By R.L. Bynum
WINSTON-SALEM — For weeks, Nyla Brooks kept shooting.
The good shots were there. The confidence wasn’t gone. The shots were falling in practice, and her work never stopped there. But the results — the 3-pointers that once came easily in nonconference play— hadn’t been falling. The stat lines looked quieter than expected for one of the ACC’s most heralded freshmen.
On Sunday afternoon, that drought ended in a big way.
Brooks, North Carolina’s freshman sharpshooter, delivered the breakout performance the Tar Heels have been waiting for, with career-highs of 21 points and seven rebounds as No. 25 UNC rolled past Wake Forest 84–56 at Joel Coliseum.
It was the seventh consecutive win, and third in seven days, for UNC (20–5, 9–3 ACC), earning the program’s 34th 20-win season and fifth in a row.
“I just kept shooting. In practice, it goes in, so I’m prepared,” Brooks said. “Didn’t change anything — just kept working. And today it seemed to go in.”
After combining to make only three 3-pointers across her previous nine games, Brooks erupted for five, the kind of shooting display that reminded fans why she arrived in Chapel Hill with so much excitement surrounding her game.
UNC coach Courtney Banghart said the performance was about much more than a slump-ending game. Sitting beside Brooks after the game, Banghart spoke with the pride of someone watching a player grow through the most challenging part of the freshman experience — the stretch where expectations are heavy, and nothing comes easily.
“It’s hard to come in as such a heralded player, have such a great nonconference, and then everyone’s expecting her every night,” Banghart said. “And she just put her head down and worked. She deserves it.”
The most telling part of Brooks’ afternoon wasn’t only the scoring, but also how her game has expanded to improve on defense and under the boards. Banghart said that’s a product of Brooks’ commitment to being more than just a good shooter.
“She can defend at a high level,” Banghart said. “Now she’s doing a lot more on the glass. She’s coming off the bounce more, seeing the floor. She’s going to be so good. She already is so good.”
Playing the teams at the bottom of the top-heavy ACC means you can’t afford an embarrassing loss and have to take care of business, which is what UNC did.
In the first of two consecutive games against teams with triple-digit NET rankings, the Tar Heels dominated the boards 42–24 and second-chance points 21–1 against the Deacons (13–12, 3–10), who have a NET ranking of 122. Next up, UNC hosts SMU (8–15, 1–10), which has lost five straight games and ranks 183rd in the NET.
A luxury of games UNC figures to easily win is the ability to rest a starter, in this case Reniya Kelly.
It helps that both Nylas were on their games. Nyla Harris keeps stacking good games, collecting 19 points and five rebounds Sunday.
Indya Nivar finished with nine points, eight rebounds and seven assists, flirting with another triple-double.
But the afternoon belonged to Brooks — not just because the shots finally fell, but because of what it represented.
Brooks brushed off the idea that the slump had shaken her confidence.
“Today was nobody but God,” she said. “I just stay in the gym. Seeing the work pay off, it was great.”
Banghart made it clear this wasn’t a random hot shooting night. It was the product of daily effort that doesn’t always show up in the box score.
“She lifts on her off days,” Banghart said. “She watches a lot of film. She’s willing to watch good clips and not-so-good clips so she can learn. This kid earns it.”
It was a testament to the team’s commitment that Banghart gave her players the option to attend the men’s basketball game against Duke on Saturday night or go to Winston-Salem for a 4:30 Saturday practice at Joel Coliseum.
Banghart admitted to being “a little bummed” that she didn’t use what she said were “great tickets” when the team opted for the practice. She asked the team again a couple of days later, and they said that the decision hadn’t changed.
They watched the men’s team’s victory over Duke in a big room the team rented, when they could have been right there in the Smith Center.
“In that arena, we wouldn’t have been able to necessarily all sit together, so maybe it was more special that way,” Banghart said. “That was really fun, actually, to be with our whole team and just our support staff and kind of experience that together. So maybe it was the right decision after all.”
The Deacons jumped out to a 7–2 lead, taking advantage of four early UNC turnovers as the Heels struggled a bit against their 2-3 zone.
North Carolina responded with a decisive 20–2 run, fueled by two early Brooks 3-pointers and two more from Lanie Grant. The Deacons went more than seven minutes without a field goal, and the Tar Heels led 22–11 after one quarter.
