GAMEDAY Womens Basketball
North Carolina 73, Virginia 62
Associated Press
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Freshman Kayla McPherson came off the bench to score 14 points and No. 11 North Carolina cruised to a 73-62 victory over Virginia.
McPherson has played just two games in the last 800 days. She had a knee injury that sidelined her for her senior year of high school and a different lower-body injury that kept her out of the Tar Heels' first 20 games this season. It didn't show against Virginia.
McPherson, who had eight points in North Carolina's 69-58 road win over Clemson on Sunday, connected on 6 of 10 shots with two 3-pointers and added four assists for the Tar Heels (17-5, 8-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won eight straight conference games after a three-game skid to open ACC play.
Deja Kelly finished with 13 points and five rebounds for North Carolina. Alyssa Ustby had 12 points and Anya Poole and Kennedy Todd-Williams both scored 11. Poole grabbed eight rebounds.
London Clarkson scored 23 points off the bench to lead the Cavaliers (14-9, 3-9), who have lost five straight. Clarkson made 8 of 13 shots and 7 of 8 free throws. Mckenna Dale had 15 points and nine rebounds, while Camryn Taylor scored 10.
North Carolina managed just three free throws through the first six minutes and trailed by a point. Poole hit a jumper at the 3:17 mark and McPherson made two baskets in the final 94 seconds to give the Tar Heels a 9-8 lead after one quarter.
The Tar Heels used a 7-0 run, capped by Ustby's three-point play, to push their lead to 21-11 with 5:56 left before halftime. Ustby and McPherson each finished with five points in the quarter as North Carolina stretched its lead to 33-21 at halftime. Poole and McPherson combined to score 17 at intermission. The Tar Heels, who missed their first six shots and shot 30% in the first quarter, sank 9 of 12 attempts in the second.
North Carolina beat Virginia for a seventh straight time and for the 27th time in the last 30 games.
Virginia has lost 15 straight ACC road games and hasn't beaten a ranked team since 2017.
February 2, 2023
| Virginia | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| C. Taylor | F | 25 | 4-14 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 3-7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| M. Dale | G | 35 | 5-13 | 2-2 | 3-10 | 3-9 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 15 |
| T. Valladay | G | 34 | 3-7 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 1-4 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| A. Smith | G | 30 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 1-3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Y. Vaughn | G | 21 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 0-1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Clarkson | 31 | 8-14 | 7-8 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 23 | |
| K. Lawson | 21 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 2 | |
| C. Miller | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | 200 | 23-60 (.383) |
12-14 (.857) |
4-20 (.200) |
10-30 | 18 | 1 | 11 | 18 | 19 | 62 | |
| North Carolina | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| A. Poole | F | 22 | 4-5 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0-8 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| D. Kelly | G | 35 | 4-9 | 4-4 | 1-2 | 1-5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| P. Paris | G | 28 | 1-7 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| K. Todd-Williams | G | 28 | 5-9 | 1-2 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| A. Ustby | G | 28 | 4-5 | 4-5 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| T. Key | 18 | 0-1 | 4-6 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| K. McPherson | 18 | 6-10 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 0-2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 14 | |
| D. Adams | 11 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| A. Zelaya | 9 | 2-3 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 1-3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |
| M. Tshitenge | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Totals | 200 | 26-49 (.531) |
18-23 (.783) |
3-11 (.273) |
2-29 | 11 | 3 | 9 | 18 | 21 | 73 | |
Officials: Angelica Suffren, Mark Berger, Krystle Apellaniz
Attendance: 2,490
