By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina’s loaded non-conference women’s basketball schedule includes another perennial national power this weekend, with other challenging layers added.
The No. 24 Tar Heels showed that they could play with any team in the country when it gave undefeated and top-ranked South Carolina (8–0) its toughest game of the season before losing 65–58 at Carmichael Arena on Nov. 30. The Gamecocks then beat Duke by 16 on Sunday, and have won every other game by an average margin of 51.6 points.
No. 17 UConn (5–3) will give UNC (6–3) another measuring-stick game, but this one will be in front of a partisan Huskies crowd at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
“When you have a good team, you schedule good games,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. “It’s good for women’s basketball.”
Carolina’s game is the last of three matching ranked teams at the Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase, with No. 20 Florida State (7–2) meeting No. 2 UCLA (8–0) at noon and the Gamecocks taking on No. 11 Utah (8–1) at 2:30 p.m. All three games will air on ESPN, as well as the WNBA draft lottery at 4:30.
The Huskies’ record isn’t what you’d generally expect from UConn, and the program’s streak of 356 consecutive weeks ranked in the top 15 is over. But they have two players who ESPN projects to go high in the 2024 WNBA draft: 6–0 redshirt junior point guard Paige Bueckers (the projected No. 2 pick) and 6–3 senior power forward Aaliyah Edwards (No. 5).
Bueckers, back after missing last season while rehabbing from surgery to repair a torn left ACL, leads UConn in scoring (19.0 points per game) and 3-point shooting (15 3-pointers, 45.5%) while shooting 49.1% from the floor, with 23 assists, 15 steals and five blocks. Edwards is averaging 15.8 points, leads the team in shooting (58.1%) and rebounding (7.3 per game), and has 15 assists, 15 steals and six blocks.
Junior 5–11 star guard Azzi Fudd suffered season-ending tears to the ACL and medial meniscal in her right knee in practice after only two games, which was a big blow to the Huskies. UConn already went into the season without sophomore forward Ayanna Patterson (offseason knee surgery) and redshirt freshman 6–5 center Jana El Alfy (tore Achilles tendon in July).
The Tar Heels, who traveled Friday afternoon to Connecticut, have also dealt with injury issues and haven’t had every player on the roster available for any game this season.
Banghart has had to improvise her rotation game-by-game based on which players the medical staff clears to play. In the UNCG game, that didn’t include redshirt sophomore forward Teonni Key, who has yet to make her season debut as she recovered from a foot injury, or two guards — sophomore Paulina Paris and redshirt sophomore Kayla McPherson — who are day-to-day with undisclosed injuries.
“The story of the season so far is that I don’t know who will be cleared and who will play, and that’s kind of how it goes,” Banghart said. “But I know the ones who will wear the uniform will give us everything they’ve got.”
Banghart says Bueckers — who scored 15 points in UConn’s 90–63 home win Wednesday over Ball State — presents plenty of challenges for UNC’s defense with her shiftiness, quick release and facilitating ability, calling her the focal point of the Huskies’ offense.
“If you liken it to football, she’s their quarterback. She’s their Tom Brady,” Banghart said. “You can’t gently ask Tom Brady to not play well; you’re gonna have to outplay him. So, we will do our best to defend the way that we decide, based on what we’re watching.”
Bueckers is from Hopkins, Minn., and has played with and against Lexi Donarski, an Iowa State graduate transfer from La Crosse, Wisc., (near the Minnesota border) and against senior wing Alyssa Ustby from Rochester, Minn.
“It’ll be a fun matchup,” said Ustby, who is averaging 11.0 points and a team-leading 8.4 rebounds, with 10 blocks and team-leading totals of 29 assists and 17 steals (sharing that latter lead with senior point guard Deja Kelly). “I think just taking our competitiveness on the road. We’ve been in great environments so far this year, and we expect the same against UConn. So, just keeping that mentality that we’re bringing our energy, we’re going to be strong defensively and continue to get our offensive looks that we want, then I think we’ll have a good game.”
