By R.L. Bynum
AUSTIN, Texas — The Carolina defense that generated so many turnovers through nine games couldn’t ignite the transition game against No. 2 Texas.
Without that card to play, it was a challenge for the Tar Heels, who committed a season-high 20 turnovers, forced a season-low eight (five of those in the fourth quarter after already trailing by 17) and scored a season two 3-pointers. UNC led by seven early but faced its largest deficit of the season (24) Thursday in a 79–64 loss, its sixth in a row against top-five teams.
Texas (9–0) looked like the best team in the country last week when it beat No. 4 UCLA and No. 3 South Carolina. That didn’t change as the Longhorns took down another ranked team for their 31st consecutive victory at the Moody Center, with UNC unable to stop the screen-and-motion game in the ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge.
“We knew we had to play really well at their gym. They’re playing really well right now, and we just didn’t play well enough, unfortunately,” Banghart said. “Lots to learn from and grow from.”
UNC (8–2) forced the fewest turnovers since 13 in the 78–70 setback in Las Vegas to UCLA on Nov. 13, going from shooting 76.9% with six layups in the first quarter to 36.1% and 11 layups in the final three quarters.
“They don’t make a lot of passes, so you’re gonna have to take it from them. It’s one pass to score,” said Banghart, pointing to the play of Texas point guard Rori Harmon and the difficulty in containing Madison Booker and Jordan Lee.
“Rori’s ball-dominant, so she’s got the ball in her hands a lot, and then you’re either going for Booker or to Lee off either a simple pin down or floppy,” Banghart said. “There’s just not a lot of passes. So, this team you have to beat with one-on-one defense.”
Indya Nivar, who battled foul trouble, led UNC in points (17), assists (3) and steals (2) while pulling down seven rebounds. Elina Aarnisalo (below) scored 10 of her 16 points in the first quarter. Ciera Toomey collected 10 points and eight rebounds.
Nivar said foul trouble changed UNC’s defensive approach.
“With the foul calls, we had to be more tentative on playing more solid defense, so we couldn’t be as aggressive as we usually are,” said Nivar, who picked up two fouls in the first 14 minutes and finished with four.
Banghart didn’t hide her frustration with the officiating after UNC drew 19 fouls, compared to 14 for Texas.
“I have to probably watch the film a little bit more, and I think I also have to figure out, on those floppy moving screens and when they are on our hips … I don’t quite get why the discrepancy was what it is,” she said. “Maybe a neutral site helps with that. We’re all humans, right? And, so, when everyone in Texas is cursing at you for making a foul call, you’re a little hesitant to make the next one.”
Leading Texas was Lee (22 points, 5 rebounds), Booker (18 points, 6 rebounds) and Kyla Oldacre (16 points, 7 rebounds).
Carolina matched Texas under the boards (30–30) and outscored the Longhorns in the lane 40–30, but defense down low was a challenge.
“You can defend them really well through the clock, and then they can just throw it inside, sort of like they used to do with Shaquille O’Neal,” Banghart said. “You can do a lot of good defense, and then it’s five seconds on the shot clock, and they just throw it inside.”
Texas delivered the knockout blow with a 15–4 third-quarter run, and Carolina never could fight back after that.
“We had stretches where we just kind of lost our focus and allowed them to get a little bit too deep, whether that was off a dribble or catch, and coupled that with some careless turnovers,” Banghart said. “We don’t turn the ball over typically that much.”
UNC jumped out to a 6–3 lead on Aarnisalo’s nice drive through defenders 87 seconds into the game. After Texas tied it, another Aarnisalo drive restored the three-point lead at 5:01 of the first quarter. Nivar scored five points during a 7–0 late run, and UNC led 21–16 after one quarter.
“I think North Carolina is really good,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. I think Courtney’s doing a great job with that group. I think they’re super-talented. Obviously they’re right now the best team in the ACC, and we were very concerned about them coming into the game tonight.”
Texas scored a bucket at the end of the opening quarter to start nine consecutive points, and two Booker free throws 81 seconds into the second quarter gave the Longhorns the first of three two-point leads in the quarter.
“We started off sleepwalking a little bit,” Schaefer said. “Spent the first 10 minutes kind of coaching their heart tonight a little bit, and then that second quarter, we really turned it up defensively and were much better.”
Texas took a four-point lead when Teya Sidberry’s follow shot, the Longhorns’ third attempt of the possession, capped a 10–4 run with three minutes left in the first half. The Longhorns scored the last seven points of the first half to build a 39–31 lead by halftime.
“I told these guys in here, ‘you should be disappointed,’ ”Banghart said. “We don’t play basketball games to lose them. But what really stinks as a coach is when your team’s not good. And that’s not what I’m dealing with. I’ve got a really good team that is really young.”
