By R.L. Bynum
DALLAS — Four days after the agony of a historic collapse, No. 14 North Carolina only added to SMU’s misery and offensive malaise.
The Mustangs, who tied the NCAA women’s Division I record by blowing a 32-point lead in a 13-point Sunday loss at Pittsburgh, collected more turnovers (21) than field goals (12) as the Tar Heels’ relentless defense claimed another victim.
In the most overpowering defensive performance of the season, UNC held SMU to a season-low point total and the fewest the Tar Heels have given up this season in a 64–33 victory Thursday at the Moody Coliseum.
It was the second-fewest points allowed in an ACC game in program history. The victory margin could have been significantly higher if not for 15 missed layup attempts and shooting a season-low 36.4% (4 of 11) from the free-throw line.
“I thought we did a lot of good things on the defensive end,” said UNC coach Courtney Banghart, who didn’t like the way her team defended in Sunday’s 80–67 home win over Boston College but said that she has some of the best primary defenders she’s ever coached. “We really made it difficult for some of their guys to get what they want.”
That was particularly true for SMU’s leading scorer, Nya Robertson, who came into the game third in the ACC in scoring (20.9 per game). She was scoreless in the first half and had only five points, half her previous low total for the season.
Carolina (16–3, 4–2 ACC) held SMU (10–8, 2–4) — who was scoreless in the third quarter of its 72–69 loss to Pittsburgh — to single-digit points in each of the first three quarters, marking 16 times the Tar Heels have held an opponent under 10 points in a period. It was the first time it’s happened three times in a game (they’ve done it twice in three games).
UNC played masterful ball-screen defense against SMU, making it a nightmare for the Mustangs with constant switching.
The Tar Heels’ Swiss army knife, fifth-year wing Alyssa Ustby, sliced through the SMU defense for 12 points, a season-high 18 rebounds (thee most by an ACC player in a conference game this season, matching her career-high Jan. 15, 2023, against N.C. State), 4 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals to record her 46th career double-double and eighth this season.
“She had about a million rebounds and really did a good job on the ball-screen defense, being able to switch out and keep bodies in front of the ball,” Banghart said.
Fifth-year guard Lexi Donarski, who had gone 2 of 8 from 3-point range in the previous two games, tied her season high with 5 3s, poured in a game-high 15 points, and was the primary defender on Robertson.
“It’s an entire team effort, especially with someone as talented and as quick and shifty as she is,” Donarski said. “Some of it comes down to you’ve got to just get in a stance and try to keep the ball in front of you.”
The 5–7 Robertson had to deal with having taller players such as Ustby, Maria Gakdeng (10 points, 7 rebounds, career-high 4 steals, 2 blocks) and Ciera Toomey switching onto her.
“Anyone that was in our five positions, being able to step up and really help contain for one to two dribbles after the ball screen was critical to keeping her in front of us,” Donarski said.
Indya Nivar’s 21st birthday bash was no fun for SMU as she collected nine of her 11 points in the first half and jump-started the rout by outscoring SMU 7–6 in the first quarter. She also guarded Robertson and was a big part of the defensive effort.
“No islands was our big thing coming into this game,” she said, “making sure we were in the gaps to help the on-ball, defender, and then making sure our secondary defense was there as well.”
SMU could never get much going offensively and shot 19.4%, with Kaysia Woods the only Mustang to score in double figures with 12 points. It was the fourth time under Banghart that an opponent has shot under 20%, but the first time in an ACC game.
“They can switch one through four,” SMU coach Toyelle Wilson, explaining why her team struggled, scoring only .452 points per possession. “They’re long and athletic. They can make you settle for bad shots. They force you into turnovers. Disruptive, they speed you up, all those things that they did to our players.”
After SMU took a brief lead on Woods’ 3-pointer in the first minute, the Mustangs were scoreless for more than seven minutes as UNC scored the next nine points, seven from Nivar. Carolina led 13–6 after one quarter on a Grace Townsend 3-pointer with 1:18 left.
“This whole week, us guards were focusing on change of speeds, making sure that when we attack-retreat, we still might have a lane to get past our defenders, and being aggressive, because when we’re aggressive, that’s when our offense flows. That’s when we get open shots on the three,” Nivar said.
Donarski got more open perimeter shots than recently, and she credited UNC’s approach of changing speeds.
