WBB Notebook: Heels Fall At Duke, Tournament Outlook & More

DURHAM, N.C. — No. 21 North Carolina fell at No. 11 Duke 72-68 on Sunday afternoon inside a sold out Cameron Indoor Stadium, dropping to 21-6 on the season and 10-4 in the ACC — ending UNC’s eight-game conference winning streak.

The Tar Heels led Duke by five with 3:13 to go in Sunday’s first half before the Blue Devils closed the half on a 13-0 run to put the Heels down eight at the break.

Courtney Banghart’s squad battled back in the second half, holding Duke to 34.5 percent shooting (10-of-29) in the final two frames and trimming the deficit to a single possession four separate times, but were never able to break through.

Paint Domination Produces Statistical Anomaly

North Carolina outscored Duke 46-22 in the paint on Sunday afternoon, while Ciera Toomey led the way for the Tar Heels offensively, tallying 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting.

Despite the discrepancy down low, UNC didn’t attempt a single free throw across the course of the afternoon, making Sunday the fifth time in college basketball this season a team has failed to record a free throw attempt. It was the third time this century an ACC team has not attempted a free throw in a game.  

“I’ve been doing this for a long time, it’s almost embarrassing,” Banghart said. “I’ve just never seen it, it’s fascinating.”

Reniya Kelly Remains Sidelined

Junior guard Reniya Kelly wasn’t in uniform on Sunday afternoon, missing her third consecutive game with a lower body injury. 

“Reniya is week to week,” Banghart said. “We’re hopeful that she’ll be back soon, and that will help us.”

The veteran guard has started in all but one of the 23 games she’s suited up for this season, averaging 6.1 points and 2.2 assists for the Tar Heels. Kelly had scored in double-figures in four of her last six games prior to going down, including a 24-point outburst in the Jan. 15 win over Miami.

Tournament Outlook

The Tar Heels entered Sunday’s matchup positioned at No. 19 in the NET, and UNC was not included in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee’s initial top 16 tournament seeds released on Saturday night.

In ESPN’s most recent bracketology update, UNC is projected as a No. 5 seed, while CBS Sports forecasts the Tar Heels as a No. 6 seed. 

“So I don’t really talk about (the tournament) with (the team),” Banghart said. “I think what you always hope is that the committee looks at the body of work and looks at the improvement of your team and how you’re playing, and then seeds them people accordingly, because the seeding really does matter.”

“We’re sort of like last year, sort of teetering, and we’ve just got to continue to play well and get better to better each week.”

Three of UNC’s final four games present Quad 1 opportunities (at Virginia Tech, at Virginia, vs. Duke) for Carolina to boost its NCAA Tournament resume as Selection Sunday creeps closer. The Tar Heels Q1 record sits at 1-4.

UNC Statistical Leaders

PPG: Nyla Harris — 11.1
RPG: Nyla Harris/Ciera Toomey — 6.7
APG: Indya Nivar — 4.0 
FG%: Taaliyah Henderson — 62.2%

Up Next

Thursday Feb. 19 @ Virginia Tech 6 p.m. 
Sunday Feb. 22 vs. Pitt 12 p.m.