PORTLAND, Ore. - The No. 8 North Carolina women's basketball team trailed by as many as 12 points and led for only 5:43 but managed to pull out an 85-79 win over No. 18 Oregon Thursday in the Phil Knight Invitational at the University of Portland's Chiles Center.
Playing in front a neutral-but-leaning-Oregon crowd and with Knight himself sitting courtside, all five Tar Heel starters hit double figures, led by senior Eva Hodgson's 21. Alyssa Ustby scored 19, Deja Kelly 17, Anya Poole 11 and Kennedy Todd-Williams 10.
Oregon jumped out to a 7-0 lead as UNC missed its first three shots. Then the Tar Heels got rolling and scored the next eight - on a layup by Kelly, a three-point play by Ustby and a three-pointer by Todd-Williams - to take an 8-7 lead four minutes into the game. But the Ducks quickly regained the advantage and UNC didn't see it again until the end of the third quarter, although the Tar Heels cut their deficit to two on numerous occasions.
Oregon led by 12, 39-27, after a three by Te-Hina Paopao with 4:21 to play before halftime. The Tar Heels cut the margin to two on a Todd-Williams three-pointer with 41 seconds to play before the break then Paopao hit another three to make the score 44-39 at halftime.
The Ducks increased their lead to 11 in the third quarter before the Tar Heels winnowed it down for good. With seconds to play in the period, Hodgson took a charge to give UNC the ball back. Freshman Paulina Paris' only bucket of the game was a layup at the third-quarter buzzer to put UNC up by one, 56-55. It was Carolina's first lead since 8-7.
Oregon again made a run and went up by eight, 66-58, on a lay-up by Paopao, who finished with 18 and was one of four Ducks to hit double figures. With 7:40 to play, the Tar Heels used a timeout to regroup then put together a 14-3 run over the next 2:28 to take the lead for good.
Hogdson, whose 21 points marked her high as a Tar Heel, hit a three in front of the Carolina bench, took the foul and then made a free throw for a four-point play that put Carolina up 72-69 with 5:12 remaining, and UNC never trailed again. She made every shot she took in the fourth quarter: three 3-pointers and five free throws for 14 points in the period.
Ustby finished with a team-high eight boards to go with her 19 points, and Kelly led the way in assists with seven, equal to her season high and one shy of her career high.
Sophomore Destiny Adams provided a spark off the bench, playing the whole fourth quarter and finishing with five points (2-2 from the field) and five boards.
23 ноя 2022
