By R.L. Bynum
Motivation should come easy for North Carolina’s women’s basketball team on Thursday when the Tar Heels welcome Syracuse to Carmichael Arena and continue to attempt to prove the doubters wrong.
Despite winning their only game last week, the ACC opener against Clemson 82–76, the previously No. 24 Tar Heels fell out of the AP Top 25 for the first time after 33 consecutive weeks in the poll.
If Syracuse hadn’t upset Notre Dame 86–81 at home last week, the Orange probably wouldn’t have debuted in the poll at No. 25, and the Tar Heels (9–4, 1–0 ACC) would probably still be ranked. A victory over the Orange (11–1, 1–0) and a good showing Sunday at Notre Dame (9–2, 0–1) would likely return UNC to the poll.
The 6 p.m. game (ESPN3) will be Syracuse’s first road game on an opponent’s home court this season. Sunday game will be UNC’s first on an opponent’s home court.
Carolina senior wing Alyssa Ustby says consistency will be the key to the Tar Heels being a factor in the ACC race.
“It’s really all about stacking days,” she said. “So, stacking practices and then focusing on the next game, not looking too far ahead.”
After seeing Notre Dame fall to Syracuse, she knows that UNC can’t take any team lightly.
“Any team can beat anyone in the ACC, and that’s just how competitive [it is] and speaks to how good our conference is,” she said.
For the second consecutive game, UNC will deal with a team that plays an aggressive zone defnse, so experiencing that against the Tigers should be helpful.
UNC has faced a lot of star players, including UConn’s Paige Bueckers and South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso, and will face another in 5–5 Orange graduate guard Dyaisha Fair.
Fair, a preseason All-ACC pick, is 18th on the all-time NCAA scoring list with 2,927 points after scoring 27 points in the win over the Irish. She leads the team in scoring at 19.7 points per game
Alyssa Latham, a 6–2 freshman forward, collected 21 points and 12 rebounds for her second consecutive double-double and fifth of the season. She averages 11.6 points and a team-leading 8.8 rebounds.
NOTES —Ustby is one of five USBW Ann Myers Drysdale Women’s National Players of the Week. She collected 21 points and 11 rebounds against Clemson for her sixth double-double of the season and 28th of her career. She shared the honor with Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, UCLA’s Londynn Jones, Villanova’s Lucy Olsen and Colorado’s Jaylyn Sherrod. … Dean Linke and Derel Jordan will be on the ESPN3 call of the game. … Syracuse holds a 9–6 series lead and has won seven of the last nine meetings after UNC won four of the first six. The Orange won at Syracuse last season 76–67.
UNC season statistics
Syracuse season statistics
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 16 Louisville | 2–0 | 11–3 | 14 |
| Syracuse | 1–0 | 10–1 | 40 |
| Wake Forest | 1–0 | 10–2 | 125 |
| Stanford | 1–0 | 9–2 | 33 |
| No. 20 Notre Dame | 1–0 | 8–2 | 19 |
| Virginia | 1–0 | 8–3 | 29 |
| N.C. State | 1–0 | 7–4 | 30 |
| Duke | 1–0 | 4–6 | 38 |
| Clemson | 1–1 | 8–4 | 49 |
| No. 18 North Carolina | 0–1 | 9–3 | 17 |
| Virginia Tech | 0–1 | 8–3 | 63 |
| California | 0–1 | 8–4 | 68 |
| Miami | 0–1 | 6–4 | 48 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–1 | 6–6 | 254 |
| SMU | 0–1 | 5–6 | 153 |
| Florida State | 0–1 | 4–8 | 112 |
| Georgia Tech | 0–1 | 4–8 | 118 |
| Boston College | 0–1 | 4–9 | 208 |
* — Through Tuesday games
Tuesday’s result
Syracuse 72, Binghamton 54
Wednesday’s games
Clemson 78, Charleston Southern 52
No. 16 Louisville 76, Eastern Kentucky 51
UNCW at No. 18 North Carolina, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Thursday’s games
Virginia Tech at Florida State, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at Wake Forest, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Saint Francis at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Georgia Tech at N.C. State, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
South Dakota State at Duke, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Friday’s games
Mercyhurst at Syracuse, 10:30 a.m, ACCN Extra
Northeastern at Boston College, noon, ACCN Extra
SMU at Sam Houston, 6 p.m., ESPN+
No. 22 Washington at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Saturday’s games
No. 16 Louisville at No. 17 Tennessee, 11 a.m., Fox
Winthrop at Virginia, noon, ACCN Extra
South Carolina State at Florida State, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Duke at Belmont, 3 p.m., ESPN+
Sunday’s games
Charleston Southern at No. 18 North Carolina, noon, ACC Network
Radford at Virginia Tech, noon, ACCN Extra
Kennesaw State at Miami, noon, ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Davidson, noon, CBS Sports Network
Pittsburgh at Duquesne, 1 p.m., ESPN+
North Florida at Clemson, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Bellarmine at No. 20 Notre Dame, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Southern at SMU, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Oregon vs. Stanford in San Francisco, 6 p.m., ESPN
No. 19 USC vs. California in San Francisco, 8:30, ESPN
| 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 | 8 p.m. | vs. UNCW | ACCN |
| 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 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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