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*
No. 16 Louisville	2–0	11–3	14
N.C. State	2–0	8–4	31
Syracuse	1–0	10–1	40
Stanford	1–0	9–2	32
No. 20 Notre Dame	1–0	8–2	19
Virginia	1–0	8–3	29
Duke	1–0	5–6	38
Wake Forest	1–1	10–3	127
Virginia Tech	1–1	9–3	63
Clemson	1–1	8–4	49
Miami	1–1	7–4	48
No. 18 North Carolina	0–1	10–3	15
California	0–1	8–4	70
Pittsburgh	0–1	7–6	250
SMU	0–1	5–6	154
Boston College	0–1	4–9	207
Florida State	0–2	4–9	112
Georgia Tech	0–2	4–9	125

* — Through Wednesday games
Wednesday’s games
No. 18 North Carolina 84, UNCW 34
Clemson 78, Charleston Southern 52
No. 16 Louisville 76, Eastern Kentucky 51
Thursday’s results
Virginia Tech 79, Florida State 54
Miami 64, Wake Forest 61
Pittsburgh 98, Saint Francis 46
N.C. State 87, Georgia Tech 58
Duke 97, South Dakota State 54
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	W, 84–34	vs. UNCW	10–3
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