By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — No. 15 North Carolina’s torrid defense showed no sign of rust after a 13-day break, much to the misfortune of Western Illinois.
There were, as Coach Courtney Banghart put it, “some cobwebs” on the offensive side. But the Nylas and Grant show was too much for the No. 13-seed Leathernecks in the No. 4-seed Tar Heels’ 82–51 victory Friday at Carmichael Arena for their fourth consecutive first-round win in the NCAA tournament.
“It’s amazing how rhythmic these athletes are,” Banghart said. “They hadn’t had a game against another team for two weeks. And you could tell that. We were a little short in our shots. We were slow in our throwing and catching.”
UNC (27–7) meets No. 5-seed Maryland (24–8) at noon Sunday (ESPN) with a Sweet 16 berth on the line. The No. 17-ranked Terps advanced with a 99–67 victory over Murray State.
Nyla Harris put up her sixth double-double of the season (17 points and 12 rebounds), while Lanie Grant (15 points and four 3-pointers) and Nyla Brooks (14 points and two 3-pointers) helped the Heels make 20 of 29 two-point attempts.
Grant’s composure helped UNC stretch the margin in the first half. She said the staff prepared the guards for how Western Illinois would defend drives.
“We knew that they were going to collapse pretty hard on the guards’ drives,” Grant said. “So I think [Elina Aarnisalo] and Indya did a great job of finding the shooters. Me and Brooks were just told to get to the windows and shoot it when we’re open.”
Banghart praised an impressive tournament debut from Brooks.
“Nyla Brooks has just gotten so much better throughout the year,” Banghart said. “She’s important to us. I love that she kept shooting because she took good shots. And Lanie is just a rock.”
Indya Nivar added 11 points, five assists and three rebounds and was, as always, a big part of the sterling defensive effort with a team-high four steals.
“That’s what we do, our defense is what we take our pride in,” Nivar said. “Our defensive effort was a team effort, and everybody was locked in today.”
Western Illinois (26–7) suffered its second-worst shooting game of the season from the floor (30.4%) and 3-point range. It had made 35% of its 3-point attempts (32nd in the country) entering the game, but missed its first 12 and shot 13.3%.
“We know that’s something we can bring every game,” Nivar said. “We know the offensive end is going to be ups and downs. [Defense is there] every time, and it’s consistent. We can always bring energy, we can always just make it difficult for the other team to score.”
The Heels held OVC Player of the Year Mia Nicastro to 6 of 15 from the floor, with nine of her 21 points coming at the line, and forced her to commit a career-high six turnovers.
Ciera Toomey, who battled Nicastro inside, credited preparation.
“[The coaches] did a really good job of preparing us on moves she likes to make,” Toomey said. “We knew that when she got in the paint, she really likes counters, so we were just making sure that we were staying down, not falling for them and not letting her get around us.”
Early on, Grant’s 3-pointer and a three-point play helped UNC to a 5–2 lead. Western Illinois briefly closed within one, but UNC closed the opening quarter with an 11–4 surge that included two Harris baskets, the second a put-back at the buzzer.
Harris later said the last-minute rebound and finish steadied her after a slow start.
“I think Western Illinois was really packing it inside, making it hard for the offensive rebounds to make a basket,” Harris said. “I think it was important for me to get that because that was a little bit in my head in the beginning, just struggling a little bit. And then I think getting that buzzer going into this second quarter was just good for our team as well to just keep the momentum flowing.”
Another Grant 3 capped a 9–3 to push the lead to 14 with 6:12 left in the first half. The Leathernecks responded with seven straight points (five from the free-throw line) before Brooks hit a jumper and converted a driving three-point play, starting an 11–4 run to restore the 14-point edge, 38–24, by halftime.
Half of Western’s first-half points came at the free throw line (12 of 16), but it only attempted seven second-half free throws.
Western Illinois scored only one field goal in a span of 10 minutes, finally breaking the drought with 5:16 left in the third quarter. By then, UNC’s lead had ballooned to 28 thanks to layups by Nivar and Aarnisalo during a 17–3 run.
The Tar Heels led 58–33 after three quarters. Grant noted how quickly the game shifted once shots started falling after a slow start from the perimeter.
“It always makes a difference when you’re making shots,” she said. “All the coaches and my teammates continue to implore me to shoot the ball when I’m open. Everyone on our team is capable of shooting the three. When everyone’s hitting, then it really spaces out the defense.”
