Virginia rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit to tie the game in the third quarter, but North Carolina pulled away late to lock down an 81-68 win on Sunday in Chapel Hill.
The loss was the fifth straight for UVA (8-8, 0-5 ACC), which got 16 points and seven rebounds from Camryn Taylor, one of four Cavaliers in double figures.
Deja Kelly finished with a game-high 27 points on 8-of-17 shooting for the Tar Heels (12-5, 4-1 ACC).
The Tar Heels grabbed their largest lead of the game (28-14) with 7:21 to go in the second quarter, but Virginia closed out the half by scoring seven unanswered to cut it back to a two-possession game at the break, 37-32.
Virginia tied the game for the first time, 52-52, after another 7-0 run scoring run that was capped by a pair of made free throws by Taylor with 28 seconds to play in the third.
Carolina scored the first five points of the fourth quarter and later orchestrated an 8-0 run to fuel a 28-point fourth quarter.
The Cavaliers’ last made field goal was a 3 by Johnson with 4:55 to play, at which point UNC led, 65-61. Virginia made seven free throws in the final 1:32, but was it not enough as the Tar Heels tallied their fifth consecutive win over the Cavaliers.
Freshman guard Kymora Johnson scored eight of her 13 point total points in the fourth, connecting on a three and sinking five free throws.
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Chris Graham
