Indya Nivar carries UNC women's basketball to road win against No. 16 Notre Dame

North Carolina women’s basketball (11-4, 3-0 ACC) won its fifth consecutive game, besting No. 16 Notre Dame (10-3, 1-2 ACC), 61-57, on Sunday for the first victory in UNC program history in South Bend, Ind.

Sophomore guard Indya Nivar led North Carolina in scoring as she tallied 16 points along with five rebounds and five steals. Graduate guard Lexi Donarski scored 13 points and helped contribute behind the arc with three 3-pointers.

North Carolina earned a 6-0 lead early in the first frame and continued to place pressure on the Fighting Irish throughout the first quarter. Despite allowing Notre Dame to battle back and steal the lead, the Tar Heels went on a 14-4 run to close out the first period with a 20-12 lead.

The Tar Heels’ intensity carried over into the second quarter, as redshirt sophomore forward Teonni Key blocked Notre Dame’s first shot attempt of the frame. The Fighting Irish crawled back from a 10-point deficit to close the gap to one, but North Carolina quickly extended its lead back to five courtesy of easy layups in the paint. The back-and-forth quarter remained heavily contested and the Tar Heels went into the locker room with a 31-28 lead. 

The Tar Heels shot 45 percent from the floor compared to Notre Dame’s 29 percent, with graduate guard Lexi Donarski knocking down two field goals from behind the arc to extend and protect their lead.

Notre Dame quickly found its stride in the second half as they took a 32-31 lead just one minute into the third quarter. The Tar Heels missed their first five field goal attempts of the frame, allowing Notre Dame to stay in control. Despite only shooting 28% in the third quarter, the Tar Heels managed to hang with the Fighting Irish and go into the final break trailing 45-46 courtesy of a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Donarski.

“I like to be in the game,” Donarski said. “The subs we have coming — the energy stays the same. People are making huge plays no matter who is in the game. It’s just a lot of fun.”

With all the momentum in Notre Dame’s hands, UNC flipped the switch early in the first quarter. Nivar scored seven quick points, accompanied with a three minute Fighting Irish scoring drought, to give the Tar Heels a 6-point advantage and force a Notre Dame timeout. 

Notre Dame fought back to tie the game, but UNC kept its intensity high and completed its dominant fourth quarter to secure the victory.

Alongside an impressive offensive performance, the Tar Heels also had to make defensive adjustments as key Notre Dame players were out due to injury. However, it did not stop UNC from holding the Fighting Irish to a season-low in scoring.

“We’re a tough defense,” head coach Courtney Banghart said. “They average 90-something at home and they scored 57.”

This is the Tar Heels’ second straight victory over a ranked opponent. With redshirt sophomore guard Kayla McPherson announcing her absence for the rest of the season, it was up in the air as to who would step up. Nivar proved herself in Sunday’s matchup, scoring ten points in the final frame and aided the Tar Heels’ early fourth-quarter push. This is UNC’s first win in program history at Notre Dame.

“I’ve just been stacking days in practice and in games,” Nivar said. “It was just a build up, and today was just my day to show what I’ve been working on in practice, talking about with coach going over in film, and I think it just came together today.”

The Tar Heels will return to action on Thursday when they travel to Tallahassee to take on No. 22 Florida State at 6:00. 

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