The No. 2 ranked team in the nation, UConn, and the No. 14 ranked Tar Heels both met on a neutral court in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the Greensboro Complex. With North Carolina projected to lose by 22 points, the Tar Heels came out, fought, and despite the loss 69-58, they proved they belonged.
The first half ended with just a 12-point differential between the two teams. It started out with UConn leading the charge. It took an 11-point lead at the end of the first quarter. The Huskies didn’t take long to jump out to a big lead in the second quarter either, scoring nine points before UNC made two buckets.
However, North Carolina jumped back and lost the quarter by just one point, 13-12. Indya Nivar led the team at the halftime break with 11 points. Alyssa Ustby was just 1-for-5 from the field with two points and four rebounds.
The Tar Heels had a hard time stopping Paige Bueckers, as she had half the team’s points with 18 points and two rebounds heading into the third quarter.
UConn edged a bigger lead in the third quarter with another four-point advantage. The quarter ended with Bueckers and Lexi Donarski swapping three-point makes.
After cutting the game to nine points in the fourth quarter, North Carolina would score just two points in five of the last eight minutes of the game as UConn broke the lead back out, eventually winning 69-58.
Nivar finished the game with 15 points and nine rebounds to lead North Carolina. Ustby and Donarski finished just 2-for-12 from the field and a combined eight points.
Bueckers dropped 29 points and four rebounds with four assists.
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