Brianna Butler received a handoff and curled from the right corner to the wing. Bria Day screened Butler’s defender, opening a sliver of space to shoot, but Day’s defender stuck a hand in Butler’s face as she hurled a 3-point attempt.

The ball didn’t even graze the rim and floated under the hoop’s netting with eight seconds remaining and Syracuse trailing by two. Cornelia Fondren battled for position under the basket and extended her left arm but still couldn’t snag the Orange’s 30th offensive rebound.

Syracuse’s best chance to reclaim the lead it held for the first 36 minutes had vanished.

“It was a good look,” SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “We had a good look at the basket late in the game, it just didn’t go down.”

North Carolina (12-5, 2-0 Atlantic Coast) went on to hit four more free throws to seal a 77-73 win over visiting Syracuse (11-4, 1-1) on Thursday night at Carmichael Arena. The Orange finished 28-of-87 from the field and 9-of-29 from 3-point range. Briana Day and Brittney Sykes eventually fouled out, Alexis Peterson and Butler each had four fouls and only four SU players scored more than three points each.

After a 36-point thrashing of then-No. 12 Duke on Sunday, Syracuse’s momentum early in conference play was halted against UNC, when it was outscored by 10 in the fourth quarter and suffered its first loss of the season to an unranked team.

“That’s a good basketball team,” Hillsman said, “and we had an opportunity to win the game and we didn’t get it done. It’s disappointing not to win that game.”

The Orange jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start the game, but the Tar Heels settled down by halftime and had just one less made field goal and six fewer points.

Throughout the second half, the Orange battled foul trouble. Its key players remained on the court for much of the last 20 minutes, but they weren’t as aggressive defensively as a result, Hillsman said.

North Carolina took its first lead of the game, 66-65, with four minutes left as Destinee Walker split in between Butler and Fondren and finished a right-handed layup.

SU trailed by one with 2:16 remaining when Briana Day, the Orange’s best post player, fouled out and her twin sister Bria Day subbed in for her. North Carolina’s Stephanie Watts, who finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, hit one of two free throws and a Peterson jumper on the other end tied it at 69 with fewer than two minutes left.

But then North Carolina’s Jamie Cherry hit a jumper and, later, drove the lane and attracted Peterson’s attention, which opened up Hillary Summers underneath the hoop.

Still, with eight seconds left, Syracuse trailed by two and had a chance to take the lead or at least tie it. But Butler’s 3 fell short and a game that was once in the Orange’s grasp slipped away.

“We just didn’t guard the ball late,” Hillsman said. “They got straight line drives to the basket for layups. It’s hard to win like that.”

Published on January 7, 2016 at 11:34 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds