No. 16 UNC women's basketball overpowers Ball State, 63-52, in the first round of Battle 4 Atlantis

The No. 16 North Carolina women’s basketball team (4-1) defeated Ball State (4-1), 63-52, on Saturday night in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament at Imperial Arena in the Bahamas.

Riding an excellent performance from the 3-point line, North Carolina’s agile offense overpowered Ball State. The Tar Heels drained seven threes in this game to dominate on the offensive end, led by first-year guard Lanie Grant, who drained three 3-pointers and amassed a career-high 15 points to help the Tar Heels conquer the Cardinals.

“Since the start of the season, this is something that we’ve been preparing for,” Grant said. “Andrew and Jodie, our staff, have been pushing us in practices, and this has just been the standard – knowing that we have three games in three days.”

The first quarter was a back-and-forth battle. The Tar Heels were scoreless for the first two minutes of the game before first-year center Blanca Thomas broke through on a second-chance layup in her first start of the season.

North Carolina struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the first quarter, shooting 2-9 from the field in the first five minutes of the game. Despite these offensive struggles, the Tar Heels caught on fire from the 3-point line with two minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Graduate guard Lexi Donarski got the Tar Heels started from beyond the arc with a left wing 3-pointer, beginning the onslaught continued by Grant and graduate forward Alyssa Ustby on the ensuing North Carolina possessions. 

The Tar Heels ended the first quarter on a 9-0 run over less than two minutes, which granted the Tar Heels a tentative cushion, up 19-10, after spending much of the first quarter knotted with the Cardinals.

Ustby found Thomas positioned perfectly under the basket for an easy layup, leading to a Ball State timeout as the Tar Heels grasped an eleven-point lead with six minutes remaining in the half.

North Carolina found their offensive groove in the first half thanks to sharing the ball, accumulating ten assists on eleven field goals. 

With two minutes remaining in the second quarter, Grant drained her second three of the first half to put the Tar Heels up by 13. North Carolina drained six threes in the first half.

After a lengthy scoring drought, Ball State senior guard Madelyn Bischoff drained a three from the center of the circle. Bischoff kept Ball State in this game, taking a charge to end the first half that led to free throws by Ball State star senior guard Ally Beck.

Ball State kept North Carolina within arms length, cutting the lead to six thanks to an 8-0 run to end the half down 35-29.

Coming out of the locker room, sophomore guard Reniya Kelly found the open lane, putting her head down and driving to cash in for the tough driving layup to give North Carolina a ten-point lead.

A series of powerful drives sustained North Carolina’s lead in the third quarter, but Bischoff continued to find the nylon from the 3-point line, scoring back-to-back threes to cut the lead to four, 41-37.

The Tar Heels remained calm and collected despite Bischoff’s hot shooting. A driving layup by Kelly set off a 7-0 run for the North Carolina offense, taking advantage of points off fast breaks and opponent turnovers.

“We just kept trying to really break their will on the defensive end, and it was the issue of making sure we got good shots,” head coach Courtney Banghart said. “We turned the ball over four times less in the second half, so that’s four more shots we get.”

Despite the continued attack from the 3-point line, Ball State continued to respond behind Bischoff and a series of North Carolina turnovers, completing a 4-0 run with over a minute left in the third quarter.

Nivar found her groove to begin the fourth quarter, ending a scoring drought of two minutes for the Tar Heels after driving to the basket for an up-and-over layup that fell – plus the foul. North Carolina led, 56-45.

A slow fourth quarter saw both teams exchange free throws, as Ball State was unable to find an offensive spark to counter North Carolina’s double-digit lead. 

“This team is committed to playing their butts off every 40-minute game,” Ustby said. “That’s something to be really excited about and we’re ready for the challenge.”

The Tar Heels will play the winner of Texas A&M and Villanova at 4 p.m. on Sunday for the semifinal round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

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