By R.L. Bynum

CHAPEL HILL — If there was any doubt about the preseason hype that this No. 11 North Carolina team would be good, the Tar Heels quickly shot that down on opening day.

Yes, it was against an overmatched N.C. Central team. But Carolina showed off a deep roster of young talent, including six newcomers, in throttling the Eagles 90–42 in the annual mid-day Field Trip Day game Monday at Carmichael Arena before 6,336 fans.

“We’ve been at this since early June,” Coach Courtney Banghart said. “Fun to now use games as benchmarks. We’re a work in progress, as you can see, but it’s go time.”

It was a statement opener for a team energized by explosive guard play and mobile post scoring. Ten players scored, five in double figures, and the Tar Heels outran (21–0 on fast-break points) and outrebounded (48–12) the Eagles with ease.

Louisville transfer Nyla Harris (12 points, 10 rebounds) and redshirt sophomore Ciera Toomey (career-high 13 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks, +42) punished the Eagles inside, each posting double-doubles. Toomey — once viewed as more of a stretch-four — showed power around the rim with 13 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.

“We have to continue to help her understand her dominance in the interior,” Banghart said, smiling. “Her line was really efficient … a double-double from a kid who hasn’t played much is a really good start.”

UCLA transfer Elina Aarnisalo (13 points, three rebounds, three assists) played much better than she did against South Carolina and was a team-high +48. The athleticism of freshman Nyla Brooks (15 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal), who started in the second half, and senior Indya Nivar (13 points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists) were too much for the Eagles (0–1).

After being held out of the South Carolina exhibition along with Blanca Thomas, Reniya Kelly started against NCCU but only played five scoreless minutes and didn’t play in the second half. Thomas wasn’t in uniform, and Lanie Grant, who played against South Carolina, was in uniform but didn’t play after turning an ankle in practice.

Brooks electrified the crowd in her first college game, drilling three 3-pointers and showing her versatile skill set.

“I think I showed a little bit of everything today,” said Brooks, who was frustrated that she missed all three free-throw attempts. “Getting downhill, shooting threes. Everything we practice every single day translated to the game.”

The crowd clearly noticed — Brooks laughed, recalling the moment the kids erupted after one of her baskets:

“When I scored the 67th point,” she said, grinning, “they went crazy.”

Perhaps the day’s biggest sign of things to come was the calm, confident showing from Aarnisalo, who looked at home at Carmichael.

“Playing in Carmichael, with that crowd — it was great,” she said. “I love playing with this team. I’m looking forward to the season a lot.”

What made the difference from the challenging game against South Carolina?

“Preparation,” she said. “Watching film, really trying to lock in. Defense is a big emphasis for us. Get that first set in and then find comfort in the game.”

Banghart wasn’t surprised.

“I’m a big fan of her game — have been for a long time,” she said. “With her, Reniya and Lanie, we can run different things. It means each of them can be more efficient and have more energy.”

UNC forced turnovers, pushed the pace, and found shooters in transition.

“We knew we would have opportunities to run the court today,” Aarnisalo said. “Push in transition, get two feet in the paint, kick out for our shooters.”

After not shooting well from 3-point range in the exhibition, UNC was 8 of 20, with five players scoring 3s, including two from reserve Jordan Zubich.

Still, it wasn’t flawless: 19 turnovers after turning it over only 15 times against South Carolina didn’t look good on the stat sheet, but Banghart waved off concern.

“They’re finding how aggressive they can be,” she said. “It’s the first game — the basket looks big. We’re not worried.”

The backcourt rotation will be even deeper once Grant returns and Kelly’s minutes aren’t limited — a luxury Banghart didn’t have a year ago.

After NCCU scored the first basket and led for seven seconds, UNC reeled off 10 consecutive points, ending with an Aarnisalo 3-pointer and a Nivar steal and layup. Nivar did it again to make it 14–3 and prompt a second Eagles timeout. Carolina had already played 12 players when it led 23–9 after the first quarter.

Zubich played several minutes at point guard, including a first-half run when she scored a 3-pointer.

Carolina scored 17 consecutive points to shoot the lead to 42–15 on a Brooks’ corner 3-pointer. UNC turned 12 first-half turnovers into 17 points and played every player in uniform on its way to a 53–21 halftime lead.

UNC started the second half with a 22–4 run, pushing the lead to 42 on a Brooks 3-pointer with 5:51 left in the third quarter. A Zubich layup made it 44, and UNC led 76–33 after three quarters.

A transition layup by Russian wing Liza Astakhova as time expired gave the Tar Heels their biggest lead of the night at 48 points.

Alyssa Hilton led NCCU with nine points.

NOTES — Next season’s opener will be drastically different, with UNC facing Oklahoma in Paris. Read about that here. … Next, Carolina plays its second tune-up before facing UCLA on Nov. 13 in Las Vegas in the WBCA Challenge. Elon, coached by UNC legend Charlotte Smith, comes to Carmichael Arena for a 7 p.m. game Thursday (ACC Network Extra). The Phoenix, who beat Winston-Salem State in a home exhibition game 70–59 on Oct. 28, won Monday in overtime at East Tennessee State 65–56. … Bill Belichick sat at courtside near the UNC bench for the first half. … There were more than 4,600 students and teachers in the arena at the game, and they were loud. … UNC is 9–0 against N.C. Central, with every game in Carmichael. … Carolina is 8–0 in openers under Banghart and 45–7 all-time.

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No. 11 UNC 90, NCCU 42

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Date	Day/month	Time	Opponent/event	TV
	October
30	Thursday	L, 91–82	No. 2 South Carolina in Atlanta	Exhib.
	November
3	Monday	W, 90–42	vs. N.C. Central	1–0
6	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Elon	ACCN Extra
			WBCA Challenge Las Vegas
13	Thursday	9 p.m.	vs. No. 4 UCLA	ESPN2
15	Saturday	6 p.m.	vs. Fairfield	ESPN+
			———————————
20	Thursday	7 p.m.	at N.C. A&T
23	Sunday	6 p.m.	vs. UNCG	ACCN
			Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico
27	Thursday	11 a.m.	vs. South Dakota St.	FloCollege
28	Friday	11 a.m.	vs. Kansas State	FloCollege
29	Saturday	1:30	vs. Columbia	FloCollege
	December		ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge
4	Thursday	7 p.m.	at No. 4 Texas	ESPN2
			———————————
7	Sunday	Noon	vs. Boston Univ.	ACCN
14	Sunday	4 p.m.	vs. No. 20 Louisville	ACCN
17	Wednesday	8 p.m.	vs. UNCW	ACCN
21	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Charleston Southern	ACCN
29	Monday	8 p.m.	at Boston College	ACCN
	January
1	Thursday	Noon	vs. California	ACCN
4	Sunday	Noon	vs. Stanford	ESPN or ACCN
11	Sunday	1 p.m.	at No. 15 Notre Dame	ESPN
15	Thursday	TBA	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 No. 9 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 No. 7 Duke	ABC
19	Thursday	6 p.m.	at Virginia Tech	ACCN
22	Sunday	Noon	vs. Pittsburgh	ACCN
26	Thursday	TBA	at Virginia	ACCN Extra
	March
1	Sunday	Noon	vs. No. 7 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