UNC attempted a season-high 40 shots outside the arc, a program record for an NCAA tournament game, and scored 10 3s.
Back-to-back 3 pointers by Laila Hull pushed UNC’s lead to a game-high 33 points with 12 seconds left.
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Notes
— Sunday will be the second UNC-Maryland meeting in NCAA tournament play. The Terps won the first, 81–70, in a 2006 national semifinal. The Terps lead the all-time series 39–37.
— It’s the first meeting of the former ACC rivals since the Tar Heels won 73–70 in the quarterfinals of the 2014 ACC tournament in Greensboro.
— The only common opponent was UCLA, which beat UNC in Las Vegas 78–60 on Nov. 13 and topped Maryland at home 97–67 on Jan. 17. Maryland’s leading scorer is former Duke guard Oluchi Okananwa.
— Maryland played at Carmichael Arena for the first time since beating UNC 79–70 on Jan. 5, 2014.
— For the second consecutive year, the UNC team is staying at a hotel while hosting the sub-regional.
— Junior guard Reniya Kelly, who hasn’t played since Feb. 4, missed her 10th consecutive game.
— The previous record for UNC 3-pointers in NCAA tournament play was 27 against Miami on March 21, 1992.
— Toomey was listed as questionable after tweaking a foot in practice, but started and said she feels fine.
— UNC is 2–0 against Western Illinois, which it also beat 89–48 in the first round of the 1995 NCAA tournament in Carmichael.
— Carolina is 55–31 in NCAA tournament play and is one of seven schools with at least 33 appearances.
— The Tar Heels are 26–6 in their first NCAA tournament game and 25–1 in NCAA tournament games at Carmichael.
No. 15 UNC 82, Western Illinois 51
Fort Worth 1 Regional
FIRST ROUND
Last Friday’s results
Chapel Hill
No. 5 Maryland 99, No. 12 Murray State 67
No. 4 North Carolina 82, No. 13 Western Illinois 51
Last Saturday’s results
Storrs, Conn.
No. 1 UConn 90, No. 16 UTSA 52
No. 9 Syracuse 72, No. 8 Iowa State 63
Columbus, Ohio
No. 3 Ohio State 74, No. 14 Howard 54
No. 6 Notre Dame 79, Fairfield 60
Nashville, Tenn.
No. 2 Vanderbilt 102, No. 15 High Point 61
No. 7 Illinois 66, No. 10 Colorado 57
SECOND ROUND
Last Sunday’s result
Chapel Hill
North Carolina 74, Maryland 66
Monday’s results
Columbus, Ohio
Notre Dame 83, Ohio State 73
Storrs, Conn.
UConn 98, Syracuse 45
Nashville, Tenn.
Vanderbilt 75, Illinois 57
REGIONAL SEMIFINALS
Fort Worth, Texas
Friday’s results
Notre Dame 67, Vanderbilt 64
UConn 63, North Carolina 42
REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday’s result
UConn 70, Notre Dame 52
| Date | Day/month | Scores | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 4 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. 3 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 13 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 No. 22 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 | W, 94–42 | vs. SMU | 21–5, 10–3 |
| 15 | Sunday | L, 72–68 | at No. 8 Duke | 21–6, 10–4 |
| 19 | Thursday | W, 66–63, OT | at Virginia Tech | 22–6, 11–4 |
| 22 | Sunday | W, 78–50 | vs. Pittsburgh | 23–6, 12–4 |
| 26 | Thursday | W, 82–70 | at Virginia | 24–6, 13–4 |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | W, 72–69 | vs. No. 8 Duke | 25–6, 14–4 |
| ACC tournament | Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga. | |||
| 6 | Friday | W, 85–68 | Quarterfinal vs. Va. Tech | 26–6 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 65–57 | Semifinal vs. No. 13 Louisville | 26–7 |
| NCAA tournament Fort Worth 1 Regional | ||||
| 21 | Friday | W, 82–51 | First round in Chapel Hill: vs. Western Illinois | 27–7 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 74–66 | Second round in Chapel Hill: No. 17 Maryland | 28–7 |
| 27 | Friday | L, 63–52 | Sweet 16 in Fort Worth, Texas: vs. No. 1 UConn | 28–8 |
Photos by Daniel Walker
