By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Carolina headed into the exam break with a less-than-challenging test but an impressive bounce-back blowout.
After a frustrating loss at No. 2 Texas and before next Sunday’s ACC opener against No. 22 Louisville, the No. 11 Tar Heels flexed their muscles against Boston University in an 82–40 victory Sunday at Carmichael Arena.
Coach Courtney Banghart grades on the curve, though, and didn’t give the Tar Heels’ sputtering start high marks, saying that they “came out flat.” She knew the level of the opponent and didn’t see the high standard that she demands.
“We didn’t step on their necks defensively, we were a little bit late on our tags. We didn’t take any charges,” Banghart said. “Offensively, I thought we were surprised. We were so open that we weren’t aggressive on catches, so we turned down shots, which led to a lack of rhythm.”
Banghart pointed to the circumstances — an early-morning Friday return from Texas with many players taking exams that day — but made it clear there would be no excuses, saying that’s what you sign up for when you come to Carolina.
The Tar Heels (9–2) rebounded from the 2-of-11 3-point shooting at Texas by going 11 of 25, led by Lanie Grant, who netted her nine points on three 3-pointers and was a team-high +40.
Elina Aarnisalo (14 points, two 3-pointers, six rebounds, four assists) and Indya Nivar (13 points, one 3-pointer, seven rebounds, four assists) stuffed the stat sheet and UNC dominated the boards 45–25.
Three others scored in double figures — Taliyah Henderson (11), Nyla Brooks and Nyla Harris (10 each) — as 10 Tar Heels scored.
Banghart praised the versatility and impact of Henderson, a freshman who made all five of her shots and had five rebounds and four assists, after she played the three, four and five spots during her 15½ minutes off the bench.
“I’m pleased that Taliyah goes in the game and impacts it right now,” Banghart said. “I think she’s going to be one of the triple-double players at Carolina as well.”
Henderson embraced whatever role she’s had in each game after she hit a corner 3-pointer in her nearly four minutes against Texas.
“Coach gives me the opportunity to come off the bench and bring as much energy that can help our starters,” Henderson said. “I think that is my role on the team, and I take that very serious. I’m gonna give 110% energy, effort, intensity, whatever Coach or the team needs. I’m there for it. Today, that was scoring. Tomorrow it’s rebounding. The next day’s defense. Whatever it is, I’m here and 100% ready to kill it.”
Henderson already has embraced the selfless attitude that Banghart says will take the Tar Heels a long way, explaining that the players value results over personal statistics. She suggested that players who race to the stat sheet after the game aren’t as competitive.
“We don’t care who scores, as long as someone does it,” Aarnisalo said. “When someone scores, we’re happy. We want to win, but we don’t care how many passes it needs. We’re gonna do it.”
Aarnisalo said one of the big lessons from the Texas loss was that the Tar Heels need to clean up the turnover issues after committing a season-high 20. It showed as they matched their season-low with nine turnovers (also against UCLA and South Dakota State.)
“I think we learned to take care of the ball more, especially coming from that Texas game where they pressured us a lot.” Aarnisalo said. “This game was a little bit different in that way, because they started in zone, and I felt like our offense was just not as energetic. We were playing as hard as we should. I think that’s the biggest thing moving on for next week.”
Once again, Banghart grades on the curve, pointing out that Aarnisalo had three of those turnovers.
“I’ll pick on E,” Banghart said. “I think she’s one of the best ball handlers in the game. I don’t think her three are acceptable. She’s better than that. So yeah, nine turnovers is low. I think zero is even better.”
For the first time this season, Reniya Kelly wasn’t in uniform as she gets some more time to rest and recover for the ACC opener on Sunday. Kelly has struggled to find her rhythm and has scored a field goal in her last two games, but Banghart’s confidence in her junior leader hasn’t wavered.
“I think she’s so team-oriented that she doesn’t let on to that, but she’s got to be frustrated,” Banghart said of Kelly’s struggles. “Even though she wasn’t in uniform today, she has her imprint on us. You just know it’s going to be all right; she’s going to be fine.”
Banghart expects Louisville, which also got a blowout win Sunday, to provide a tough matchup but she likes her team’s mindset.
“We know Louisville will give us a formidable challenge, as they always do. Their players are too good, their coach is too good,” she said. “But we’ve scheduled well, so we’re a little more battle-tested. We’ve had great battles with them year after year after year.”
After a cold-shooting start, 3-pointers from Nyla Brooks and Laila Hull ignited a 12–4 run in the last 4½ minutes of the first quarter to give UNC a 21–12 lead.
