By R.L. Bynum
On Thanksgiving Day, No. 12 North Carolina has to be thankful for the versatility of senior guard Indya Nivar.
Nivar registered the second triple-double in program history with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while tying a 40-year-old program record with 10 steals, as the Tar Heels rolled to an 83–48 victory over previously undefeated South Dakota State at the Cancun Challenge at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Mexico.
“I didn’t know the steals [total] until probably fourth quarter, and they said two,” Nivar said, “and I was working my hardest to get two without with playing within the game as well.”
Nivar was already on triple-double watch at halftime with seven points, nine rebounds and six steals.
“I just felt really prepared, really confident going into this game,” Nivar said. “I thought my team was ready as well, and I felt like they fueled me throughout the game. I wasn’t even thinking about the stats. It was just coming to me but my team was playing aggressive. We were connected.”
The only other triple-double in program history was when Alyssa Ustby had 16 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists on Jan. 4, 2024, in a 75–51 home win over Syracuse.
“She impacts the game in so many ways, and her leadership of this team has been really instrumental,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. “The way the team plays, you play to the personality of your leaders, and she’s a fighter.”
The Tar Heels (6–1), who face Kansas State (5–3) at 11 a.m. Friday and Columbia (3–3) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, turned 21 turnovers into 31 points against the Jackrabbits (5–1).
“She takes great pride in defending,” Banghart said of Nivar. “She’s gotten better, so she cares about development. I couldn’t be happier for her.”
Banghart said the defensive preparation paid off as UNC held South Dakota State 35 points below its average. They only scored two 3-pointers after averaging 11 coming into the game.
“They’re really hard to guard,” Banghart said. “They run actions, all different types of on- and off-ball screens, and they’re dangerous at all spots.”
Offensively, UNC reached 80 points for the fourth straight game for the first time since 2020.
“I’ve been saying that we’ve got a lot of good players that when we allow ourselves to play in closeouts, we create advantages and can read the right decision out of them,” Banghart said. “As this offense continues to find its rhythm, good things can come. Our playbook’s still pretty small, but good players are making good decisions with the ball.”
Sophomore UCLA transfer Elisa Aarnisalo scored a season-high 14 points, and senior Louisville transfer Nyla Harris, after missing the UNCG game, scored 12 points despite battling early foul trouble.
Banghart praised the depth.
“That’s kind of been our calling card. We’ve got so much depth,” Banghart said. “We expect our players to continue to get better and stay ready and provide impact on the game. And Layla Hull’s numbers don’t show it, but she provided great impact.”
Carolina forced three turnovers in jumping out to a 9–0 lead with all five starters contributing. Lanie Grant had a steal, Reniya Kelly a 3-pointer and one bucket each from Ciera Toomey, Aarnisalo and Nivar.
“We practiced Monday, which usually you don’t do after a game, but I needed our guys to run through a lot of their actions, and I thought that was really useful,” Banghart said. “We really stayed locked into how we wanted to defend, and I think they built their confidence.”
The Jackrabbits didn’t score until Brooklynn Felchie’s layup 4½ minutes into the game, and that started a 9–4 run. A Brooks 3-pointer with 39 seconds left gave the Heels a 16–9 lead after the first quarter.
Brooks hit a jumper and three 3-pointers to ignite a 12–4 Carolina run to start the second quarter and build a 15-point advantage, scoring half of UNC’s first 28 points. An Aarnisalo jumper and driving layup pushed UNC’s lead to 16 with 2:38 left. A Nivar 3-pointer gave the Tar Heels a 41–23 halftime lead after they scored 18 points off 12 South Dakota State turnovers.
Carolina accelerated the blowout by opening three minutes of the second half with an 8–1 run, prompting a Jackrabbits timeout after a driving Toomey layup. A Grant 3-pointer with 6:31 left in the third quarter ballooned the lead to 26. A Hull layup as the third quarter ended gave Carolina a 64–33 lead.
A Harris layup 2½ minutes into the final quarter shoved the lead to 35 points. A Taliyah Henderson layup with 3:28 left gave UNC its biggest lead of the game at 38 points.
Carolina held Preseason Summit League Player of the Year Brooklyn Meyer to six points under her average with 16 points.
Notes
— Carolina’s other two opponents, Kansas State and Columbia, played each other in the game after the Tar Heels’ game, with the Wildcats winning 95–92.
— The victory was the 1,100th in program history, making UNC the third ACC team and the 17th in the country to reach that milestone.
— UNC played two games in its previous visit to the Cancun Challenge in 2019, beating Temple 71–58 and Missouri 82–69.
— Nivar tied the steals record that Pam Leake set in 1985. Nivar’s previous career-high was seven steals on Jan. 19, 2025, in a 75–58 win over Pittsburgh.
— The big negative in the game for UNC was its 7 of 15 shooting from the free-throw line for a season-low 46.7%. The previous-worst was 52.6% in the 90–42 win over N.C. Central.
— With South Dakota State held to nine first-quarter points, Carolina has held opponents to single-digit points in a quarter 10 times in seven games.
— It was the fifth time in seven games that UNC has forced at least 20 turnovers.
No. 12 UNC 83, South Dakota St. 48
| 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. 10 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, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–0 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–1 |
| 11 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at 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 |
Photos courtesy of UNC Athletics
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