SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Indya Nivar scored 10 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter and finished with five steals, Lexi Donarski added 13 points and North Carolina beat No. 16 Notre Dame 61-57 Sunday.
North Carolina (11-4, 3-0 ACC), which is 5-10 all time against the Irish, won for the first time in six tries at Notre Dame.
Sonia Citron returned from a nine-game absence due to a knee injury and scored 18 points for Notre Dame (10-3, 1-2) and Hannah Hidalgo added 17 points and 11 rebounds. KK Bransford scored 12.
Nivar made a layup, hit a jumper in the lane 22 seconds later and then converted a three-point play before Deja Kelly hit a jumper that capped a 9-0 run to open the fourth quarter and give North Carolina a 54-46 lead with six minutes to play.
Bransford answered with a 3-pointer and added a layup as the Irish scored nine of the next 10 points to tie it at 55-all when Citron hit two free throws with 3:41 left. Maria Gakdeng made 1 of 2 free throws about a minute later, UNC got a stop on the other end and Kelly missed a jumper from the elbow, but Alyssa Ustby grabbed the offensive rebound. Nivar kissed a running left-hand layup high off the glass to make it 58-55 with 1:44 to go.
Kelly missed two free throws with 15 seconds left, but Gakdeng grabbed the offensive rebound and Nivar made 1 of 2 from the foul line to make it a two-possession game. Hidalgo missed a pair of free throws with 7.1 seconds remaining, Donarski hit two from the charity stripe and Anna DeWolfe hit a jumper with 0.6 seconds left to cap the scoring.
The Irish have lost two of their last three games following a nine-game win streak.
Paulina Paris and Donarski each hit a 3-pointer in a 14-0 run that gave the Tar Heels a 12-point lead late in the first quarter. Ustby made a layup to make it 22-12 early in the second. Hidalgo made a layup and then, after she was fouled on a 3-point shot, hit two free throws to cut Notre Dame's deficit to a point with 4:33 left in the first half.
North Carolina plays its third consecutive game against a ranked opponent when the Tar Heels visit No. 22 Florida State on Thursday. Notre Dame takes on Boston College in the second of three consecutive home games Thursday.
North Carolina 61, No. 16 Notre Dame 57
NORTH CAROLINA (11-4) — Gakdeng 3-5 2-4 8, Donarski 4-11 2-2 13, Deja Kelly 3-14 0-4 6, Paris 1-1 0-0 3, Ustby 3-10 1-4 7, Poole 1-3 0-0 2, Reniya Kelly 1-6 2-2 4, Key 1-1 0-0 2, Nivar 7-11 2-3 16, Totals: 24-62 9-19 61
NOTRE DAME (10-3) — Watson 0-2 1-2 1, Bransford 4-13 3-5 12, Citron 5-13 5-6 18, DeWolfe 3-13 0-0 7, Hidalgo 6-16 5-8 17, Marshall 1-4 0-0 2, Totals: 19-61 14-21 57
North Carolina 20 11 14 16 — 61
Notre Dame 12 16 18 11 — 57
3-Point Goals—North Carolina 4-15 (Donarski 3-8, D.Kelly 0-2, Paris 1-1, R.Kelly 0-1, Nivar 0-3), Notre Dame 5-18 (Bransford 1-2, Citron 3-7, DeWolfe 1-6, Hidalgo 0-3). Assists—North Carolina 9 (Ustby 3), Notre Dame 10 (Hidalgo 4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—North Carolina 47 (Ustby 11), Notre Dame 41 (Hidalgo 11). Total Fouls—North Carolina 15, Notre Dame 15. Technical Fouls—None. A—6,418.
