The Associated Press.

In Sunday’s game, Deja Kelly led the way with 23 points for Chapel Hill, N.C. She scored 10 crucial points in the third quarter. Alyssa Ustby also had an impressive performance, achieving a double-double with a personal best of seven blocks. The No. 23 North Carolina team handed their opponent, No. 13 Louisville, their first defeat in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a final score of 79-68.

During the third quarter, Kelly accumulated a total of 11 points, with nine of those points being from successful free throw shots. This helped the Tar Heels to pull ahead in the game, leading 60-49 going into the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Louisville only managed to make five out of ten shots and committed five turnovers, four of which occurred in the final six minutes. This led to the Cardinals only scoring three free throws during that time.

During an 11-0 scoring streak, Kelly made five successful free throws, resulting in a 56-47 lead after being down by two points.

With only one minute remaining, the deficit had been reduced to just six points. The deciding moment in the fourth quarter was a perfect press break, resulting in a layup by Anya Poole and a 75-67 lead with 46 seconds remaining. Kelly then made four successful free throws to seal the victory.

In the game, Kelly achieved a career-best 14 out of 16 free throw attempts, while Louisville, a team with a 76.6% success rate, only made 12 out of 23. In the fourth quarter, they made 7 out of 13, preventing any chance of a comeback.

Lexi Donarski scored 13 points for the Tar Heels (14-5, 6-1), their best start in the ACC since 2013. Ustby and substitute Indya Nivar each contributed 10 points, with Ustby also snagging 12 rebounds. Kelly has accumulated a total of 100 points in North Carolina’s past four games.

Myla Harris contributed 16 points to the Cardinals’ total score of 16-3, including 5 wins and 1 loss. Oliva Cochran and Jayda Curry also contributed 14 points each.

Each team entered the game with a defensive average of 58 points per game. North Carolina committed 17 turnovers, but they also out-rebounded the opposing team 42-28. The game was physical, resulting in a total of 47 fouls and 46 free throw attempts.

The score was even at 36 at the halfway point of the game. Donarski was responsible for the initial 10 points for the Tar Heels, who made 15 out of 26 shots (58%) but only 3 out of 7 from the free throw line and had nine turnovers in the first half. Louisville made 15 out of 35 shots (43%).

On Thursday, Miami will travel to North Carolina while Boston College plays at Louisville.

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Source: wralsportsfan.com