The North Carolina women's basketball team (18-11, 10-7 ACC) fell to Boston College (12-18, 4-13 ACC), 78-74, in Chestnut Hill, Mass. on Thursday night.
In junior BC transfer Maria Gakdeng's return to Conte Forum, the center posted 16 points and 10 rebounds for UNC. Sophomore guard Indya Nivar had 16 points off the bench. Guard JoJo Lacey dropped a game-high 23 points on 5-for-8 3-point shooting to help Boston College snap a 10-game losing streak.
Gakdeng knifed through the 2-3 zone defense for UNC’s first two buckets, using her length for an early block and offensive board. However, the Eagles came out shooting 5-8 from the floor, including 3-4 from beyond the arc, forcing a quick timeout from head coach Courtney Banghart within the game’s first four minutes.
“We were really careless with our shooting,” Banghart said. “We didn’t knock down shots and it’s hard to win if you’re going to shoot 19 percent from three.”
Out of the huddle, graduate guard Lexi Donarski cashed in a three to improve the Tar Heels’ previous 2-for-8 clip. Lacey countered with her third triple of the contest, but the Eagles began to cool off as North Carolina’s defense clamped down and fueled a second Donarski bucket.
Despite grabbing thirteen boards in the quarter, UNC amassed a two-minute scoring drought to close out the quarter down seven. The Tar Heels shot just 28 percent against a Boston College team that previously allowed opponents to convert 46 percent of their attempts, a bottom-20 figure nationally.
With the shot clock expiring, senior guard Alyssa Ustby found her stroke from distance to open the second quarter with her second three of the season. After missing her first six shots, senior guard Deja Kelly followed suit to collect her first three points. Senior forward Alexandra Zelaya halted prior offensive difficulty by converting an easy runner off the bench to spur a 5-0 run for the Tar Heels.
However, North Carolina trailed 35-29 after Ustby’s put back was waved off at the buzzer. The team committed seven turnovers, matching their game totals from the previous two contests.
Entering quarter three, North Carolina conceded a pair of Boston College layups that necessitated a premature timeout by Banghart. Gakdeng entered double figures, finding her own misses and deterring Boston College in the paint to be the bright spot for the Tar Heels on both ends of the floor. Nivar netted back-to-back layups for nine off the bench, forcing Boston College to regroup with a whistle. Following Ustby’s fourth foul, the Eagles strung together seven unanswered points to safeguard an 11-point advantage.
