By R.L. Bynum

CHAPEL HILL — All season, opposing coaches will have nightmares trying to figure out how to solve North Carolina’s tenacious defense.

Count UNCG as the latest opponent to suffer a convincing loss against the No. 14 Tar Heels still wondering how to deal with their defense for 40 minutes.

Carolina (10–1) coasted to an 80–56 victory Wednesday at Carmichael Arena, its seventh consecutive victory. It’s the Tar Heels’ best start since the 2021–22 team won its first 13 games in 2021–22 on the way to the Sweet 16.

“This far along in the season, we’re certainly glad to be sitting where we are,” said UNC coach Courtney Banghart, who had 12 of 13 players score, tied for the most in her time at UNC. “I thought we were OK tonight, quite honestly. We need our guys to finish getting through exams so that we can move on.”

When the Spartans (7–3) had reasonable offensive success early, Banghart saw some sluggish play from her defense. She unleashed a sliding, active 2–3 zone, combined with full-court pressure that cut off passing lanes and forced tough shots, leading to 15 turnovers in the final three quarters.

“I needed to find a way to get them a little more energy,” Banghart said. “This group gives you everything they have. They just were a bit slow tonight. I thought they were a little lethargic, not intentionally. It was just like their bodies [were] moving slower than their brains, so it was a way to get them moving differently.”

It worked. With little depth last season, constant aggressive defense like that wasn’t an option last season. But tonight, when every player played fewer than 15 minutes and eight played more than seven minutes, the Tar Heels kept the pressure coming.

By getting into the passing lanes, UNC constantly frustrated the Spartans, who scored 11.8 fewer points than their average and went without a field goal for the final five minutes.

Fifth-year wing Alyssa Ustby, who led UNC’s scoring for the fourth time this season with 15 points (with 8 rebounds and 4 assists), was the ringleader.

She blocked two shots and credited her team-high four steals to the full-court defensive position, with one defender up top and two guards behind her.

“Their activity and ball pressure made those guards throw loopy passes,” Ustby said. “That’s where I’m able to time [it]. … Big credit to our front line of my teammates because they made those steals possible for me. If it’s a direct-line pass, there’s no way I’m getting to those. I think the zone defense helped spark some intensity, and it made it tough for Greensboro to move the ball around and get some good looks.”

Junior guard Indya Nivar (11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal) said that the team has been working on getting in the passing lanes defensively since the summer.

“We worked with [assistant coach Adrian Walters] making sure we’re in those gaps, stunting at drives,” Nivar said. “And I think our positioning is what gives us those steals.”

Nivar, who shot 4 of 19 in the previous two games, broke out of her shooting slump with a pair of 3-pointers.

“I was working on it,” Nivar said. “So, it just finally showed. Coach Banghart has just been feeding me with confidence, making sure that I believe in the work that I put in. And today, it was a good night.”

UNCG came into the game No. 9 in the country scoring defense at 50.7 per game, but the Tar Heels (who came in No. 3) already had 44 by halftime and bettered the season-high for an opponent by 11 points.

“I think it speaks to our ability to adjust in-game,” Ustby said of the defensive switch. “That changed the intensity to slow them down, creating more offense opportunities because we picked it up on that end.”

Six of UNC’s nine first-quarter field goals were layups as the Tar Heels shook off a slow start (missing 7 of their first 9 shots) to lead 20–15 after the opening quarter with 3-pointers from Reniya Kelly (5 points, 1 assist) and Nivar.

UNCG only trailed UNC by two at halftime in last season’s 81–55 Tar Heels win. But Carolina took control with a 22–9 run with six layups to take a 17-point advantage on a 3-pointer from Lexi Donarski (7 points, 3 assists, 3 steals) with 1:16 left in the first half as UNCG went scoreless for 5½ minutes.

Jaila Lee led UNCG with 10 points when she went to the bench at the 4:15 mark with three fouls, and she only scored four the rest of the way to lead the Spartans with 14.

After UNC led 44–29 at halftime, it scored the first six second-half points to lead by 21. UNCG ended the third quarter with an 11–5 run and trailed 57–42 entering the final period. A 6–2 UNCG run cut a 19-point fourth-quarter lead to 14.With all reserves on the court, freshman guard Jordan Zubich knocked in a 3-pointer to start a 7–0 game-ending run to make the final margin 24 points.

