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. 7 Louisville | 9–0 | 19–3 | 9 |
| No. 20 Duke | 9–0 | 14–6 | 14 |
| N.C. State | 7–2 | 14–6 | 25 |
| North Carolina | 6–3 | 17–5 | 20 |
| Virginia Tech | 6–3 | 16–5 | 42 |
| Syracuse | 6–3 | 16–4 | 41 |
| Virginia | 6–3 | 14–6 | 37 |
| Clemson | 5–4 | 14–7 | 40 |
| Notre Dame | 5–4 | 13–7 | 30 |
| Stanford | 4–4 | 15–6 | 36 |
| Miami | 4–5 | 12–8 | 47 |
| Georgia Tech | 4–5 | 9–12 | 91 |
| California | 3–5 | 12–9 | 56 |
| Wake Forest | 2–7 | 12–9 | 122 |
| Florida State | 2–7 | 7–14 | 107 |
| SMU | 1–8 | 8–13 | 176 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–8 | 8–14 | 261 |
| Boston College | 0–9 | 4–18 | 256 |
* — Through Wednesday games
Thursday’s games
Virginia at Wake Forest, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Georgia Tech at Syracuse, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Boston College, 6 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at Clemson, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
No. 7 Louisville at Stanford, 8 p.m., ESPN
No. 20 Duke at Miami, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Notre Dame at California, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Sunday’s games
Wake Forest at No. 20 Duke, noon, ACC Network
No 7 Louisville at California, 1 p.m.
Virginia at Virginia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Syracuse at Miami, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Boston College at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Notre Dame at Stanford, 4 p.m.
Florida State at Clemson, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Monday’s game
North Carolina at N.C. State, 6 p.m., ESPN2
Thursday, Feb. 5, games
Syracuse at Boston College, 6 p.m.
Stanford at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Clemson at North Carolina, 6 p.m., ACC Network
No. 20 Duke at No. 7 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN
Virginia Tech at Notre Dame, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at Virginia, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
California at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Wake Forest at SMU, 7:30, ACCN Extra
Florida State at N.C. State, 8 p.m., ACC Network
| 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. 2 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. 4 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 78 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 84–34 | vs. UNCW | 10–3 |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 93–74 | vs. Charleston Southern | 11–3 |
| 29 | Monday | W, 90–38 | at Boston College | 12–3, 1–1 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–1 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–2 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 73–50 | at Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–3 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–3 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 82–55 | at Florida State | 15–5, 4–3 |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 54–46 | at Georgia Tech | 16–5, 5–3 |
| 25 | Sunday | W, 77–71, OT | vs. Syracuse | 17–5, 6–3 |
| 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 No. 20 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. No. 20 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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