.
Virginia refused to go away, cutting the deficit to 12 early in the fourth quarter. However, UNC's defense prevented the Cavaliers from narrowing the gap much more and earned a double digit win, 78-68.
