North Carolina Rallies in 4th Quarter, Hands Virginia First Home Loss

No. 22 UNC erased a nine-point fourth quarter deficit with a 22-2 run and escaped Charlottesville with a 70-59 win over UVA

Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

Facing a third ranked opponent in a row, it seemed like the Virginia women’s basketball team was on its way to knocking off No. 22 North Carolina, as the Cavaliers outscored the Tar Heels 24-12 in the third quarter to grab a nine-point lead entering the final frame. However, the team couldn’t take care of the basketball in the fourth quarter, allowing the Heels to run away with the game in a brutal sequence that led to a 28-8 fourth quarter.

The first three quarters featured many bright spots, but the sloppy final period left a bad taste in the mouth of Cavalier players, coaches, and fans. In the end, North Carolina escaped with a 70-59 win over Virginia on Thursday night at John Paul Jones Arena. 

Early in the game, Taylor Valladay was a catalyst for the Cavaliers, orchestrating a personal 8-0 run to give her team a 10-4 lead, and scoring ten-straight points for Virginia. She was a perfect 4/4 from the field and 2/2 from three, while the rest of her team was just 1/12. Valladay also added three rebounds in just five minutes of court time in the opening period.

Deja Kelly made a three-pointer to bring UNC within one point, but Alexia Smith drained a smooth pull up jumper in the final seconds of the quarter to give Virginia a 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. Smith started in place of Mir McLean, who suffered a season-ending knee injury against NC State on Sunday. Although the Cavaliers were without their best rebounder in McLean, they will won the rebounding battle 48-37, collected 16 offensive rebounds, and scored 14 second chance points. 

The Tar Heels held the Cavaliers scoreless for the first three minutes of the second quarter, but then Sam Brunelle checked into the game and promptly drilled a three-pointer. With five minutes remaining in the second quarter, Deja Kelly made a three-pointer in the corner through contact to give UNC a 21-20 lead, but then missed the free throw.

Brunelle added a second triple to her tally, but UNC put together a 7-2 rally to take a 28-26 lead. At the end of the first half, the Tar Heels led 30-27 after outscoring UVA 18-12 in the second period. Sam Brunelle had six points and three rebounds to pace her team.

After the first half, UVA was 4/16 (25%) from beyond the arc. Of Virginia's 31 total shots, over half of the shots came from deep, as Taylor Valladay was the only Cavalier consistently driving into the paint. Without Mir McLean, and with the Tar Heels walling up inside with four blocks, there was a noticeable lack of offensive presence down low.

In the third quarter, the Hoos jumped out to a 7-0 run to take a 34-30 lead. Sam Brunelle was 2/2 from beyond the arc in the early minutes, and Camryn Taylor had five points to propel Virginia. UNC made a three pointer to halt a 15-4 Cavalier run, so halfway through the quarter, UVA led 42-37.

London Clarkson and Alexia Smith made free throws in the third quarter as Virginia continued to get to the line. After shooting 5/10 (50%) from the line in the first half, the team was 5/6 in the third quarter alone. Carole Miller added a three pointer with less than a minute remaining to cap another 7-0 Cavalier run. At the end of the third quarter, UVA led 51-42.

The third quarter has been extremely fruitful for Virginia all season and that trend continued in this game as the Cavaliers outscored the Tar Heels 24-12 in the third quarter to turn a halftime deficit into a nine-point lead.

UNC and UVA traded points early in the fourth quarter, with the Tar Heels making short shots and some free throws, and Sam Brunelle and Carole Miller making threes. With six minutes remaining, the Cavaliers held a seven-point lead. 

All of a sudden, UNC made a three-pointer to make the UVA lead just 57-55, forcing Coach Mox to call a timeout. Just one minute later, Coach Mox burned another timeout after UNC made two easy layups to take a 59-57 lead. This stretch made up an 11-0 run for the Tar Heels, erasing all of the hard work the Cavaliers did in the third quarter to build a lead.

UNC switched into 1-2-2 half court press that that ruined any offensive momentum the Cavaliers had. A Camryn Taylor layup was the only time the Hoos could break it, and UNC continued to overwhelm UVA to the tune of a 22-2 run. In the end, UNC outscored UVA 28-8 in the fourth quarter to earn the 70-59 win.

In a game that looked like the Hoos would win for most of it, turnovers destroyed Virginia’s hopes of winning. The team had eight turnovers in the fourth quarter alone, leading to 12 Tar Heel points. The UNC defense was suffocating, as the Tar Heels swarmed over the Cavalier ball-handlers without picking up a single foul in the fourth quarter. Virginia was whistled for 24 fouls as compared to 15 for North Carolina and the Tar Heels shot 26 free throws to just 16 for the Cavaliers. It felt like the wind was knocked out of the Wahoos in the final six minutes of the game. 

Taylor Valladay had 16 points and five rebounds before fouling out and Sam Brunelle had 15 points on five three-pointers and nine rebounds, just missing a double double. For UNC, Deja Kelly and Kennedy Todd-Williams both had 21 points, and Alyssa Utsby had 15.

Virginia falls to 13-4 overall and 2-4 in the ACC after a third-consecutive loss to a ranked team. The Cavaliers will look to right the ship against Boston College on Sunday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena. 

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