By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Today’s lesson for 1,500 kids from 15 schools at Field Trip Day: How to blowout and dominate an opponent with defense and team play.
There were ear-splitting screams when UNC 3-pointers rippled the net. The students who packed Carmichael Arena on Wednesday enjoyed the education as the No. 17 Tar Heels schooled Hampton in a 62–32 victory in a game that started at 11 a.m.
“This is always a game we really look forward to, thinking about all those kids and remembering being — a long time ago now — one of those kids,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. “Really cool the energy that they brought.”
Carolina (3–0) suffocated an overmatched Hampton team (0–2) with its relentless defense that forced 29 turnovers (producing 27 points), and spread the floor to create shots on the offensive end with balanced scoring. Six players contributed to the Tar Heels’ seven 3-pointers. Fourteen of UNC’s 18 field goals were assisted.
Against the weakest of UNC’s first four non-conference opponents, this would always be a win, and there was a lot to like. But there were also areas to improve, and it got messy at times, with the Heels’ performance tailing off at the end when Hampton outscored them 11–8 in the fourth quarter.
“We’ve got to be a little bit sharper,” Banghart said. “We’ve got to play with a little better purpose, regardless of the opponent. We’ve got to be a little better on the glass.”
The most troubling statistical column was rebounding, where Hampton won that battle 34–33 and rebounded 25% of Carolina’s misses.
Senior guard Deja Kelly again led the Tar Heels in scoring with 12 points, and they got good games from junior Boston College transfer center Maria Gakdeng (10 points, nine rebounds and a team-high 12.2 game score), senior wing Alyssa Ustby (seven points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, 8.5 game score), sophomore guard Paulina Paris (11 points, 2 assists and a steal, 8.6 game score) and junior Iowa State transfer guard Lexi Donarski (eight points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals).
The Tar Heels have so much talent in the backcourt with Deja Kelly, Paris, Donarski, Reniya Kelly and Kayla McPherson, and they are all building chemistry early in the season.
“We’re all pretty versatile from that backcourt spot,” Deja Kelly said. “I think that’s what makes us kind of flow and be able to play well with each other. Obviously, we have a bunch of different lineups throughout the game. Just being able to get used to playing with different people at different spots. I think it’s something we’re still working through. But just being able to have that much depth at that spot, I think is just very encouraging.”
Paris, who has played well in the first three games coming off the bench, says the deep group of guards are supporting each other and working to get better.
“It’s so easy to play with them because we all know where we’re supposed to be,” Paris said. “I think, just practicing together more and just making sure that we take the next step because we’re going to start playing a lot better teams coming up.”
Senior center Anya Poole (lower-body injury) and redshirt sophomore center Teonni Key (left foot injury) were again out of uniform. Key has missed all three games and Poole the last two. Banghart said both remain day-to-day but are getting close.
Freshman Reniya Kelly started at the two spot for the third consecutive game, but Paris started there in the second half.
“I think for her to be able to step up the past three games and take on that role from jump as a true freshman, I think is huge and really good for us,” Deja Kelly said of Reniya Kelly (no relation). “She’s finding her way, and she’ll keep working through it, and we’ll keep helping her; I’ll keep helping her and talking her through it.”
UNC led after one quarter 15–6 despite going 1 or 6 from 2-point range, thanks to three 3-pointers, but scored the first 11 points of the second quarter. That was part of a 12–0 Carolina run that shot the lead up to 26–6 on a Paris fast-break layup with 4:54 left in the first half.
In rolling up a 32–13 halftime lead, Carolina scored 18 points off 19 turnovers and assisted on all but one of its 11 field goals. UNC started the second half with a 14–4 run, taking a 46–17 lead on a Gakdeng layup.
Freshman forward RyLee Grays, who didn’t play in the win over Davidson, scored her first college points on two free throws late in the third quarter and finished with two points, two rebounds and a block.
“It was really good to see Ry get some more experience and provide value when she is in,” Banghart said. “Our practices are oftentimes are more competitive than the games we play, so she’s gaining some valuable experience in practice.”
UNC took a 54–21 lead into the final quarter when the pace slowed, and the Tar Heels were 3 of 17 from the floor.
NOTES — Carolina is back at home at 3 p.m. Saturday (ESPN3) against Elon (1–2), which will lost Wednesday night at No. 14 N.C. State 90–35. The Phoenix won 90–69 at Gardner-Webb, which lost 102–49 at UNC. … Hampton’s point total was the lowest for a Carolina opponent since South Carolina State scored 25 points on last season’s Field Trip Day. … UNC has won two of three meetings with Hampton. … With many members probably in class, the pep band was smaller than normal. … RJ Davis was at the game.
