No. 16 UNC women's basketball dominates NCCU, 119-43, recording most points under Courtney Banghart

The No. 16 North Carolina women’s basketball (7-1) overpowered North Carolina Central (0-9), 119-43, on Friday afternoon in Carmichael Arena.

Coming off of three straight wins to claim the Battle 4 Atlantis title, UNC picked up right where the team left off against N.C. Central, dominating on the defensive end and riding a series of offensive runs to secure a season-high in scoring. This marks the most points scored under head coach Courtney Banghart with six Tar Heels reaching double-figures. 

“Definitely a fun game, we all had a blast,” Ustby said. “We’re just a group that enjoys being around each other, let alone playing for the same team and for the same coach.”

North Carolina got off to a hot start as senior center Maria Gakdeng won the tip and tapped it to graduate forward Alyssa Ustby, who dumped it off to graduate guard Lexi Donarski who raced up the left side for an easy layup.

About two minutes into the first half, Gakdeng tipped in a missed 3-pointer by sophomore guard Reniya Kelly for her first points since the Tar Heels’ matchup against UConn to put the Tar Heels up 6-0.

“Part of it's a rhythm, there’s a rhythm to this game,” Banghart said. “They allowed her [Gakdeng] to kind of find her rhythm and didn’t require her to do more than that in this one — as the season goes on, we’ll continue to need a lot from her.”

Ustby then executed a fantastic sequence with four minutes remaining, blocking an attempt by NCCU and then draining a 3-pointer off of a Donarski pass. Ustby snatched the rebound on the ensuing sequence, finding Donarski for a right wing 3-pointer. The Tar Heels led, 19-5.

Junior guard Trayanna Crisp then took over the first quarter for the Tar Heels. Crisp totaled 11 points in the first quarter, grabbing her first steal and transition basket to put the Tar Heels up 26-9. On the ensuing possession, Crisp drained a three to put UNC up by 17 with under two minutes remaining in the first half.

The Tar Heels held N.C. Central without a basket for the first three minutes of the game, ending the first quarter up 34-12.

Gakdeng rejected NCCU's advances toward the basket for a soaring block to begin the second quarter. The senior center then showed her aggression on the offensive end by bumping a N.C. Central defender for the put back and-1, putting the Tar Heels up by 31 with seven minutes remaining in the first half.

Junior guard Indya Nivar battled for the offensive rebound after a missed free throw, which fell to Ustby, who found Kelly on the right wing for a 3-pointer, helping extend the Tar Heels’ lead to 35.

“This year I’ve had the most fun, and just been the most comfortable I’ve ever been playing,” Kelly said. “I have so many shooters around me and it opens up so much drive for me – it’s just been great to play with these guys.”

Donarski drained her third 3-pointer of the game to put the Tar Heels up 55-17 with five minutes remaining in the first half.

In the subsequent minutes, Ustby asserted her defensive dominance, rising for a monster block, resulting in a N.C. Central timeout with three minutes to go.

Despite some offensive struggles late in the first half, North Carolina headed into the locker room up by 40. 

Nivar skillfully wove through N.C. Central’s defense for back-to-back layups with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. UNC rode a 9-0 run in the third quarter to cushion its double-digit lead. 

An offensive frenzy ensued for the Tar Heels to end the third quarter. 

Graduate guard Grace Townsend raced up the side of the defense for a transition basket to put the Tar Heels up 89-31. Redshirt first-year forward Ciera Toomey converted on a powerful fast-break layup to extend the Tar Heels’ lead to 60.

North Carolina held NCCU to six points in the third quarter, continuing its defensive domination to enter the fourth quarter up 94-35.

Townsend drove into a wall of N.C. Central defenders for the up-and-over layup plus a free throw, extending the Tar Heels’ lead to 62. Toomey converted on back-to-back layups to help the Tar Heels cross the 100-point threshold up 103-35 with seven minutes remaining.

First-year guard Jordan Zubich drained back-to-back 3-pointers to end the game. Zubich’s first 3-pointers of the season extended the Tar Heels’ lead to 74.

North Carolina ended the game continuing its offensive hot streak, defeating the Eagles 119-43.

“I’ve liked our offense, I feel like we’ve gotten better on both ends every game,” Banghart said, “If we keep going on that, which I have great confidence our leadership will ensure we do, then we’ll just keep getting better.”

The Tar Heels will face off against No. 14 Kentucky back at Carmichael on Thursday at 5 p.m. in the ACC-SEC Challenge.

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