By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Courtney Banghart has never dealt with a loss to Clemson, but the latest victory over the Tigers was anything but easy.
No. 25 North Carolina leaned on another sterling defensive performance to overcome intermittent offensive sloppiness. The Tar Heels rode a third-quarter scoring surge and held on for a less-than-artistic 53–44 victory Thursday at Carmichael Arena to extend their win streak to six.
Banghart could only shake her head afterward at how physical and grinding the game became.
“What a slugfest,” Banghart said. “Neither team really had a lot of space on the offensive end, so we had to find other ways.”
The Tar Heels (19–5, 8–3 ACC) held Clemson (16–8, 7–5) to an ACC-low point total by switching on everything to disrupt the Tigers’ ball-screen attack and hold them without a field goal for the last nine minutes, which Banghart said means “we really guarded the ball well.”
Carolina endured six scoreless stretches of at least three minutes, including droughts of more than four minutes in the second and fourth quarters. Thanks to the Heels’ defense, though, the Tigers also went through droughts, including the one to end the game, and led 10–3 on fast-break points.
Banghart decided not to put two defenders on the ball.
“Let’s trust our interior. Trust guarding on the perimeter,” she said. “And that obviously proved to be the right call.”
Clemson coach Shawn Poppie said his team struggled to maintain a consistent inside presence while playing without 6–3 graduate guard DeMeara Hinds, which helped UNC hold a 32–10 lead in paint points.
“When you struggle to have a post presence, and then our guards struggle to get by, because it was very easy to switch, there was no worry of a roll,” he said. “It felt like we’re playing four on five offensively. I thought their pressure bothered our rhythm.”
Forward Nyla Harris (top photo), who put up a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Lanie Grant (16 points and two 3-pointers) accounted for 62.2% of UNC scoring as Ciera Toomey (1 of 3, 2 rebounds) and Reniya Kelly (0 for 6, 1 assist) combined for two points.
“Ciera really struggled with the physicality down there,” Banghart said. “She’s got to determine, when she gets touches, what she wants to do with them, and she’s going to have to be more aggressive with them, or else we’ll have to be smaller or play other guys.”
UNC seemed to get tough whistles all night, only attempting four free throws in the first 39 minutes. But that was helpful because Clemson, which has lost 10 in a row to UNC, had to commit four fouls in the last minute before it could put the Tar Heels on the line. By that time, the game was out of reach.
Getting to the line has been a consistent problem. According to HerHoopsStats, UNC is 323rd in the country in free-throw rate (14.5%), 356th in percentage of points at the line (12.8%) and 319th in free-throw attempts (14.8).
Some of those numbers are because of bad free-throw shooting for most of the season. But UNC made 5 of 6 attempts on Thursday and has shot 80.7% in the last seven games.
“You either have to make threes, you’ve got to score, you’ve got to score off turnovers, you’ve got to make free throws,” Banghart said. “We’re doing a good job of not doing a lot of any of those and finding ways to win. We will continue to work and to prioritize. But this team is not entirely finished getting better yet.”
Banghart praised Harris’ steady impact, especially as the ACC grind intensifies.
“Really glad she’s here,” Banghart said. “She’s playing like a senior, and certainly we need it.”
UNC emerged from a sluggish first quarter with a 13–12 lead despite a pair of two-minute scoring droughts while collecting nearly as many turnovers (4) as field goals (5).
After Clemson missed six of its first eight 3-point attempts, a Rusne Augustinaite 3-pointer capped a 10–2 Tigers run as they took a 22–17 lead late in the second quarter. UNC went scoreless for four minutes during that stretch before a Grant drive with five seconds left cut UNC’s halftime deficit to 24–22.
At halftime, Banghart implored her team to make quicker reads and more decisive play.
“I thought we were staring at the post,” Banghart said. “We were really slow decision-makers with the ball in our hands. I reminded them to survey before a catch so that you can read the closeout quicker.”
After another Augustinaite 3 stretched Clemson’s lead to six in the first two minutes of the second half, the Tigers missed seven shots in a row. UNC took advantage and went on a 13–2 run, taking a five-point lead in the third quarter after making six consecutive shots.
Harris felt the defensive adjustments rattled Clemson’s rhythm.
“I think our advantage on defense was the ability for us to switch one through five,” said Harris, who was honored before the game with a basketball commemorating her reaching 1,000 career points, and she now has 1,051. “Every time a screen was set, it’s a switch, which caused them to retreat back, and they couldn’t really get downhill as much.”
