March Madness: Kelly, Ustby Lead No. 8 Seed North Carolina To 59-56 NCAA Victory Over Michigan State

COLUMBIA, S.C.: Deja Kelly had 13 factors and No. 8 seed North Carolina held off a late run by No. 9 seed Michigan State for a 59-56 victory to begin the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

Maria Gakdeng had 17 factors and 10 rebounds whereas Alyssa Ustby had 16 factors and 17 rebounds, no seize larger than knocking down Kelly’s closing free throw miss with 3.2 seconds left because the clock ran out.

It appeared just like the Tar Heels (20-12) had this sewn up, opening a 16-point lead early and nonetheless main 54-42 with 3:22 to go. But the Spartans (22-9) had a closing rally in them and minimize issues to 57-56 on Theryn Hallock’s 3-pointer from the precise nook with 5.4 seconds to go.

But that was as shut as they received. Kelly did simply sufficient on the foul line as North Carolina received its third straight opening NCAA recreation.

The Spartans virtually pulled off a dramatic comeback in coach Robyn Fralick’s first season. Fralick and North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart have been longtime pals and hugged after their first-ever assembly as opposing coaches.

North Carolina will play the winner of the sport between host faculty and No. 1 total seed South Carolina and Sixteenth-seeded Presbyterian, the Big South Conference champion, which misplaced 99-29 on this flooring in December.

Ustby had 10 factors within the first and second quarters as North Carolina opened a 23-7 lead. Michigan State noticed its greatest gamers, Julia Ayrault and Moira Joiner, every choose up three fouls within the first 20 minutes.

The Spartans drew inside 35-27 on the break after Tory Ozment’s one-armed layup as she fell away from the basket.

The 18,000-seat area steadily stuffed up all through the opener of the Albany 1 Regional as South Carolina followers — the staff led the nation this season by averaging 16,489 individuals at its dwelling video games — arrived to look at the No. 1 total seed begin match play later Friday.

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North Carolina heads to a probable matchup with the host faculty, the undefeated Gamecocks, on Sunday. The Tar Heels had an 11-point lead over South Carolina at dwelling within the ACC/SEC Challenge in November earlier than falling 65-58.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket/ and protection: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)