By the time Brooks buried her fourth 3-pointer midway through the second quarter, UNC’s lead had reached 14, but an 8–2 Deacons run sliced their deficit to eight. A 3-pointer from Elina Aarnisalo, who started in place of Kelly, pushed the lead to 13, and UNC led 39–29 at halftime.
UNC kept pushing, going on a 14–7 run to start the second half, ballooning the lead to 23 with a 24–4 quarter-ending run, with a Laila Hull 3-pointer giving Carolina a 65–42 lead. A Jordan Zubich 3-pointer with 1:56 left in the game pushed the lead to 31.
Milan Brown led Wake Forest with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Notes
— SMU, UNC’s 6 p.m. Thursday (ACC Network) opponent at home, lost its fifth straight game, falling 95–36 on Sunday at No. 17 Duke one game after losing at home to Wake Forest. It will be a homecoming for guard Paulina Paris, in her first season with the Mustangs after playing her first two seasons at UNC and last season at Arizona. Paris didn’t play at Duke because of an injury, though.
— Brooks’ previous scoring high was 19 against Charleston Southern, and her previous rebounding high was six against UNCW.
— The Tar Heels have won the last five meetings with Wake Forest and lead the all-time series 69–19, including 27–11 in Winston-Salem.
— Brooks notched the third 20-point game by a Tar Heel this season, after it was earlier done by Harris and Kelly.
— Ciera Toomey started, but Brooks began the second half in the lineup.
— Banghart, who grew up a New England Patriots fan, wore a 10 UNC Drake Maye jersey.
— Zubich, Liza Astakhova and Sydney Barker each played for the first time in five games after last getting into a game in the Jan. 18 win at Florida State.
— Blanca Thomas had four points and five rebounds in 12 minutes, her most playing time since playing nearly 12 minutes against Charleston Southern on Dec. 21.
No. 25 UNC 84, Wake Forest 56
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 17 Duke | 13–0 | 18–6 | 13 |
| No. 6 Louisville | 12–1 | 22–4 | 7 |
| N.C. State | 10–3 | 17–7 | 25 |
| No. 25 North Carolina | 9–3 | 20–5 | 21 |
| Syracuse | 9–4 | 19–5 | 36 |
| Virginia | 9–4 | 17–7 | 38 |
| Virginia Tech | 8–5 | 18–7 | 43 |
| Clemson | 8–5 | 17–8 | 40 |
| Notre Dame | 7–6 | 15–9 | 30 |
| California | 6–6 | 15–10 | 52 |
| Georgia Tech | 6–7 | 11–14 | 98 |
| Stanford | 5–7 | 16–9 | 37 |
| Miami | 4–9 | 12–12 | 51 |
| Florida State | 3–9 | 8–16 | 111 |
| Wake Forest | 3–10 | 13–12 | 122 |
| SMU | 1–11 | 8–16 | 183 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–11 | 8–17 | 256 |
| Boston College | 0–13 | 4–22 | 252 |
* — Through Saturday games
Sunday’s results
No. 25 North Carolina 84, Wake Forest 56
No. 6 Louisville 84, Syracuse 65
N.C. State 82, Virginia Tech 62
California 95, Pittsburgh 80
No. 17 Duke 95, SMU 36
Virginia 81, Notre Dame 70
Florida State 87, Miami 70
Georgia Tech 74, Stanford 52
Clemson 83, Boston College 59
Thursday’s games
SMU at No. 25 North Carolina, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Syracuse at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Boston College at Florida State, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Wake Forest at No. 6 Louisville, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Georgia Tech at Clemson, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Virginia at California, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Virginia Tech at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Sunday’s games
Pittsburgh at SMU, noon, ACC Network
Miami at Boston College, noon, ACCN Extra
No. 25 North Carolina at No. 17 Duke, 1 p.m., ABC
Virginia at Stanford, 2 p.m., The CW
Clemson at Syracuse, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Notre Dame, 4 p.m., ESPN
Virginia Tech at California, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Florida State at No. 6 Louisville, 6 p.m., ACC Network
| 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 | W, 84–56 | vs. Wake Forest | 20–5, 9–3 |
| 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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