The UNC women’s basketball team, one of the 2024-2025 season’s greatest success stories, just finds ways to keep on winning.
North Carolina’s latest victory came Thursday night in New York. Despite allowing Syracuse to close its fourth-quarter gap, the Tar Heels closed out the host Orange effectively for a 68-58 victory.
UNC (24-4, 12-3) won its sixth-straight game mainly due to the play of center Maria Gakdeng, who enjoyed one of her best games of the season. Gakdeng recorded her third double-double on the year, tying her season-highs with 21 points and 14 rebounds, which led all players in the game.
North Carolina shot the ball fairly well against Syracuse (10-16, 4-11), making 28-of-61 (45.9 percent) field goal attempts. The Tar Heels, who struggle at the free throw line, drained all five attempts.
While Gakdeng stole headlines with her massive game, we can’t forget about the contributions from Trayanna Crisp off the bench. Crisp poured in 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, which included two made 3-pointers.
Syracuse made this game closer-than-expected due to its ability to knock down perimeter shots, with the host Orange shooting 9-of-16 from deep. Georgia Wooley made four three and led Syracuse with 17 points, Olivia Schmitt drained three trifectas off the bench, while Sophie Burrows drained a pair of threes.
UNC will be tested to close out its February slate, with a Sunday game at fifth-place Louisville and a rematch on Thursday, Feb. 27 at Duke. North Carolina then hosts Virginia on March 2 to close out its regular season, then heads an hour west to Greensboro for the ACC Tournament.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC WBB beats Syracuse Thursday night for sixth-straight victory
