By R.L. Bynum
CHARLOTTE — Carolina coach Courtney Banghart could see it in her players’ eyes and Florida never saw it coming. The Tar Heels’ relentless defense claimed another victim on Wednesday night.
Florida came into the Jumpman Invitational averaging 83.2 points and shooting 50.1%, but the No. 19 Tar Heels knocked the Gators off their game, particularly in the first half.
The Gators shot a season-low 31.4% and scored 17 points fewer than their previous season-low as UNC rolled to a 77–57 victory at the Spectrum Center.
“I can see it in their eyes when they’re going to really defend,” said Banghart, whose team held the Gators to 26.7% shooting in the first half. “And when they really defend, that’s so fun, because it allows us to show our connectedness, and then the offense can flow from that.”
UNC (11–2) rebounded from a rough defensive effort in Sunday’s 82–66 home loss to undefeated Georgia Tech and has held 10 teams to 56 points or fewer.
“For [the first] three quarters, we didn’t like any of our defensive possessions,” Banghart said of the 82–76 loss to the unbeaten Jackets. “Really great bounce-back, getting to what we do defensively and made their plan A and B very difficult.”
UNC’s 6–3 senior center Maria Gakdeng gave up three inches in her matchup with Florida senior Ra Shaya Kyle. But Gakdeng held her own with a game-high 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds, getting Kyle (who came into the game averaging 16.5 points) into foul trouble and holding her to a season-low eight points.
“I take pride in defense, so knowing that she’s going to be a rebounder and scorer, I knew it would be a big game for me,” said Gakdeng, who has led UNC in scoring for three of the last four games. “I knew that also I’d have to attack her on offense, get her in foul trouble.”
There were issues at times with post-entry passes going too high, but when Gakdeng got the ball, she was hard to stop, making five of six shots.
“She’s just a problem,” Banghart said. “Her footwork is impeccable. She’s well-conditioned. She’s got a really good touch. She now can go over her left side as well. She’s gotten a lot better here. She’s a much different player than she was last year, and I can’t tell you much work went into that with her physicality.”
Gakdeng scored eight first-half points when Carolina quickly took control of the game.
“It’s important for me to demand [the ball] early on,” Gakdeng said. “That’s how I started the game, getting some low-post touches just to get me going, get my confidence going. So that’s what kind of fueled me throughout the rest of the game.”
Gakdeng was a huge factor on defense, but it was an outstanding team effort to muffle the offense for the Gators (7–5). The Tar Heels did a good job of guarding their assigned player, ensuring they were in good position to help, and being active in the passing lanes.
“I thought our guys really did a good job making sure there were no islands out there, either in the low post or in the perimeter,” Banghart said. “I thought our angles were great. I thought our angles were not so great on Sunday. That means that you’re not in help and you’re not guarding, you’re not really doing anything, you’re just on the floor. And our angles were excellent. I think off ball of one and two passes away, our contest at the point of the ball was really good.”
Florida committed 20 turnovers, only the third time this season that it has had at least 20, and UNC scored 21 points off of them. The Gators came in averaging six 3-pointers but were 2 of 13 from outside the arc.
Cool and confident beyond her years, freshman guard Lanie Grant — the age of a high school senior — was impressively efficient with 13 points, three 3-pointers, four rebounds and two steals in 18 minutes while battling foul trouble.
“I take all of my confidence from my preparation and the work that I’ve known that I put in, and I know that I’ve logged the hours at Carolina and before I got here,” Grant said. “Coach said she’s very confident of my skills on the offensive end, so I have the freedom to kind of get my teammates involved and also look for my own shots.”
The biggest adjustment from high school junior to college freshman has been on the defensive end. But she’s put in the work to learn how to be a good college defender and it’s shown through 13 games.
“We were watching film in my room [Tuesday],” Banghart said, “and we talked about angles, and I showed her some defensive growth, and just told her, ‘I trust you on the offensive end; I’m not even going to talk about that.’ The kid’s totally locked in.”
After a choppy first few minutes, UNC went on a 19–3 run over the last 5:13 of the first quarter to lead 23–7 with four 3-pointers, two from Grant.
Grant scored 10 of 12 UNC points during a stretch that gave the Heels a 17-point lead with 6:58 left in the first half. The lead was 21, 41–20, at halftime on a Grace Townsend bucket at the buzzer.
