By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina’s women have navigated a difficult schedule by playing tough team defense, but the No. 17 Tar Heels will face their biggest challenge of the season on Sunday.
No. 3 Notre Dame (11–2, 2–0 ACC) is loaded with talent and will be the best team to play at Carmichael Arena since the No. 1 South Carolina team last season that went unbeaten and won the national championship.
Coach Courtney Banghart goes further than that as her Tar Heels (13–2, 1–1), take on an Irish team that leads the country in 3-point shooting (42.9%), is fifth in rebounds (46.3 per game), sixth in blocks (6.5), seventh in field-goal percentage (49.5%) and eight in scoring (89.3 per game).
“Notre Dame might be the most talented team that I’ve coached against, top to bottom,” Banghart said Friday. “I’ve coached against obviously many good teams over the years. They’ve got really dangerous pieces at every position.”
The Notre Dame team UNC faces in Carmichael Arena at 1 p.m. Sunday (ESPN) is better than the 29–7 team that the Tar Heels beat last season in South Bend, Ind., 61–47 on Jan. 7.
Like last season, dynamic 5–6 sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo — who leads the country in steals (4.08 per game) and leads the team in scoring (26.0 per game) and assists (3.7) — is the star of the show.
Back from missing all of last season with a torn ACL is fifth-year 5–10 guard Olivia Miles (16.7 points, 6.8 rebounds per game), giving the Irish two sure first-round WNBA draft picks. She ended 2024 by becoming the first ACC player with back-to-back triple-doubles.
As if that wasn’t enough, with senior 6–1 guard Sonia Citron (14.8 points per game) also back, Coach Niele Ivey lured Pittsburgh’s best player last season, fifth-year 6–0 forward Liatu King (12.8 points, team-best 11.4 rebounds per game), after she earned All-ACC first-team honors.
You can’t target one or two stars on defense and expect to stop the Irish.
“Individually, we’ve got to be really good, and then collectively, we have to be really good,” Banghart said of UNC’s defensive approach. “You got to keep people out of their plan A’s individually. We know the actions that they like the best. It’s more about how good they are. We’re gonna do what we do. We’re gonna have coverages. We’re going to have secondary coverages; we’re going to have alternative defenses. We’re going to do all the things that we do all the time, but we have great respect for the talent on their roster.
The Tar Heels’ defense has overwhelmed all but two opponents, and UNC lost to both: 69–58 to No. 7 UConn (12–2) on Nov. 15 in Greensboro and 82–76 at home against No. 13 and unbeaten Georgia Tech (15–0, 3–0) on Dec. 15.
Banghart said both games were cases of playing good teams that played really well. Although she lamented some defensive lapses early against UConn, she didn’t think that happened against the Yellow Jackets.
“By and large, I really like the way this team has defended, both individually and collectively and with their discipline,” Banghart said.” And it’s really hard to guard good teams.”
Carolina has plenty of good defenders, starting with fifth-year guard Lexi Donarski and junior guard Indya Nivar. To beat Notre Dame, UNC will need top-level defense from them and the rest of the team.
“We don’t rely on any one defensive player,” Banghart said. “I think that’s our strength, is that we can have lots of different defenders. A team like this is not as much about primary defenses. It’s about what’s happening behind the ball, too. And so we need five defenders playing well because they’re too good, one-on-one. I like our defenders because they’ve played well all year.”
Banghart said the goal for both teams will be to get down the floor quickly so that they don’t have to face the other team’s half-court offense.
“They force a lot of turnovers, so they can change directions quickly,” Banghart said. “They have a lot of ball handlers, so anyone can bring it up.”
Carolina and Notre Dame have each not played since last Sunday. Banghart said she’s used the time to focus on how the Tar Heels can improve and didn’t talk with her team about the Irish until Friday, the team’s 99th practice.
“We’ve kind of focused more on looking back at how we played — the better opponents that we played when we’ve been good, and we haven’t been good and tweaked in those areas, which will help us against every team,” Banghart said.
Banghart played a nine-player rotation in the 69–60 win Sunday at Miami, with only freshman guard Lanie Grant and fifth-year guard Grace Townsend playing off the bench for more than seven minutes, which is how long fifth-year guard Tray Crisp and redshirt center Ciera Toomey played.
“We kind of have a first five that we’ve trusted and that have started games well for us,” Banghart said, “and from there, it goes with how the week progressed in practice. What does the matchup look like? Who else is playing well, so who do they play well with? Do we need more speed? We need more shooting? Do we need more defensive presence? Do we need rebounding?”
Banghart addressed several other topics, including:
— The top-to-bottom strength that makes the ACC the country’s best league:
“There’s no bottom to our league. When you’re looking week to week, you don’t have four or five teams, and you’re like, ‘thank God; I got a week with playing one of them.’ There are teams in the SEC and in the Big Ten, where you know that that’s the case. There are some guys that are still working through it. We just don’t have that [in the ACC].”
— On the collective success of UNC athletics:
“It’s the reason we’re all here. You’re around collective excellence. Excellence is a verb at Carolina, and then I live it. And so the expectations are high. They hold themselves as well as each other in that peer group.