That defensive togetherness carried over even when UNC’s offense stalled.
“We just stuck together, even through the turnovers, the bad mistakes,” Harris said. “Not every possession is going to be perfect, but we’ve got to make sure that we get a stop on the defensive end as much as we can.”
An Elina Aarnisalo jumper early in the fourth quarter ended a more than three-minute UNC scoring drought and stretched the lead to seven. Clemson trimmed it to four with 3:55 left, but the Tigers only scored one point after that.
Even late, Clemson couldn’t find enough clean shots, missing chances at the rim.
“We missed a lot of layups. I think 12 is what we counted,” Poppie said.
Banghart said the team is learning to move on quickly from mistakes instead of dwelling.
“This game gave us a lot of opportunities to practice looking forward after mistakes,” she said. “We’d look backwards, not forwards.”
Harris echoed that mindset as a key late-season trait.
“We’re getting over it — that next-play mentality,” she said. “Even if we make a mistake, just get over it. We’re good. On to the next play.”
Augustinaite, who leads the ACC in 3-point shooting percentage, led Clemson with 15 points and five 3-pointers, but North Carolina’s defense — and timely third-quarter burst — proved too much in the end.
Notes
— Carolina is back on the road Sunday, facing Wake Forest (13–11, 3–9) at 2 p.m. (ACC Network). The Deacons snapped an eight-game losing streak on Thursday with a 70–65 victory at SMU.
— The Tar Heels wore navy-blue uniforms with Carolina blue trim, lettering and numbers and no names on the backs of the jerseys.
— Toomey and Clemson’s Rachael Rose were AAU teammates for NEPA Elite and were high school rivals.
— It was the fourth consecutive UNC game that had either tied or the Heels trailed at halftime. The Tar Heels won all four.
— It was Carolina’s second-best win of the season by the NET metric with Clemson at 37.
— UNC leads the all-time series 64–27, including 31–9 at Carmichael Auditorium/Arena.
— Banghart is 9–0 against Clemson.
No. 25 UNC 53, Clemson 44
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 17 Duke | 12–0 | 17–6 | 14 |
| No. 6 Louisville | 11–1 | 21–4 | 7 |
| Syracuse | 9–3 | 19–4 | 39 |
| N.C. State | 9–3 | 16–7 | 26 |
| No. 25 North Carolina | 8–3 | 19–5 | 21 |
| Virginia Tech | 8–4 | 18–6 | 42 |
| Virginia | 8–4 | 16–7 | 38 |
| Clemson | 7–5 | 16–8 | 37 |
| Notre Dame | 7–5 | 15–8 | 31 |
| Stanford | 5–6 | 16–8 | 36 |
| California | 5–6 | 14–10 | 54 |
| Georgia Tech | 5–7 | 10–14 | 94 |
| Miami | 4–8 | 12–11 | 49 |
| Florida State | 2–9 | 7–16 | 110 |
| Wake Forest | 3–9 | 13–11 | 123 |
| SMU | 1–10 | 8–15 | 181 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–10 | 8–16 | 260 |
| Boston College | 0–12 | 4–21 | 248 |
* — Through Wednesday games
Thursday’s results
No. 25 North Carolina 53, Clemson 44
Stanford 86, Boston College 65
No. 17 Duke 59, No. 6 Louisville 58
Notre Dame 80, Virginia Tech 70
Virginia 67, Miami 56
California 63, Georgia Tech 56
Wake Forest 70, SMU 65
N.C. State 83, Florida State 55
Sunday’s games
No. 6 Louisville at Syracuse, noon, ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Virginia Tech, noon, ACC Network
California at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. ACCN Extra
No. 25 North Carolina at Wake Forest, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at No. 17 Duke, 2 p.m. The CW
Notre Dame at Virginia, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at Florida State, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Stanford at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Boston College at Clemson, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
| 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. 2 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. 78 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, 1–1 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–1 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–2 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 73–50 | at Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–3 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–3 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 82–55 | at Florida State | 15–5, 4–3 |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 54–46 | at Georgia Tech | 16–5, 5–3 |
| 25 | Sunday | W, 77–71, OT | vs. Syracuse | 17–5, 6–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 61–59 | at N.C. State | 18–5, 7–3 |
| 5 | Thursday | W, 53–44 | vs. Clemson | 19–5, 8–3 |
| 8 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 12 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. SMU | ACCN |
| 15 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at No. 20 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. 20 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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