Nyla Harris scored every point in a 5–2 UNC run to start the second half to trim the lead to five, but two Justice Carlton buckets began the decisive 15–4 Texas run to go up by 16 points at 2:18 of the third quarter.
It was 18 after a Carlton 3-pointer at 1:19, and Texas led 63–46 after three quarters.
A 6–2 Texas run pushed the lead to 19 and a 7–0 run made it 24. UNC outscored Texas 18–16 in the fourth quarter but could never make a run.
“It’s two good teams,” Banghart said. “If you’re a Carolina fan, you say you had a good first and fourth quarter. You’re a Texas fan, you say you like the second and third. Two heavyweights going at it.”
Notes
— Carolina plays only its second home game since Nov. 6, with the first of four consecutive home games at noon Sunday (ACC Network) against Boston University. The Terriers (3–5), picked to finish eighth in the 10-team Patriot League, have lost their last two games, 83–56 at home to Bryant on Nov. 26 and 54–45 on Monday at Maine.
— The SEC easily won the Challenge 13–3, with Syracuse, SMU and Virginia Tech getting the only ACC wins.
— UNC’s previous season-low for 3-pointers was four against Elon. The starters combined to make only 1 of 6 attempts.
— Taissa Queiroz was the only UNC player not in uniform for the game as Blanca Thomas played her second game of the season (UCLA was the first). Thomas had a tough time during two second-quarter minutes, with one turnover on an excellent inside chance and one foul, a big reason that Toomey played a team-high and career-high 38 minutes.
— Reniya Kelly missed all eight field-goal attempts and is 4 for 26 in her lst four games.
— Harris started for the first time in four games as Lanie Grant came off the bench for the third time. Harris was the only Tar Heel with a positive plus/minus at +1.
— Mack Brown, a good friend of Banghart who attended many women’s games during his second stint at UNC, was at the game. He wore neither orange nor blue, opting for black.
— Texas evened the series with UNC at 1–1 after the Tar Heels won the only previous meeting 75–71 on Jan. 11, 1981.
— UNC’s previous turnover high was 19 against N.C. Central.
— Even though Texas played only two reserves and UNC played six, the Longhorns had a 27–10 edge in bench points.
No. 2 Texas 79, No. 11 UNC 64
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 9 Louisville | 8–0 | 18–3 | 10 |
| Duke | 7–0 | 12–6 | 19 |
| Syracuse | 6–2 | 16–3 | 42 |
| N.C. State | 6–2 | 13–6 | 24 |
| Virginia | 5–2 | 13–5 | 38 |
| North Carolina | 4–3 | 15–5 | 23 |
| Stanford | 4–3 | 15–5 | 34 |
| Virginia Tech | 4–3 | 14–5 | 46 |
| No. 23 Notre Dame | 4–3 | 12–5 | 25 |
| Clemson | 4–3 | 13–6 | 40 |
| Georgia Tech | 3–3 | 8–10 | 91 |
| Miami | 3–4 | 11–7 | 45 |
| California | 2–5 | 11–9 | 62 |
| Wake Forest | 2–6 | 12–8 | 117 |
| SMU | 1–6 | 8–11 | 170 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–6 | 8–12 | 245 |
| Florida State | 1–6 | 6–13 | 104 |
| Boston College | 0–8 | 4–17 | 255 |
* — Through Saturday games
Sunday’s games
North Carolina 82, Florida State 55
California 73, Boston College 58
Clemson 78, Wake Forest 71, OT
No. 9 Louisville 88, N.C. State 80, OT
SMU 83, Pittsburgh 76
Syracuse 69, Stanford 58
Georgia Tech at Duke, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Monday’s game
No. 23 Notre Dame at No. 1 UConn, 5 p.m., Fox
Thursday’s games
Miami at No. 23 Notre Dame, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Clemson at Virginia Tech, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Pittsburgh at Virginia, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Florida State at SMU, 7:30, ACCN Extra
North Carolina at Georgia Tech, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Sunday’s games
N.C. State at Virginia, noon, ACC Network
Boston College at No. 9 Louisville, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Virginia Tech at Wake Forest, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Syracuse at North Carolina, 2 p.m., The CW
Duke at Pittsbugh, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Clemson at Notre Dame, 3 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at SMU, 4 p.m., ACCN Extra
Georgia Tech at Florida State, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at California, 6 p.m., ACC Network
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | W, 71–37 | vs. Elon | 2–0 |
| WBCA Challenge Las Vegas | ||||
| 13 | Thursday | L, 78–60 | vs. No. 3 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. 9 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 | L, 73–50 | at No. 23 Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–2 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–2 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 82–55 | at Florida State | 15–5, 4–2 |
| 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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