By Bob Sutton

CHAPEL HILL — It doesn’t have to be perfect for the No. 17 North Carolina’s women’s basketball team for it to be valuable.

That was the case with Saturday afternoon’s 68–39 victory against visiting Elon at Carmichael Arena.

“I really like this team, so I want them to be perfect right now,” Tar Heels coach Courtney Banghart said. “That’s not fair.”

So the Tar Heels pointed to many positive aspects in this latest exercise, extending their record to 4–0 with their 20th consecutive triumph in homecourt non-conference games.

So even 40.3% shooting from the floor didn’t damper what was gained for North Carolina.

“In those times, we just have to lean on each other,” said Alyssa Ustby, who racked up 16 points and 11 rebounds. “We’re missing shots that we probably made over 100 of this past week. We’re just constantly encouraging each other.”

As Banghart pointed out, this particular group of Tar Heels has played only four regular-season games.

“There’s a lot of new in this roster still,” she said. “I thought in the second half they came out and really moved the ball where we were able to get great shots. We didn’t shoot well. We didn’t finish well. But we had a lot of good scoring opportunities.”

Center Maria Gakdeng posted nine of her 13 points in the second half. She finished 6-for-10 from the field.

“I have a job to be demanding, asking for the ball,” Gakdeng said.

Deja Kelly also scored 13 points. Elon’s reserves outscored North Carolina’s backups by 18-17.

“I felt like we left too many scoring opportunities on the board,” Banghart said.

Elon was held to 30.4-percent shooting from the field, including 1-for-14 on 3-pointers. So the defense provided some of the most encouraging moments, holding a second opponent in a row below 40 points after a 62-32 handling of Hampton.

“More and more minutes, I feel very confident this group will be even better as we get going,” Banghart said.

The Phoenix (1–3) had a rough week, falling 90-35 on Wednesday night at No. 14 North Carolina State. Jessica Booth’s eight points was tops for Elon.

Check the lineup
Paulina Paris made her first start of the season but fifth of her career for the Tar Heels. That meant Reniya Kelly came off the bench.

“Our lineup is so fluid,” Banghart said. “It gives a chance to have Reniya to watch for a minute to see how they are defending.”

Paris, who was on the court to begin the second half Wednesday vs. Hampton, was scoreless on 0 of 5 shooting in nearly 20½ minutes.

She’s versatile enough to handle different roles.

“Paulina has a ton of experience,” Banghart said. “I love having experience off the bench.”

Don’t expect a rock-solid starting unit.

“I think our lineup will probably remain fluid,” Banghart said.

Welcome back

There was a sentimental aspect of this matchup. It’s the 30th anniversary of North Carolina’s 1994 NCAA championship season, when Charlotte Smith drained the winning basket. She’s the Elon coach.

“I think like all of us, Charlotte Smith being in Carmichael we’re kind of like ‘Whoa, this is special,’ ” Banghart said. “It’s really special to have her here. Special for the whole community.”

Bob Sutton is a veteran ACC sports writer who is the former North Carolina Sportswriter of the Year and was the sports editor of the Burlington Times-News for 25 years.

No. 17 UNC 68, Elon 39

Date	Day/month	Time	Opponent/event (current ranks)	TV/ record
	October
30	Thursday	L, 91–82	No. 3 South Carolina in Atlanta	Exhib.
	November
3	Monday	W, 90–42	vs. N.C. Central	1–0
6	Thursday	W, 71–37	vs. Elon	2–0
			WBCA Challenge Las Vegas
13	Thursday	L, 78–60	vs. No. 4 UCLA	2–1
15	Saturday	W, 82–68	vs. Fairfield	3–1
			———————————
20	Thursday	W, 85–50	at N.C. A&T	4–1
23	Sunday	W, 94–48	vs. UNCG	5–1
			Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico
27	Thursday	W, 83–48	vs. South Dakota St.	6–1
28	Friday	W, 85–73	vs. Kansas State	7–1
29	Saturday	W, 80–63	vs. Columbia	8–1
	December		ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge
4	Thursday	W, 79–64	at No. 2 Texas	8–2
			———————————
7	Sunday	W, 82–40	vs. Boston Univ.	9–2
14	Sunday	L, 76–66, OT	vs. No. 16 Louisville	9–3, 0–1 ACC
17	Wednesday	W, 84–34	vs. UNCW	10–3
21	Sunday	Noon	vs. Charleston Southern	ACCN Extra
29	Monday	8 p.m.	at Boston College	ACCN
	January
1	Thursday	Noon	vs. California	ACCN
4	Sunday	1 p.m.	vs. Stanford	ESPN
11	Sunday	1 p.m.	at No. 20 Notre Dame	ESPN
15	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Miami	ACCN Extra
18	Sunday	2 p.m.	at Florida State	The CW
22	Thursday	8 p.m.	at Georgia Tech	ACCN
25	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Syracuse	The CW
	February
2	Monday	6 p.m.	at N.C. State	ESPN2
5	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Clemson	ACCN
8	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Wake Forest	ACCN
12	Thursday	6 p.m.	vs. SMU	ACCN
15	Sunday	1 p.m.	at Duke	ABC
19	Thursday	6 p.m.	at Virginia Tech	ACCN
22	Sunday	Noon	vs. Pittsburgh	ACCN
26	Thursday	7 p.m.	at Virginia	ACCN Extra
	March
1	Sunday	Noon	vs. Duke	ESPN
			ACC tournament
4–8	Wed.-Sun		Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga.
			NCAA tournament
20–24	Fri.-Mon.		First, second rounds
27–30	Fri.-Mon.		Regionals Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, Calif.
	April
3, 5	Fri., Sun		Final Four Phoenix