Donarski scored season-highs of 22 points and six 3-pointers in Wednesday’s 81–66 home victory over UNCG, which she said came after plenty of good practices after the South Carolina game.
“I think we’ll be focused on just continuing to get better in practice every day leading up to that game and focusing not only on the scouting report, but also on ourselves — a lot of the stuff we can control, like the way we play, the way we move the ball, the shots that we’re getting,” Donarski said.
From the perimeter, the shooting (26.6% from 3-point range) and defense (the last three opponents have made 40.6%, 54.5% and 53.3% of their 3-point attempts; UNC is 11th in the ACC in opponent 3-point shooting percentage at 32.3%) hasn’t always been there for the Tar Heels. But Banghart said the effort has been consistent, calling the two losses at “the icebox” in the Gulf Coast Showcase at a minor-league hockey arena in Estero, Fla., the anomaly.
“It’s never an issue with competitiveness,” said Banghart, who never gives a thought about whether her team will give everything it has in a game. “For me, it’s how are we going to execute; how are we going to guard; how are we going to handle Paige; what are we going to do on the glass? — the things that contribute to winning. Fortunately, I don’t doubt these kids’ hearts.”
Defense has been a cornerstone of Carolina’s success this season, with the Tar Heels tied for the ACC lead and 11th in the country in turnover margin (+7.56) and tied for second in the ACC in scoring defense (55.6 points per game).
Deja Kelly leads UNC and is sixth in the ACC in scoring (16.1 points per game). She tied her career-high with eight assists against UNCG. Junior Boston College transfer Maria Gakdeng (10.9 points per game) leads the team in shooting percentage (71.4%) and blocks (11).
NOTES — UConn is 37–1 all-time at Mohegan Sun Arena. … UConn leads the series with Carolina 7–4 and has won five in a row, including 86–35 in the last meeting on Jan. 16, 2012, in Storrs, Conn., when the Huskies were No. 3 and the Heels No. 24. Carolina last won when the No. 9 Tar Heels beat the No. 4 Huskies in the Jimmy V Classic at the RBC Center (currently called PNC Arena) in Raleigh on Nov. 21, 2004. … Both teams have been ranked in 10 of the 12 meetings, with only UConn ranked when they met in 2001 and neither ranked in the first meeting, which UNC won 84–51 in Chapel Hill on Jan. 12, 1980. … UNC is 38–7 in regular-season non-conference games under Banghart, with wins in 21 of the last 22. … The Tar Heels are 16–1 under Banghart when they make over 50% of their shots and have done it in two of their last three games (51.2% vs. Florida Gulf Coast and 51.6% vs. UNCG).
UNC-UConn series
UConn leads 7–5
Jan. 12, 1980, in Chapel Hill — UNC 84, UConn 51
March 26, 1994, in Piscataway, N.J., East Regional final — No. 4 UNC 81, No. 3 UConn 69 (UNC won NCAA title)
Dec. 2, 1995, in Richmond, Va. — No. 2 UConn 77, No. 24 UNC 62
Nov. 15, 2001, in Storrs, Conn. — No. 1 UConn 97, UNC 74 (UConn won NCAA title)
Nov. 21, 2004, in Raleigh, Jimmy V Classic — No. 9 UNC 71, No. 4 UConn 65
Dec. 5, 2005, in Hartford, Conn. — No. 7 UNC 77, No. 8 UConn 54
Jan. 15, 2007, in Chapel Hill — No. 2 UNC 82, No. 6 UConn 76
Jan. 21, 2008, in Storrs, Conn. — No. 1 UConn 82, No. 3 UNC 71
Jan. 19, 2009, in Chapel Hill — No. 1 UConn 88, No. 2 UNC 58 (UConn won NCAA title)
Jan. 9, 2010, in Storrs, Conn. — No. 1 UConn 88, No. 7 UNC 47 (UConn won NCAA title)
Jan. 17, 2011, in Chapel Hill — No. 3 UConn 83, No. 10 UNC 57
Jan. 16, 2012, in Storrs, Conn. — No. 3 UConn 86, No. 24 UNC 35
UNC season statistics
UConn 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 via @UConnWBB
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