North Carolina Tar Heels at Louisville Cardinals

Trayanna Crisp and Lanie Grant score 19 each to lead No. 9 North Carolina over Louisville 79-75

The Tar Heels (25-4, 13-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) were down by 12 with 2:25 left in the first quarter and trailed for more than 36 minutes. However, they went 8 for 10 in the fourth quarter and shot 68% (17 of 25) after halftime to extend their winning streak to seven.

The Tar Heels played without wing Alyssa Ustby, who missed her second game after suffering a knee injury against N.C. State last week.

Louisville (19-8, 12-4) dominated early and maintained the lead until Grant hit a four-point play with 2:28 remaining. Louisville regained the lead twice in the next minute, but North Carolina scored the final six points.

Jayda Curry led the Cardinals with 18 points.

Takeaways North Carolina: Crisp and Grant stepped up from the bench for the Tar Heels, who were without Ustby, their leading rebounder, and senior Maria Gakdeng, who fouled out with 4:35 left.

Louisville: The Cardinals had a chance to take third place in the ACC and beat their fourth straight ranked foe. However, second-half defensive letdowns spoiled that after the Tar Heels scored 50 points in the second half.

Key moment The Cardinals had two chances in the final seconds to force overtime or get the win, but Curry forced a bad pass in the lane for a turnover with 10 seconds left. She also missed a 3-pointer with 6 seconds remaining.

Up next North Carolina visits No. 11 Duke on Thursday. Louisville plays its home finale against Clemson on Thursday.

How can I watch Tar Heels vs. Cardinals?

• TV Channel: Tar Heels vs Cardinals 2021 College Basketball, week 16, is broadcasted on ESPN.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Location: Louisville, KY
Attendance: 11,260 | Capacity: