By Beckett Brantley
CHAPEL HILL — No. 18 North Carolina moved to 11–3 on Sunday in an all-around win over Charleston Southern, led by season-highs of 19 points and six 3-pointers from freshman Nyla Brooks.
The Tar Heels weathered a run in the fourth quarter that brought CSU within 11 points, and ultimately pulled out a 93–74 victory at Carmichael Arena, scoring 11 3-pointers for the fourth consecutive game.
“We were trying to play our defense the best we could,” freshman guard Taissa Queiroz said. “We know what we can do and when we saw they started getting in their threes, we held together and we were trying to play the better defense and the fourth quarter was better.
UNC was missing sophomore guard Lanie Grant (flu), who is averaging 28 minutes and over nine points this season, but it didn’t affect the offense’s ability to score against the 2–10 Buccaneers, who rank 345 in the NET.
Brooks came off the bench in the first half and led the team with nine points in nine minutes. She started the second half and led the team in scoring. Brooks provided an answer from 3-point range, shooting 50% to counter CSU’s efficient 52%.
Brooks, whose previous season-highs were 18 points against UNCG and four 3-pointers four times, also led UNC with five defensive rebounds.
“I think [Brooks] is one of the best freshmen in the country,” UNC Coach Courtney Banghart said. “We’ve really asked for her to grow on the defensive end so that she can be a reliable player with the top group all the time and she’s made major strides.”
North Carolina took advantage of its matchups. Sophomore center Blanca Thomas (4 points, 12 minutes) and redshirt sophomore forward Ciera Toomey (9 points, 5 rebounds) had a considerable height advantage down low and used it to extend the lead in the first half.
The offense spread the wealth. Eleven Tar Heels played, and the fast-paced offense that UNC established was supported by 19 points off turnovers and good ball movement. The Tar Heels recorded a season-high 22 assists (previous high was 21 against South Dakota State and Kansas State).
“We practice this transition, getting out and communicating with each other,” said Brooks, who scored the most 3-pointers by a Tar Heel in two seasons. “We practice this a lot. Five-on-0 in practice, just getting up and down the court in transition, getting to our secondaries.”
UNC left its starting lineup in for over half of the first quarter. The Tar Heels were pushing the pace in transition, going to senior forward Nyla Harris in the post, but the score was tied at 10 with about five minutes left in the first.
A Charleston Southern 3-pointer sandwiched by UNC turnovers gave the Buccaneers the lead, 13–11, but senior guard Indya Nivar (14 points, team-high 6 assists, 4 rebounds) scored her first points from downtown, and Brooks followed up from the corner to regain a four-point lead.
Four 3-pointers and seven fast-break points gave North Carolina a 23–13 lead after one quarter.
An 11-0 run culminated in a contested three from Brooks to extend the lead to 21 in the second quarter. Nine players scored on 63% shooting to give UNC a comfortable 50-25 lead at halftime.
Charleston Southern began the second half hot from beyond the arc. Guard Tyonna Bailey, who came off the bench, scored 10 points in the first five minutes, including two 3-pointers.
CSU had averaged almost 30 3-point attempts coming into the game, and UNC didn’t seem to have a defensive answer for the prolific outside shooting.
“Charleston Southern really shot the ball really, really well,” Banghart said. “We take pride in getting stops and we didn’t get enough of them today.”
But Queiroz’s offensive rebounding efforts fed 11 second-chance points in the third quarter, keeping the Tar Heels ahead 70–49. She recorded four rebounds in nine second-half minutes.
“Taissa was finally healthy and you’re seeing what we love about her,” Banghart said.
Banghart went back to a heavy-scoring lineup after an 11–2 Charleston Southern run to begin the fourth.
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A CSU 3-pointer brought the deficit down to 11 about four minutes into the quarter, but junior guard Reniya Kelly tied her season-high eight points with a layup to go up 15.
Kelly, who had missed 21 consecutive field-goal attempts before going 4 of 12 Sunday, played 25 minutes in the win.
“She’s coming,” Banghart said. “The plan all along has been to bring her back in the full go of the second semester. She’s been really patient and stuck with the plan, and I’m looking forward to seeing what she does in ACC play.”
Sophomore guard Elina Aarnisalo, who finished with 16 points and four assists, put up a fast-break layup to seal the deal.
The Tar Heels went 11–2 in nonconference play, and a rigorous ACC slate is all that awaits them. They continue conference play on Dec. 28 at 8 p.m. (ACC Network) against Boston College (4–10) in Chestnut Hill.
No. 18 UNC 93, Charleston Southern 74
| 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
Non-conference schedule
| Date | Day/ month | Time | Opponent/event (rank in final poll) |
|---|---|---|---|
| November | |||
| 2 | Monday | TBA | Oui-Play in Paris vs. No 12 Oklahoma |
| 8 | Sunday | TBA | Ally Tipoff in Charlotte vs. No. 2 South Carolina |
| 11 | Wednesday | TBA | vs. N.C. Central |
| 14 | Saturday | TBA | at Penn in Palestra |
| WBCA Showcase Orlando | |||
| 19 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. Texas Tech |
| 21 | Saturday | 5 p.m. | vs. No. 24 Alabama |
| ——— | |||
| 24 | Tuesday | TBA | vs. Gardner-Webb |
| 27 | Friday | TBA | vs. Army |
| 29 | Sunday | TBA | vs. Brown |
| December | |||
| 2 | Wednesday | TBA | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge vs. No. 8 LSU |
| 6 | Sunday | TBA | vs. Elon |
| 9 | Wednesday | 11 a.m. | vs. Winthrop |
| 21 | Monday | TBA | vs. Norfolk State |
| 28 | Monday | TBA | vs. UNCW |
ACC home opponents: Duke, N.C. State, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Virginia.
ACC road opponents: Duke, Stanford, California, Louisville, Clemson, Miami, Syracuse, SMU and Pittsburgh
Photos courtesy of UNC Athletics