“They eat at the training table together for lunch every day, and they’re, you’re rubbing elbows with World Cup soccer players and Orange Bowl football players and Final Four basketball players. It’s just kind of what I came here for. It’s proven true. Excellence is a verb here, and that’s really a fun way to go about it. The expectations are high, and also your fan base cares about winning, and they lean in. And that’s been fun to be a part of, too.”
—The status of redshirt junior guard Kayla McPherson, who hasn’t played this season as she recovers from a knee injury. Banghart said there was no update, and was asked if she anticipated McPherson playing this season:
“I’m always hopeful. She’s running and all that. It’s something we just take day by day, week by week, and make sure that we put our kids in the best position to be successful.”
NOTES — Taissa Queiroz, a 6–1 four-star guard who graduated from high school last month, is already in Chapel Hill, practicing with the team, and will enroll at Carolina for the spring semester. She won’t play until next season. … Notre Dame leads the series 10–5, but the Tar Heels have won the last two meetings and three of five meetings in Carmichael Arena. … Sunday’s game is the sixth time the two teams will meet while both ranked. UNC has two wins over a top-five Notre Dame squad, the last coming in 2023 in Chapel Hill when the Fighting Irish were ranked No. 4. … Beth Mowins and Debbie Antonelli will be on the ESPN call.
UNC season statistics
Notre Dame season statistics
| Team | League | Overall | NET* | WAB* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 13 Duke | 16–2 | 21–8 | 10 | 13 |
| No. 12 Louisville | 15–3 | 25–6 | 13 | 10 |
| No. 16 North Carolina | 14–4 | 25–6 | 19 | 14 |
| N.C. State | 13–5 | 20–9 | 23 | 27 |
| Syracuse | 12–6 | 22–7 | 40 | 31 |
| Virginia Tech | 12–6 | 22–8 | 41 | 34 |
| Notre Dame | 12–6 | 20–9 | 24 | 23 |
| Clemson | 11–7 | 20–10 | 44 | 40 |
| Virginia | 11–7 | 19–10 | 36 | 49 |
| California | 9–9 | 18–13 | 53 | 60 |
| Stanford | 8–10 | 19–12 | 42 | 56 |
| Miami | 8–10 | 16–13 | 58 | 65 |
| Georgia Tech | 7–10 | 12–17 | 76 | 109 |
| Florida State | 5–13 | 10–20 | 107 | 138 |
| Wake Forest | 4–14 | 14–16 | 121 | 134 |
| SMU | 2–16 | 9–21 | 220 | 209 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–17 | 8–23 | 262 | 238 |
| Boston College | 1–17 | 5–26 | 247 | 283 |
* — Through Sunday games
Thursday’s results
No. 16 North Carolina 82, Virginia 70
No. 12 Louisville 69, Georgia Tech 50
Notre Dame 72, Syracuse 62
Miami 79, Pittsburgh 58
N.C. State 65, Wake Forest 58
No. 13 Duke 80, Florida State 52
Stanford 87, SMU 57
Clemson 70, California 63
Sunday’s results
No. 16 North Carolina 74, No. 13 Duke 69
Virginia Tech 83, Virginia 82
Georgia Tech 79, Miami 49
N.C. State 93, Pittsburgh 43
Stanford 85, Clemson 50
Syracuse 90, Boston College 65
Notre Dame 65, No. 12 Louisville 62
Florida State 77, Wake Forest 74, OT
California 78, SMU 34
End of regular season
ACC tournament
Gas South Arena
Duluth, Ga.
March 4–8
| Date | Day/month | Scores | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 4 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. 3 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 13 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 No. 22 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 | W, 61–59 | at N.C. State | 18–5, 7–3 |
| 5 | Thursday | W, 53–44 | vs. Clemson | 19–5, 8–3 |
| 8 | Sunday | W, 84–56 | vs. Wake Forest | 20–5, 9–3 |
| 12 | Thursday | W, 94–42 | vs. SMU | 21–5, 10–3 |
| 15 | Sunday | L, 72–68 | at No. 8 Duke | 21–6, 10–4 |
| 19 | Thursday | W, 66–63, OT | at Virginia Tech | 22–6, 11–4 |
| 22 | Sunday | W, 78–50 | vs. Pittsburgh | 23–6, 12–4 |
| 26 | Thursday | W, 82–70 | at Virginia | 24–6, 13–4 |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | W, 72–69 | vs. No. 8 Duke | 25–6, 14–4 |
| ACC tournament | Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga. | |||
| 6 | Friday | W, 85–68 | Quarterfinal vs. Va. Tech | 26–6 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 65–57 | Semifinal vs. No. 13 Louisville | 26–7 |
| NCAA tournament Fort Worth 1 Regional | ||||
| 21 | Friday | W, 82–51 | First round in Chapel Hill: vs. Western Illinois | 27–7 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 74–66 | Second round in Chapel Hill: No. 17 Maryland | 28–7 |
| 27 | Friday | L, 63–52 | Sweet 16 in Fort Worth, Texas: vs. No. 1 UConn | 28–8 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
