The Tar Heels had more offensive success in the second quarter, but were plagued by Kitley. The graduate center scored all 12 of Virginia Tech's points in the second quarter to maintain the Hokies' lead.
UNC Senior Guard Dejah kelly He also contributed to counteracting the center's rhythm by scoring 14 points. As the first half drew to a close, Kelly hit a buzzer-beating triple off the Virginia Tech logo to bring the Tar Heels within six points of the Hokies.
“What we talked about at halftime was how much of a tailwind we had in the second quarter and that we had to pack the same punch in the third quarter,” Kelly said. Said. “Move, get out in transition, get stops.”
In the third quarter, Virginia Tech senior guard Georgia Amoore They exploded and were up by six points in the first four minutes. Graduate guard Lexi Donarski continued the pace, scoring five points of her own to keep the Hokies lead under 10 points.
After three minutes of scoring opportunities, the Tar Heels returned to the game. UNC trailed the Hokies by seven points, but Amoore closed out the third quarter with a double-digit performance with a late 3-pointer to extend the lead to 10 points.
Virginia Tech continued to play well in the final quarter, making five of eight shot attempts in the first five minutes. At the media timeout, the Tar Heels were down 17 points. With just under three minutes remaining, Usby was ejected for a foul.
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The Tar Heels scored 15 points in the fourth, but the effort proved too late.
“Our belongings were scattered all over the place,” Kelly said. Said. “But the way they played, they really denied Lexi hard and denied India.” [Nivar] really hard. They were just trying to keep us from cashing out. ”
The Tar Heels will play another road game against Boston College on Thursday in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