NOTES — UNC opens ACC play at 2 p.m. Sunday at Carmichael Arena against No. 25 Georgia Tech (10–0; NET ranking of 23), which beat Louisiana-Monroe (1–5; 193 NET ranking) at home Wednesday afternoon 97–37. … Banghart said there is no clear timeline on the season debut for Kayla McPherson, who is recovering from a knee issue, but said that the redshirt junior guard is running now. … UNCG shot 40.7%, only the second UNC opponent to shoot better than 37% (UConn shot 43.1%). … UNCG was the fourth team to score at least 53 points on the Tar Heels. … Carolina was only 16 of 29 on layup attempts. … UNC shot above 60% at the free throw line for only the second time in five games (70%). … The Tar Heels are 14–0 against UNCG (194 NET ranking) and have beaten the Spartans two consecutive seasons. … Former UNC players Cetera DeGraffenreid — a three-time All-ACC selection — and Alex Miller are UNCG assistant coaches.

No. 14 UNC 80, UNCG 56

ACC standings

Team	League	Overall
California	1–0	10–1
Miami	1–0	9–1
No. 9 Duke	1–0	9–2
Florida State	1–0	9–2
No. 8 Notre Dame	1–0	8–2
Boston College	1–0	9–4
No. 25 Georgia Tech	0–0	10–0
No. 14 North Carolina	0–0	10–1
No. 22 N.C. State	0–0	7–3
Clemson	0–0	6–3
Louisville	0–0	6–4
Wake Forest	0–0	6–4
Stanford	0–1	7–3
Virginia Tech	0–1	7–3
SMU	0–1	6–5
Virginia	0–1	6–5
Pittsburgh	0–1	6–6
Syracuse	0–1	4–6

Friday’s result
California 83, Stanford 63
Sunday’s games
Miami 62, Pittsburgh 56
Boston College 94, Bryant 46
No. 22 N.C. State at Louisville, 1 p.m., ABC
No. 25 Georgia Tech at No. 14 North Carolina, 2 p.m., ACCN
Drexel at Florida State, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Eastern Michigan at No. 8 Notre Dame, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Radford at Virginia Tech, 4 p.m., ACCN Extra
Clemson at Wake Forest, 4 p.m., ACCN
Austin Peay at California, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Monday’s game
UTSA at Stanford, 3 p.m., ACCN Extra
Tuesday’s game
UMES at Virginia, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Wednesday’s games
Rice at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Florida at No. 14 North Carolina, 6:30, ESPNU
Wofford at No. 9 Duke, 7 p.m., ACCN
Syracuse at Binghamton, 7:30, ESPN+

Date	Day/month	Time/ score	Opponent/event (current rank)	TV/ record
	November
4	Monday	W, 83–53	vs. Charleston Southern	1–0
7	Thursday	W, 77–50	vs. UNCW	2–0
12	Tuesday	W, 66–47	at N.C. A&T	3–0
15	Friday	L, 69–58	vs. No. 2 UConn in Greensboro	3–1
			Battle 4 Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas
23	Saturday	W, 63–52	Ball State	4–1
24	Sunday	W, 53–36	Villanova	5–1
25	Monday	W, 69–39	Indiana	6–1
			———————————
29	Friday	W, 119–43	vs. N.C. Central	7–1
	December
			ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge
5	Thursday	W, 72–53	vs. No. 16 Kentucky	8–1
			———————————
8	Sunday	W, 72–46	vs. Coppin State	9–1
11	Wednesday	W, 80–56	vs. UNCG	10–1
15	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Georgia Tech	ACCN
			Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte
18	Wednesday	6:30	vs. Florida	ESPNU
			———————————
21	Saturday	Noon	vs. Norfolk State	ACCN Extra
			ACC season
29	Sunday	4 p.m.	at Miami	ACCN
	January
5	Sunday	1 p.m.	vs. No. 8 Notre Dame	ESPN
9	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. No. 9 Duke	TBA
12	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Boston College	ACCN
16	Thursday	8 p.m. ET	at SMU	ACCN Extra
19	Sunday	2 p.m.	at Pitt	ACCN
23	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Wake Forest	ACCN Extra
26	Sunday	Noon	vs. Florida State	ACCN
30	Thursday	TBA	at Cal	ACCN Extra
	February
2	Sunday	3 p.m. ET	at Stanford	The CW
9	Sunday	2 p.m.	at Clemson	ACCN Extra
13	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Virginia Tech	ACCN Extra
16	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. No. 22 N.C. State	ESPN
20	Thursday	6 p.m.	at Syracuse	ACCN
23	Sunday	2 p.m.	at Louisville	ESPN
27	Thursday	7 p.m.	at No. 9 Duke	ESPN
	March
2	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Virginia	The CW
5–9	Wed.–Sun.		ACC tournament Greensboro