The North Carolina women’s basketball team took advantage of an undersized Navy team en route to an 80-40 blowout victory in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels were led by junior forward Janelle Bailey and senior guard Taylor Koenen on Monday night.
What happened?
UNC (2-0) set the tone early by feeding Bailey and first-year forward Malu Tshitenge in the post and asserting its dominance down low against the Midshipmen (2-1). With just 5:40 remaining in the first quarter, Bailey and Tshitenge had combined for six of North Carolina’s first 13 points.
The attention that those two required allowed space to open up for UNC’s guards. Redshirt senior guard Madinah Muhammad scored 11 points in the first quarter to lead all scorers. Koenen was also able to benefit, going for 6 points in the first quarter.
By the end of the first quarter, it looked like the Tar Heels were going to run away with the game as they maintained a 29-9 lead and didn’t show any signs of slowing down.
It was more of the same in the second quarter as North Carolina stretched its lead to 48-19 before halftime. Muhammad went quiet, but Bailey continued to shine.
The junior increased her point total to 14 by the break to lead all scorers. Koenen also impressed, bringing her total up to 12 points.
The rout continued in the second half. However, it was Koenen that showed out for the Tar Heels this time.
The senior matched her career-high 21 points after just three quarters. She was lights out, shooting 9-13 from the field before being pulled out of the game.
