The Energy of Youth vs. The Experience of Age: North Carolina’s Seniority Prevails over Duke’s Talented Underclassmen on Senior Day

It wasn’t pretty for North Carolina. Yet, is it ever pretty when the Tobacco Road rivals meet on the court? 19 total team turnovers. A blown 15 point lead. 46.2 percent shooting from the free throw line, including four missed free throws in the last two minutes.

UNC gave Duke every possible chance to steal a win on their home court inside Carmichael Arena. But Sunday’s game for the Tar Heels was a bit different from every other game this year, and not just because it was against their most hated rival. It also happened to be Senior Day. 

Therefore, it was only fitting that UNC’s seniors were the players who had fueled the team to a 63-59 victory over the Blue Devils. The team was stretched thin, down three key players to injuries. And the last time the teams met, Duke defeated UNC in an overtime heartbreaker at Cameron Indoor. The Heels needed this game more than any other this season, so it was going to take a little something extra from the seniors who had helped build this team from the ground up. 

“Biggest thing I take away is that when those four seniors came to Carolina, the program was in a time of transition,” said UNC head coach Courtney Banghart. “They trusted me, they trusted the place, and fell in love with it along the way.”

In a game that had featured six ties and ten lead changes through three quarters, the score was knotted at 46-46 going into the fourth quarter. Both teams recognized that a single scoring run could put themselves in a stellar position to win the game. 

Senior forward Alyssa Utsby scored 17 points, which Duke head coach Kara Lawson accredited after the game had concluded.

“I mean, listen, she's a talented player,” said Lawson. “And obviously, you know, a senior on Senior Day, and certainly losing the first game and not playing well.”

However, it was a lesser-known senior forward who had ignited a 9-0 run for UNC. Alexandra Zelaya hit a three pointer from the top of the key at the start of the fourth quarter, her second of the game, which was followed by back-to-back jump shots from senior guard Deja Kelly and a putback layup from junior center Maria Gakdeng to make the score 55-46.

Duke punched back with a run of their own, led by a group of their underclassmen guards who had given the Heels trouble throughout the game. The result found the Blue Devils down 61-58 at the free throw line with ten seconds remaining. Sophomore guard Taina Mair sank the first, but missed the second. The live ball was rebounded by Duke senior center Kennedy Brown, who found herself under the basket with a chance to tie the score and send the game to overtime. 

Utsby, who had gone cold on the offensive in the fourth quarter, soared in for a block on Brown’s layup attempt, corralled the ball, and swung it to Kelly who was fouled up two points with five seconds left. Kelly, who had already missed five free throws, swished both to put the game to rest. Kelly was asked after the game what was going through her head at the line at that moment.

“That I need to hit my damn free throws because I missed every other one,” said Kelly. “I just knew I had to knock those down, and that would ultimately seal the game.”

Ustby and Kelly, UNC’s senior leaders, finished the Senior Day game with 17 and 18 points respectively and had each made respective game winning plays for the Heels down the stretch.

“One of the biggest things is their grit and their competitiveness,” said UNC graduate guard Lexi Donarski. I feel like with both of them, Coach always says they're relentless. They're tough… Just with their effort, and the way that they play every single possession.”

In a contest that required knowing how to win in late-game situations, UNC’s seniority had the advantage over Duke’s majority-underclassmen roster. Lawson acknowledged as much while discussing the pros and cons of coaching her younger squad.

“The bad is like learning and for my group to be in like a possession game,” said Lawson. “You just don't have a lot of those. And I have eight of my eleven are freshmen and sophomores.”

Duke, who was looking to tie the series record against North Carolina at 54-54, went into the 108th meeting with the game plan of utilizing their deeper, more physical roster against UNC’s injury-depleted group. However, the Heels had prepared for this strategy.

“I knew that today was gonna be very physical and I was gonna get pushed around a little bit,” said Utsby. “But I also had to understand that I had to not let my ego take over… I had to make sure that I stayed cool and just kind of let the game flow.”

The strategy by the Blue Devils was sound, especially since their opponent was relying on players off the bench like freshman guard and recent scholarship recipient Sydney Barker, who drained a triple of her own at the end of the third quarter.

But every strategy has holes, and the major hole in this case was UNC’s superior experience.

“There's no doubt as a player, the more that you're in situations, the more comfortable you are,” said Lawson. “And the more you know how you're going to respond physically, and even emotionally.”

Looking ahead, the Heels will be planning for ACC Tournament play after securing the 8th seed and a first round bye. 

“It's a Thursday game, so I've got two days of them on the court to prepare a game plan,” said Banghart. “So now it's more about what tweaks do we have to make or where do we have to be different.”

UNC will be playing the 9th seed Miami Hurricanes, who they beat at home last January 66-61, the winner of which will play the number one seed Virginia Tech Hokies the day after.   

Having said that, the Heels will take the necessary time to rest and relish over their monumental rival-victory from Sunday.

Senior Days in the present climate don’t carry as much weight as they used to with the option of returning and using the COVID extra year of eligibility. Nevertheless, just knowing there was a possibility this could have been the final opportunity to play in Carmichael Arena, North Carolina’s seniors wouldn’t allow Duke’s energetic youth to overcome their aged experience.

“I was just so happy,” said Utsby. “Like it's a long season and it's hard to get any win in the ACC, let alone when you're playing your rival and a part of a huge tradition. So to pull off something like we did tonight, it was really special.”