Like in some other games, UNC hit a third-quarter lull after Reniya Kelly (9 points, 3 assists) hit a jumper to cap a 10–4 run to start the period. Sloppiness and poor shooting helped the Gators score 14 consecutive points — 10 from the free-throw line — as UNC went scoreless for nearly 4½ minutes before Laila Hull scored a 3-pointer.
After a game-high 27-point lead shrank to 13, UNC scored nine consecutive points and led 59–40 after three quarters. With the bench cleared, Carolina only outscored Florida 18–17 in the fourth quarter, when the lead never got under 18.
Guard Liv McGill, Florida’s leading scorer at 16.5 points per game, led Florida with 15 points. Guard Jeriah Warren, who averages 14.7, scored only six.
NOTES — Carolina returns home at noon Saturday to face Norfolk State (11–3) in the Tar Heels’ final nonconference game. The fourth HBCU opponent this season, the Spartans beat Drexel at home Wednesday night 68–56. … UNC is 2–1 in the Jumpman Invitational after losing to Michigan 76–68 in 2022 and beating Oklahoma 61–52 in 2023. … Carolina leads the series with the Gators 4–1, with all five games at neutral sites; the last previous meeting was a 68–48 in Champaign, Ill, on Nov. 23, 1997. … UNC was Florida’s fourth ACC opponent. The Gators lost at home Nov. 16 to Miami 83–73, at Florida State 98–73 on Nov. 22 and won Dec. 5 at Clemson 77–64. … The crowd was substantially smaller than the first night of the Jumpman Invitational, so much so that curtains obscured the upper arena of the Spectrum Center. … Florida’s season-low point total came in a 77–62 Nov. 29 loss to James Madison, and its previous worst shooting game was 42.4% in an 82–54 win on Nov. 3 against Florida Atlantic.
No. 19 UNC 77, Florida 57
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| No. 17 Georgia Tech | 1–0 | 12–0 |
| California | 1–0 | 11–1 |
| Miami | 1–0 | 9–1 |
| No. 9 Duke | 1–0 | 10–2 |
| Florida State | 1–0 | 10–2 |
| No. 3 Notre Dame | 1–0 | 8–2 |
| No. 21 N.C. State | 1–0 | 8–3 |
| Clemson | 1–0 | 7–3 |
| Boston College | 1–0 | 9–4 |
| No. 19 North Carolina | 0–1 | 11–2 |
| Stanford | 0–1 | 8–3 |
| Virginia Tech | 0–1 | 8–3 |
| Virginia | 0–1 | 7–5 |
| Louisville | 0–1 | 6–5 |
| SMU | 0–1 | 6–5 |
| Wake Forest | 0–1 | 6–5 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–1 | 6–6 |
| Syracuse | 0–1 | 5–6 |
Monday’s result
Stanford 62, UTSA 57
Tuesday’s result
Virginia 80, Maryland Eastern Shore 64
Wednesday’s games
No. 19 North Carolina 77, Florida 57
No. 17 Georgia Tech 88, Rice 57
No. 9 Duke 93, Wofford 58
Syracuse 87, Binghamton 60
Thursday’s games
New Hampshire at Pittsburgh, 2:30, ACCN Extra
Clemson vs. Hawaii in San Diego, 4:30 p.m.
Jacksonville at Florida State, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
James Madison at No. 21 N.C. State, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
SMU at North Texas, 7 p.m., ESPN+
Friday’s games
Miami vs. Nevada in Makawao, Hawaii, 1:30 a.m.
Central Conn. State at Boston College, noon, ACCN Extra
UNCG at Wake Forest, 3 p.m., ACCN Extra
SMU vs. Chicago State in Denton, Texas, 5 p.m.
Clemson vs. Georgia in San Diego, 6 p.m.
Stanford vs. No. 11 Ohio State in San Francisco, 8:30, FS1
| 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. 4 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 | L, 82–76 | vs. No. 17 Georgia Tech | 10–2, 0–1 ACC |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 18 | Wednesday | W, 77–57 | vs. Florida | 11–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 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. 3 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 No. 24 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. 21 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 |
Photos courtesy of UNC Athletics
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