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
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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* | 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 | Month/day | Scores | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. 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. 17 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. 11 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 SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 9 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 7 | Saturday | W, 71–68 | vs. No. 1 Duke | 19–4, 7–3 |
| 10 | Tuesday | L, 75–66 | at No. 25 Miami | 19–5, 7–4 |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 79–65 | vs. Pittsburgh | 20–5, 8–4 |
| 17 | Tuesday | L, 82–58 | at N.C. State | 20–6, 8–5 |
| 21 | Saturday | W, 77–64 | at Syracuse | 21–6, 9–5 |
| 23 | Monday | W, 77–74 | vs. Louisville | 22–6, 10–5 |
| 28 | Saturday | W, 89–82 | vs. Virginia Tech | 23–6, 11–5 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | W, 67–63 | vs. Clemson | 24–6, 12–5 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 76–61 | at No. 1 Duke | 24–7, 12–6 |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte | |
| 12 | Thursday | L, 80–79 | Quarterfinals: vs. Clemson | 24–8 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 19 | Thursday | L, 82–78, OT | First round: vs. VCU in Greenville, S.C. | 24–9 |
Photos via gojacks.com
