Onalaska’s Donarski, North Carolina need to beat Duke at Cameron Indoor to get out of Sweet 16
She’s played in every NCAA tournament of her collegiate career, and Friday, Onalaska native Lexi Donarski could get further than she’s ever gotten.
To do that, though, her 12th-ranked, third-seeded North Carolina women’s basketball team is going to have to get by Duke, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Tipoff is 1:30 p.m. Friday on ESPN.
The Blue Devils (28-7) are ranked seventh and seeded second.
The two teams have split this season, with each winning at home. The Tar Heels (29-7) won 53-46 in overtime back on Jan. 9, while Duke won 68-53 on Feb. 27.
Donarski has been to the Sweet 16 one other time — sophomore year at Iowa State. She transferred to North Carolina last season and they lost to eventual national champions, South Carolina, which finished the season undefeated.
Donarski opened the tournament scoring 19 points — 17 of those in the third quarter alone, where she came out of the locker room and went on an 11-0 run by herself.
Donarski nailed five 3-pointers in that quarter, which is one off her career high for 3s in a game.
In Round 2, Donarski cooled off, going 1-for-7 from beyond the arc. She finished with 11 points in the win over West Virginia.
Offensively, against Duke this season, Donarski has struggled, going a combined 4-for-14 from the field and 2 of 5 from deep.
What’s hard ton convey statistically is Donarski’s role on defense. She played all but 1 minute in the West Virginia win, where North Carolina held the Mountaineers to 24.1% shooting.
TOP PHOTO: FILE – North Carolina’s Lexi Donarski (20) and South Carolina’s Tessa Johnson (5) reach for the ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Chapel Hill, N.C., Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)