No. 17 UNC 62, Hampton 32
UNC lineup combinations
| Score | Time | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Segment score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starters | 10:00 | DK | RK | Donarski | Ustby | Gakdeng | 10–4 |
| 10–4 | 5:23 | McPherson | Paris | Nivar | 0–0 | ||
| 10–4 | 3:57 | Zelaya | 5–2 | ||||
| 15–6 | End 1 | DK | Donarski | Nivar | Gakdeng | 9–0 | |
| 26–6 | 4:54 | RK | Donarski | 0–4 | |||
| 26–10 | 2:56 | McPherson | 3–0 | ||||
| 29–10 | 2:25 | Ustby | 3–3 | ||||
| 32–13 | Half | Paris | Donarski | 14–4 | |||
| 46–17 | 4:04 | McPherson | 1–0 | ||||
| 47–17 | 3:13 | Nivar | Grays | 1–0 | |||
| 48–17 | 3:03 | RK | 6–4 | ||||
| 54–21 | End 3 | DK | RK | Nivar | Ustby | 2–0 | |
| 56–21 | 8:04 | Gakdeng | 0–2 | ||||
| 56–23 | 6:40 | Paris | Donarski | Nivar | 2–0 | ||
| 58–23 | 4:11 | Zeyaya | 0–3 | ||||
| 58–26 | 2:49 | Barker | 4–6 | ||||
| 62–32 | Final |
Season statistics
| Date | Day/month | Score | Opponent/event (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | ||||
| 8 | Wednesday | W, 102–49 | vs. Gardner-Webb | 1–0 |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 74–70 | vs. Davidson | 2–0 |
| 15 | Wednesday | W, 62–32 | vs. Hampton | 3–0 |
| 18 | Saturday | W, 68–39 | vs. Elon | 4–0 |
| Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. | ||||
| 24 | Friday | W, 54–51 | Vermont | 5–0 |
| 25 | Saturday | L, 63–56 | No. 15 Kansas State | 5–1 |
| 26 | Sunday | L, 65–64 | Florida Gulf Coast | 5–2 |
| ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 65–58 | vs. No. 1 South Carolina | 5–3 |
| December | ||||
| 6 | Wednesday | W, 81–66 | vs. UNC Greensboro | 6–3 |
| Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase in Uncasville, Conn. | ||||
| 10 | Sunday | L, 76–64 | No. 10 Connecticut | 6–4 |
| ——————— | ||||
| 15 | Friday | W, 96–36 | vs. Western Carolina | 7–4 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 19 | Tuesday | W, 61–52 | No. 18 Oklahoma | 8–4 |
| ACC season | ||||
| 31 | Sunday | W, 82–76 | vs. Clemson | 9–4, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 75–51 | vs. No. 22 Syracuse | 10–4, 2–0 ACC |
| 7 | Sunday | W, 61–57 | at No. 9 Notre Dame | 11–4, 3–0 ACC |
| 11 | Thursday | L, 70–62 | at Florida State | 11–5, 3–1 ACC |
| 14 | Sunday | W, 81–68 | vs. Virginia | 12–5, 4–1 ACC |
| 18 | Thursday | W, 73–68 | at Georgia Tech | 13–5, 5–1 ACC |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 79–68 | vs. No. 23 Louisville | 14–5, 6–1 ACC |
| 25 | Thursday | W, 66–61 | vs. Miami | 15–5, 7–1 ACC |
| 28 | Sunday | L, 81–66 | at Virginia | 15–6, 7–2 ACC |
| February | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | L, 63–59 | at No. 11 N.C. State | 15–7, 7–3 ACC |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 70–61, OT | vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech | 15–8, 7–4 ACC |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 68–60, OT | at Duke | 15–9, 7–5 ACC |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 75–62 | vs. Pittsburgh | 16–9, 8–5 ACC |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 58–50 | at Wake Forest | 17–9, 9–5 ACC |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 80–70 | vs. No. 11 N.C. State | 18–9, 10–5 ACC |
| 25 | Sunday | L, 74–62 | at No. 13 Virginia Tech | 18–10, 10–6 ACC |
| 29 | Thursday | L, 78–74 | at Boston College | 18–11, 10–7 ACC |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | W, 63–59 | vs. Duke | 19–11, 11–7 ACC |
| ACC tournament Greensboro Coliseum | ||||
| 7 | Thursday | L, 60–59 | Second round: vs. Miami | 19–12 |
| NCAA tournament Columbia, S.C. | ||||
| 22 | Friday | W, 59–56 | First round: Michigan State | 20–12 |
| 24 | Sunday | L, 88–41 | Second round: No. 1 South Carolina | 20–13 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
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