The No. 14 North Carolina women’s basketball team may have already had five games under its belt, but in some ways its season didn’t truly begin until Wednesday night.
Playing about 400 miles north of Carmichael Arena, the team’s first road audition — and first match up against a ranked opponent — didn’t turn out as the team might’ve hoped.
The Tar Heels (5-1) wasted a stellar 27-point performance by freshman Brittany Rountree and a double-double by senior Laura Broomfield in a 103-84 defeat at the hands of No. 16 Penn State.
UNC was down by seven at halftime but could only muster a 30.3 field goal percentage in the second half. Penn State, on the other hand, shot for 50 percent from the field in the half as it pulled away from the Tar Heels.
Both Broomfield and redshirt freshman Shannon Smith returned to the court for UNC after missing Sunday’s game against Kennesaw State due to injury.
Broomfield picked up where she left off, scoring 21 points and racking up 17 rebounds, while Smith tallied three assists in her 20 minutes of play.
After a one-week layoff, the Tar Heels will once more take the Carmichael court next week when they host Lipscomb on Wednesday.
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