By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina is shooting down the game plans for beating the Tar Heels that some teams leaned on last season.
You can no longer stop Carolina’s perimeter shooting by shutting down Lexi Donarski or sag off Alyssa Ustby on the perimeter so that you can pack the post players around center Maria Gakdeng.
Overmatched Coppin State helplessly discovered that on Sunday afternoon, when the No. 16 Tar Heels rained in nine of their season-high 12 3-pointers in the first half on their way to a 72–46 victory at Carmichael Arena to extend their win streak to six.
“I’ve been saying it all along [that] it’s a team that can shoot when they have great shots, and these guys generated really great shots,” said UNC coach Courtney Banghart, who got 3-pointers from seven players. “We can stretch the floor at multiple positions. Most of the time, we have four legitimate 3-point shooting threats in the game, and they’re really starting to figure out how to find each other. It’s fun to watch.”
Twelve players scored for Carolina (9–1), which continued its run of outstanding defensive games.
The Tar Heels blocked seven shots and held the second consecutive opponent to season-lows in field-goal percentage and points, with the Eagles (6–5) shooting 27.3%. It was the fourth time in five games (and fifth time this season) that an opponent has scored fewer than 50 points.
Donarski took advantage of getting more open shots with nine points on three 3-pointers. Ustby fired in a pair of 3-pointers as UNC scored double-digit 3-pointers for the fifth time this season after doing it only four times last season.
All the 3-point threats created more space inside for Gakdeng, who led a balanced UNC attack with 10 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.
“Having 3-point shooters really opens up the floor,” Gakdeng said. “Now that Lys is a 3-point shooter, we don’t have as much help off, and there’s not as much doubling. So I can get to my baskets really easily.”
The cascading positive effect of Ustby’s sudden perimeter threat shouldn’t be minimized, and Banghart said that it’s a product of hard work in the offseason.
Banghart said that the staff helped her recreate her shot to add that layer to her game and that Ustby didn’t take any offseason days off. The staff broke her shot down from the moment the ball sits in her hands.
“For every shot she’s made, she’s taken 10,000 other ones to prepare for this opportunity,” Banghart said. “She knew that Maria, we think, is one of the best post players in the game at any age, and so we wanted to give her more space.”
A big element of increasing the ball movement from last year and creating space was to recruit players who could do that. Carolina brought in several newcomers to the backcourt who are making that happen, including slick-moving Richmond transfer Grace Townsend.
“We knew that Grace would be able to find shooters and find her own finishes, which I thought she did a good job tonight doing,” Banghart said. “It helps our team a lot.”
Townsend, who has come off the bench since the third game of the season, collected six points, five rebounds and two assists in nearly 16 minutes and had an impressive twisting layup in traffic.
She said that the transition to UNC has been made easier by her being only one of several newcomers.
“The new players have really been able to jell together and communicate better, but also in terms of being able to know what I came here to do,” Townsend said, “find the gaps for other people, but also open lanes for myself. So definitely still growing, and I’m really enjoying the transition.”
The Tar Heels assisted on 18 of their 28 field goals as they continued to bolster their unyielding defense with good ball movement at the other end. There were numerous contributions from the bench, including eight points and two 3-pointers from redshirt freshman Ciera Toomey and five points and three rebounds from freshman Blanca Thomas.
“I think these guys are getting more comfortable offensively,” Banghart said. “I know we’ve proven we can defend, especially as we really lock into the opponent. … You have to be able to score in March to win, and I feel like we’re getting better offensively, game to game.”
Carolina came out shooting hot from the beginning, leading 23–13 after one quarter, led by a pair of 3-pointers from Reniya Kelly (8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists).
Carolina got 3-pointers from Laila Hull, Toomey and Donarski during an 11–0 run that ballooned the lead to 21 on a Kelly jumper with 3:59 left in the first half. A Gakdeng bucket with three seconds left gave UNC a 46–27 halftime lead with nine first-half 3-pointers.
UNC let off the gas in the third quarter when it made only 2 of 9 3-point attempts and Coppin State matched the Tar Heels’ 14 points. A late Tray Crisp bucket gave the Heels a 60–41 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Toomey hit UNC’s final 3-pointer with 23 seconds left to give the Heels their biggest lead of the game at 26.
NOTES — Carolina is back at Carmichael Arena for the third of five consecutive home games, facing UNCG (7–2) at 7 p.m. Wednesday (ESPN3/ACCNX). The Spartans, with a 195 NET ranking and 215 Massey ranking, have won five of their last six games after splitting a pair of games last week at the Puerto Rico Clasico, losing 62–53 to Texas-San Antonio and beating Le Moyne 83–51. … Coppin State was the third HBCU opponent for UNC after winning at N.C. A&T 66–47 on Nov. 12 and at home 119–43 Nov. 29 against N.C. Central. … UNC has won all five meetings with Coppin State, with all five in Chapel Hill.… Carolina has started 9–1 for the third time in four seasons. … The Eagles’ previous season lows in points and field-goal percentage came when they shot 32.7% in a 70–47 loss at Maryland. … UNC honored Gakdeng before the game, standing alongside her mom and Banghart, for eclipsing the 1,000-career-point mark. … Former walk-on Sydney Barker played for the first time since the season opener, firing in a late 3-pointer. … Ustby had five of UNC’s nine fouls when she fouled out in the fourth quarter. … Carolina was 4 of 8 from the free throw line, the fifth time this season it’s shot 60% or worse.
How did UNC’s defense tame the Wildcats?
How did Carolina hold No. 14 Kentucky to season-lows in points and field-goal percentage in the Tar Heels’ decisive win on Thursday. Read this analysis from Andrew Kurzeja of how Coach Courtney Banghart changed the ball-screen coverages to limit Georgia Amoore to 10 points.
No. 16 UNC 72, Coppin State 46
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 16 Louisville | 2–0 | 10–3 | 14 |
| Syracuse | 1–0 | 9–1 | 39 |
| Wake Forest | 1–0 | 10–2 | 127 |
| Stanford | 1–0 | 9–2 | 32 |
| No. 20 Notre Dame | 1–0 | 8–2 | 18 |
| Virginia | 1–0 | 8–3 | 31 |
| N.C. State | 1–0 | 7–4 | 30 |
| Duke | 1–0 | 4–6 | 38 |
| Clemson | 1–1 | 7–4 | 50 |
| No. 18 North Carolina | 0–1 | 9–3 | 16 |
| Virginia Tech | 0–1 | 8–3 | 63 |
| California | 0–1 | 8–4 | 69 |
| Miami | 0–1 | 6–4 | 48 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–1 | 6–6 | 251 |
| SMU | 0–1 | 5–6 | 154 |
| Florida State | 0–1 | 4–8 | 112 |
| Georgia Tech | 0–1 | 4–8 | 118 |
| Boston College | 0–1 | 4–9 | 218 |
* — Through Sunday games
Sunday’s results
No. 16 Louisville 76, No. 18 North Carolina 66, OT
Charleston 73, Florida State 69
Wake Forest 57, Georgia Tech 56
Clemson 73, Pittsburgh 41
N.C. State 87, Miami 61
No. 20 Notre Dame 78, James Madison 65
Stanford 78, California 69
Virginia Tech 73, East Tennessee State 55
Tuesday’s game
Binghamton at Syracuse, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Wednesday’s games
Clemson at Charleston Southern, 11 a.m., ESPN+
Eastern Kentucky at No. 16 Louisville, 6 p.m., ACC Network
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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