North Carolina At Chapel Hill

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – March 3rd, 2024

Beat your biggest rival on your home court in front of a sell-out crowd? Pretty good for Senior Day.

The North Carolina women’s basketball team topped Duke 63-59 at a packed Carmichael Arena Sunday afternoon, celebrating the win then celebrating four seniors – Deja Kelly, Anya Poole, Alyssa Ustby and Alexandra Zelaya – in a postgame ceremony. In the final game of the regular season, the Tar Heels (19-11, 11-7 ACC) avenged a loss to the Blue Devils in Durham three weeks earlier.

Kelly finished with 18 points and a team-best seven rebounds. Ustby finished with 17 points, 13 of which came in the first half when she was 6-7 from the field.

In the first matchup, Carolina led by 14 points late in third quarter but watched the advantage evaporate and fell in overtime. Sunday, UNC again took an early lead, up 17-7 after the first quarter, when they shot 53.8 percent to Duke’s 20 percent. Duke flipped the advantage in the second quarter, outscoring Carolina 24-13, including a 15-2 run, to take a 31-30 lead into halftime.

Neither team led by more than three throughout a tight third quarter and the teams were tied up heading into the fourth, 46-46. But the Tar Heels took the lead just over a minute into the period on a three by Zelaya and never gave up the advantage. They were up by nine after a second-chance bucket by Maria Gakdeng with 6:37 to play, 55-46, but that was the widest the gap ever got.

UNC led by five in the closing seconds but Ashlon Jackson was fouled taking a three-pointer and got her three anyway, hitting all three free throws to make it a two-point game, 60-58, with 15 seconds remaining. After a free throw by Kelly made the margin three again, Duke’s Taina Mair went to the line and hit one, but missed the second. The Blue Devils grabbed the offensive rebound and Kennedy Brown went up for the tie but Ustby blocked her shot, grabbed the rebound and got the ball to Kelly, who was fouled.

Kelly hit two free throws with five seconds on the clock to make it a four-point game, at which point the Tar Heels breathed a sigh of relief and started the celebration.