Jordan Zubich’s 3-pointer ended more than a 2½-minute UNC scoring drought to start a 15–1 run, which included 3s from Brooks and Aarnisalo, to give UNC a 22-point lead before holding a 38–19 halftime edge. BU, scoreless for more than five minutes, ended a more than seven-minute field-goal drought with a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer by Hildur Gunnsteinsdóttir.
Carolina started the second half with a 22–5 run on five layups, two 3-pointers from Grant and one each from Aarnisalo and Nivar to go up by 36 at 3:33 of the third quarter. The Tar Heels made eight consecutive shots at one point and took a 66–31 lead into the final quarter.
A 10–2 UNC run to start the fourth quarter ballooned the lead to 43 on a Henderson tip-in and layup with 6:20 left. It took 6½ minutes for BU to score its first fourth-quarter field goal. UNC went scoreless for nearly four minutes before a Ciera Toomey 3-pointer with 2:38 left.
Gunnsteinsdóttir led the Terriers with 11 points while leading-scorere Anete Adler battled early foul trouble and was held to eight points.
Notes
— Carolina gets a week off before opening ACC play at home at 4 p.m. Sunday (ACC Network), two days after exams conclude, against Louisville. The No. 22 Cardinals (8–3) beat New Hampshire 94–43 at home Sunday after losing 79–77 to No. 3 South Carolina at home on Thursday. That game is one of four remaining UNC games currently classified as Quad 1.
— UNC moved to 13–1 against Patriot League teams, and has won both meetings with BU after a 75–71 victory in Carmichael on Jan. 11, 1981.
— Toomey blocked a career-high five shots.
— The season premiere of the “Holding Court with Courtney Banghart” will be recorded at noon on Monday at the Sheraton Chapel Hill and is open to the public.
— The Tar Heels’ 28 third-quarter points are tied for the second most in a quarter this season. UNC scored 29 in the second quarter in the 85–50 Nov. 20 win at N.C. A&T and 28 in the second quarter of the 85–73 Nov. 28 win in Cancun over Kansas State.
— BU’s 19 first-half points marked the third time this season UNC has held an opponent to fewer than 20 in a half (UNCG’s 18 second-half points in UNC’s 94–48 win on Nov. 13 and Elon’s 17 second-half points in a 71–37 win on Nov. 6).
— With BU held to seven second-quarter points and nine fourth-quarter points, Carolina has held opponents to single-digit points in a quarter 13 times in 11 games.
— Carolina extended its home win streak against unranked non-conference opponents to 32.
— With Kelly out, Grant and Harris started in the same game for the first time.
— Taissa Queiroz played for the first time in eight games, going scoreless in 5:17 after recovering from a concussion.
—UNC didn’t attempt a free throw in the middle two quarters.
No. 11 UNC 82, Boston Univ. 40
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 8 Louisville | 8–0 | 18–3 | 8 |
| No. 21 Duke | 8–0 | 13–6 | 17 |
| Syracuse | 6–2 | 16–3 | 40 |
| N.C. State | 6–2 | 13–6 | 26 |
| Virginia | 6–2 | 14–5 | 38 |
| North Carolina | 5–3 | 16–5 | 20 |
| Virginia Tech | 5–3 | 15–5 | 48 |
| Notre Dame | 5–3 | 13–6 | 27 |
| Stanford | 4–3 | 15–5 | 35 |
| Clemson | 4–4 | 13–7 | 41 |
| Miami | 3–5 | 11–8 | 47 |
| Georgia Tech | 3–5 | 8–12 | 97 |
| California | 2–5 | 11–9 | 59 |
| Wake Forest | 2–6 | 12–8 | 116 |
| Florida State | 2–6 | 7–13 | 111 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–7 | 8–13 | 248 |
| SMU | 1–7 | 8–12 | 168 |
| Boston College | 0–8 | 4–17 | 257 |
* — Through Wednesday games
Thursday’s games
North Carolina 54, Georgia Tech 46
Notre Dame 74, Miami 66
Virginia Tech 71, Clemson 68
Virginia 84, Pittsburgh 46
Florida State 73, SMU 51
Saturday’s games
Boston College at No. 8 Louisville, 11 a.m., ACCN Extra
No. 21 Duke at Pittsburgh, 3 p.m., ACCN Extra
Sunday’s games
N.C. State at Virginia, noon, ACC Network
Virginia Tech at Wake Forest, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Syracuse at North Carolina, 2 p.m., The CW
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
Thursday, Jan. 29, games
Virginia at Wake Forest, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Georgia Tech at Syracuse, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Boston College, 6 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at Clemson, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
No. 8 Louisville at Stanford, 8 p.m., ESPN
No. 21 Duke at Miami, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Notre Dame at California, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
| 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. 8 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 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 No. 21 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. No. 21 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
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