Report Card: Evaluating the UNC women's basketball team so far this season

The No. 16 North Carolina women's basketball team has opened up the season 7-1 and is set to begin ACC competition on Dec. 15 against Georgia Tech. 

UNC started the year with wins over Charleston Southern, UNC Wilmington and North Carolina A&T by an average margin of over 25 points before dropping to No. 2 UConn, 69-58. In the Battle 4 Atlantis, North Carolina won the tournament title after handling Ball State, Villanova and Indiana in the Bahamas. Then, the Tar Heels trounced North Carolina Central in their last game before the ACC/SEC Challenge. 

With a tough schedule ahead, here's a report card grading how UNC has performed through its first eight games:

Offense: B+

North Carolina is shooting a solid 43 percent from the field and 33 percent from beyond the arc. UNC is also averaging 16 assists per game, an effort led by graduate forward Alyssa Ustby and graduate guard Grace Townsend. However, the Tar Heels are still on the higher end in turnovers, committing an average of 12 per contest.

UNC exploded for its greatest offensive display in the Courtney Banghart era with 119 points against N.C. Central, but in the loss to UConn — its only ranked opponent so far — the reliable veteran trio collapsed. Ustby, graduate guard Lexi Donarski and senior center Maria Gakdeng only combined for 10 points in the game, shooting a combined 3-13 from the field. 

Defense: A

The Tar Heels are ranked No. 1 in defense in the ACC and No. 6 in the country, holding their opponents to 48.6 points per game. En route to claiming the Battle 4 Atlantis title, North Carolina held Villanova to just 36 points and Indiana to 39. 

Junior guard Indya Nivar leads North Carolina in steals with 16, while first-year center Blanca Thomas has collected 11 blocks on the season. UNC is holding opponents to only 33 percent shooting from the floor and 24 percent from 3-point range.

Frontcourt: B+

While Ustby faced difficulty finding the bottom of the mesh to open the year, the graduate forward amassed a season-high 24 points against N.C. Central to go along with 10 boards. She ranks fifth in the ACC in rebounds with 10.1 per game.

In the same contest against N.C. Central, Gakdeng earned her first double-double of the season and redshirt first-year forward Ciera Toomey tied her career best of 10 points. The addition of the 6-foot-5 Thomas has also shaken rim-finishers on opposing teams. 

Backcourt: A

On the backcourt side of things, Townsend has stepped into the point guard role for UNC. She's a pass-first player who runs a quick offense for North Carolina. 

Another new addition, first-year guard Lanie Grant, recorded a new career-high of 15 points against Ball State in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Trayanna Crisp has proved to be a beneficial off-season pickup for UNC, as the junior guard from Arizona State ranks third for UNC in total points. In front of her is Donarski, who is North Carolina's most lethal 3-point shooter, converting on 34 percent from the perimeter.

Starters: B-

The starters have shown signs of weakness this season. In North Carolina's first true test of the season against UConn, four out of five starters sat on the sidelines to open the fourth quarter. The bench brought what was once a 21-point deficit back to single digits as the starting unit struggled. 

However, the starters had their best showing most recently in the blowout over N.C. Central, with Ustby, Gakdeng, Donarski and Nivar all scoring in double digits.

Bench: A

The second unit has provided great depth for a North Carolina team that was plagued with injury last season. The UNC bench — led mostly by Grant and Toomey — is averaging 31 points per game, which falls at No. 31 nationally. 

In clinching the Battle 4 Atlantis, North Carolina's bench outplayed the starters and scored 35 points against Indiana. The bench contribution has tied or exceeded the margin of victory in five of UNC's seven wins this season. 

Overall: A-

@meganosmithh

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