“[We were] getting your feet in the paint, or attacking a gap and trying to get either the big defender or one of the guard defenders to collapse on that so we can find open shooters, and also in transition,” Donarski said.
Ustby scored three layups to start an 8–0 UNC run to start the second quarter to take advantage of an SMU scoring drought of more than 6½ minutes. Lanie Grant’s drive at the buzzer gave UNC a 31–14 halftime lead.
UNC took a 44–22 lead into the fourth quarter after a Donarski 3. Carolina’s lead ballooned to 28 when Sydney Barker fired in a 3-pointer, and Nivar scored on a drive during a 13–4 run.
NOTES — Carolina plays its second consecutive road game at 2 p.m. Sunday (ACC Network) against Pittsburgh (9–10, 1–5), which lost 83–67 Thursday at No. 21 N.C. State. Khadija Faye scored a season-high 28 points for the Panthers. … SMU’s 19.4% shooting was a season-low by a UNC opponent and the lowest since South Carolina State shot 15.2% on Nov. 16, 2022. … It was the fourth game the Tar Heels have shot 50% or worse at the free-throw line. They are last in the ACC in free-throw shooting (65.0%) … The record for fewest points allowed in an ACC game is 31 against Georgia Tech on Jan. 18, 2007. … Carolina’s 31-point win is the largest since a 47-point victory against Miami 47 on Feb. 6, 2022, and the largest ACC win on the road since a 100–65 win at Clemson on Jan. 11, 2007. … With three assists, Townsend eclipsed 600 for her career, now with 602. … This was the first all-time meeting between UNC and SMU. … Guard Tray Crisp didn’t make the trip to SMU as she works through a lower-body injury suffered in the Duke game. Since she wasn’t going to play, Banghart wanted her to stay in Chapel Hill so she could be in the weight room and not miss two full rehab days. Banghart said it wasn’t a serious injury. … Carolina is 6–5 in Texas, winning its previous visit 79–46 in 2021 over TCU. … UNC is 2–0 on the road in the ACC for the first time since 2013–14 and 3–0 in road games, the best start since the 2021–22 team won its first four and the 17th time in program history.
No. 14 UNC 64, SMU 33
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 17 Duke | 12–0 | 17–6 | 13 |
| No. 6 Louisville | 11–1 | 21–4 | 7 |
| Syracuse | 9–3 | 19–4 | 36 |
| N.C. State | 9–3 | 16–7 | 26 |
| No. 25 North Carolina | 8–3 | 19–5 | 21 |
| Virginia Tech | 8–4 | 18–6 | 43 |
| Virginia | 8–4 | 16–7 | 38 |
| Clemson | 7–5 | 16–8 | 40 |
| Notre Dame | 7–5 | 15–8 | 30 |
| Stanford | 5–6 | 16–8 | 37 |
| California | 5–6 | 14–10 | 52 |
| Georgia Tech | 5–7 | 10–14 | 99 |
| Miami | 4–8 | 12–11 | 51 |
| Florida State | 2–9 | 7–16 | 111 |
| Wake Forest | 3–9 | 13–11 | 120 |
| SMU | 1–10 | 8–15 | 183 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–10 | 8–16 | 257 |
| Boston College | 0–12 | 4–21 | 252 |
* — Through Friday games
Thursday’s results
No. 25 North Carolina 53, Clemson 44
Stanford 86, Boston College 65
No. 17 Duke 59, No. 6 Louisville 58
Notre Dame 80, Virginia Tech 70
Virginia 67, Miami 56
California 63, Georgia Tech 56
Wake Forest 70, SMU 65
N.C. State 83, Florida State 55
Sunday’s games
No. 6 Louisville at Syracuse, noon, ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Virginia Tech, noon, ACC Network
California at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. ACCN Extra
No. 25 North Carolina at Wake Forest, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at No. 17 Duke, 2 p.m. The CW
Notre Dame at Virginia, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at Florida State, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Stanford at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Boston College at Clemson, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Thursday, Feb. 12, games
SMU at No. 25 North Carolina, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Syracuse at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Boston College at Florida State, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Wake Forest at No. 6 Louisville, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Georgia Tech at Clemson, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Virginia at California, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Virginia Tech at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
| 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. 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. 4 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 78 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 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 | 2 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 12 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. SMU | ACCN |
| 15 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at No. 20 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. No. 20 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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