By R.L. Bynum
No. 12 North Carolina (5–1) vs. South Dakota State (5–0)
When: 11 a.m. Thursday
Where: Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Riviera Maya, Mexico
What: Cancun Challenge
TV: FloCollege, a subscription streaming service that is $21.49 per month (counting tax), and $107.88 per year.
Radio: WCHL AM1360, FM 97.9 (Also streaming on the Varsity Network app); Matt Krause play-by-play
Other UNC games: 11 a.m. Friday vs. Kansas State and 1:30 Saturday vs. Columbia (both streaming on FloCollege)
Event details: The 21st year of the women’s version of the Cancun Challenge includes 10 programs. It’s not a tournament but rather each team plays two or three games. In addition to UNC, South Dakota State, Kansas State and Columbia, other teams are N.C. State (which will only play two games), Green Bay, Southern Miss, UAB, Richmond and TCU.
Coaches: Courtney Banghart (384–168 in 19th season; 130–65 in seventh season at UNC) and Aaron Johnson (633–195 in 26th season, all at South Dakota State)
UNC projected starters: Elina Aarnisalo, Reniya Kelly, Indya Nivar, Nyla Harris and Ciera Toomey
Series: This is the first meeting
South Dakota State results
Nov. 3: 87–62 win vs. Creighton
Nov. 8: 79–75 win vs. Rice
Nov. 11: 91–60 win vs. Murray State
Nov. 15: 95–71 win vs. Montana in Rapid City, S.D.
Nov. 20: 72–63 win vs. Gonzaga in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Projected South Dakota State starters
No. 31 | F | Brooklyn Meyer (top photo) | 6–1 | senior
— 22.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 3.2 blocks
— 13th in the country in scoring and fifth in blocked shots per game
— Named to two national preseason watchlists and is the Summit League’s Preseason Player of the Year
No. 3 | G | Maddie Mathiowetz | 5–10 | senior
— 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists
— 14th in the country with a 55% 3-point-shooting percentage
— First-team preseason All-Summit League
No. 4 | G | Emilee Fox | 5–8 | sophomore
— 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists
— Ninth in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.5
No. 23 | G | Katie Vasecka | 6–2 | sophomore
— 13.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists
— Second-team preseason All-Summit League
No. 24 | F | Maggie Hartwig | 6–1 | junior | Evansville transfer
— 5.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.4 blocks
— Second-team preseason All-Summit League
Storylines
— Offensive firepower: Both teams average more than 80 points per game; SDSU shoots over 51% from the field, UNC at 46.7%.
— Inside battle: Brooklyn Meyer vs. Ciera Toomey will be a key matchup inside. Meyer ranks among national leaders in scoring and blocks.
— Perimeter shooting: SDSU boasts multiple sharpshooters (Mathiowetz, Fox), while UNC has been prolific from outside the arc in the last two games.
— Rebounding edge: SDSU averages three more rebounds than its opponents, so UNC must limit second-chance points.
Notes
— The Jackrabbits are eighth in the country in field-goal percentage at 51.3%, and are 10th in defensive rebounding percentage (32.2%), 13th in fouls drawn per game (13.0) and 19th in turnovers forced per game (12).
— South Dakota State has won a Summit League-leading 11 regular-season titles and 12 tournament championships in the program’s 18 years in the conference. The Jackrabbits have won at least a share of the regular-season title for five straight years (including 2025) and six of the last seven seasons.
— Last season, South Dakota State lost to eventual national champion UConn in the second round.
— UNC is the Jackrabbits’ first ranked opponent this season.
— Carolina’s next victory will be the program’s 1,100th, making it the 17th Division I women’s program and third in the ACC to reach that mark.
— It’s UNC’s first time playing in Mexico since going 2–0 in 2019, beating Temple 71–58 and Missouri 82–69.
— The Tar Heels went 3–0 in their last multi-team (MTE) event, winning the 2024 Battle4Atlantis in the Bahamas. In MTE events under Banghart, Carolina is 10–2 overall.
UNC season statistics
South Dakota State season statistics
Statistical comparison
| Statistic | UNC | SDSU |
|---|---|---|
| Points per Game | 80.3 | 83 |
| FG% | 0.467 | 0.513 |
| 3PT% | 0.335 | 0.385 |
| FT% | 0.663 | 0.707 |
| Rebounds | 37.8 | 40.4 |
| Assists | 16.5 | 16.6 |
| Blocks | 4.3 | 5.6 |
| Turnovers | 11.7 | 6.4 |
| Opponent PPG | 53.8 | 64.2 |
| Opponent FG% | 0.371 | 0.351 |
| Opponent 3PT% | 0.279 | 0.281 |
| Rebound Margin | 5.7 | 3.8 |
| Assist/TO Ratio | 1.2 | 1.4 |
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 10 Louisville | 4–0 | 14–3 | 12 |
| Virginia | 4–0 | 12–3 | 37 |
| N.C. State | 4–0 | 11–4 | 25 |
| Duke | 4–0 | 9–6 | 19 |
| Syracuse | 3–1 | 13–2 | 41 |
| Stanford | 2–1 | 13–3 | 33 |
| No. 22 North Carolina | 2–2 | 13–4 | 18 |
| Wake Forest | 2–2 | 12–4 | 118 |
| Notre Dame | 2–2 | 10–4 | 27 |
| Clemson | 2–2 | 11–5 | 40 |
| Miami | 2–2 | 10–5 | 45 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–2 | 7–9 | 95 |
| Virginia Tech | 1–3 | 11–5 | 55 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–3 | 8–9 | 243 |
| California | 0–3 | 9–7 | 60 |
| SMU | 0–4 | 7–9 | 142 |
| Florida State | 0–4 | 5–11 | 109 |
| Boston College | 0–4 | 4–13 | 248 |
* — Through Sunday games
Sunday’s games
Stanford 77, No. 22 North Carolina 71, OT
Duke 82, Notre Dame 68
Virginia 91, Florida State 87, 2 OTs
Syracuse 73, Wake Forest 58
Clemson 70, Miami 55
N.C. State 71, California 60
No. 10 Louisville 85, Virginia Tech 60
Georgia Tech 67, SMU 59
Pittsburgh 64, Boston College 621
Thursday’s games
No. 10 Louisville at Miami, 3 p.m., ACCN Extra
Boston College at No. 18 Notre Dame, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Virginia Tech at Syracuse, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Duke at California, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Virginia at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Clemson, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Wake Forest at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Sunday’s games
Boston College at Virginia Tech, noon, ACC Network
No. 22 North Carolina at Notre Dame, 1 p.m., ESPN
Pittsburgh at No. 10 Louisville, The CW
Syracuse at Virginia, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Florida State at Miami, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Clemson at Georgia Tech, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Wake Forest at California, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Duke at Sanford, 5 p.m., ESPN
SMU at N.C. State, 6 p.m., ACC Network
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 9 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 22 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 12 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | W, 71–70 | vs. Ohio State | 11–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | W, 99–51 | vs. East Carolina | 12–1 |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 97–83 | at No. 24 SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | 6 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 14 | Wednesday | 9 p.m. | at Stanford | ACCN |
| 17 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at California | ACCN |
| 21 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ESPN2 |
| 24 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at No. 23 Virginia | ESPN |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 6 Duke | ESPN |
| 10 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 14 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 20 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 6 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photos via gojacks.com
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