By R.L. Bynum
A one-point game at halftime turned into a rough evening in Paris for No. 12 North Carolina.
No. 21 Oklahoma took over the game with a 20–6 third-quarter run and led by as many as 20 points, coasting to a 91–79 victory over the Tar Heels in the opener for both teams Monday at the Adidas Arena in the Oui-Play Paris event.
Carolina coach Courtney Banghart said a roster with so many new additions needs a test like that, even when the result stings.
“They showed some areas of weakness that we have to continue to address,” Banghart said. “But fortunately, they get to learn on a big stage.”
It was a battle between two of the nation’s top freshmen: UNC’s Kate Harpring and Oklahoma’s LeeLee Bell, and both put on a show.
Harpring collected team highs of 21 points, six rebounds and five assists, and added two steals. Bell poured in 25 points and four 3-pointers with eight rebounds and four assists.
Banghart saw both promise and growing pains in her freshman’s debut, and she expected Harpring to be hard on herself over the game-high seven turnovers.
“I think there were some things that Kate did really well, and there are some things that the game’s happening a little bit too fast for her still, and so we’re going to live with that,” Banghart said. “I know she’s going to be pointing inward and being frustrated by all the turnovers. She’s working on learning the college game as fast as she can, but it’s going to take some time.”
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Four teammates joined Harpring in double-figures: Nyla Brooks (13 points, two 3-pointers), Achol Akot (11 points, eight rebounds), Reniya Kelly (11 points, seven assists) and Gabby White (10 points, two 3-pointers, four rebounds).
The Tar Heels struggled to move the ball in their half-court offense, often relying on one-on-one moves and 3-pointers to generate points. The latter didn’t produce enough, as UNC went 11-for-40 from beyond the arc and got outrebounded 53–48.
Banghart said Oklahoma’s defensive approach made it hard for Carolina to get into its sets.
“They were really spacing us out,” Banghart said. “They were making east-west movement difficult. They were icing ball screens, and we wanted to attack them downhill and then play off two, and we weren’t able to retain that teaching and make it happen in the game.”
She added that the shooting numbers left no margin for error.
“We didn’t shoot well enough to shoot ourselves into that game,” said Banghart, whose team shot 33.7% from the floor. “But if we’re going to shoot like that, we have to defend better, and we didn’t.”
Sahara Williams added 22 for Oklahoma, and star Aaliyah Chavez, who battled foul trouble, scored 14 as the Sooners dealt with UNC’s pressure better as the game wore on.
Oklahoma scored the game’s first eight points, including 3-pointers from Williams and Bell, before Harpring hit a mid-range jumper 1:56 into the game for her first college points.
Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk said Bell’s immediate impact did not surprise her, and she pointed to how easily the freshman fits next to any teammate.
“What LeeLee has come in as a freshman and done so well is that she just complements whoever she’s playing with,” Baranczyk said. “She can play with so many different combinations.”
That Harpring bucket started a 17–3 run, which included 3-pointers by Harpring and Brooks, to give UNC a six-point lead with five minutes left in the opening quarter. The run included 3-pointers from Harpring, Brooks, Akot and Sophie Burrows and an Akot three-point play.
Oklahoma responded with a 7–0 run to take a one-point lead on a Jordan Speiser 3-pointer, but the Tar Heels took a 19–18 lead into the second quarter. An Akot layup ended an over six-minute UNC field-goal drought with 8:58 left in the first half, and the Tar Heels ran it back to a six-point lead on a Brooks 3-pointer from the right wing.
The Sooners seized a seven-point lead on Bell’s 3-pointer with 1:40 left in the first half, capping a 15–4 run as UNC went more than 3½ minutes without a field goal. Burrows ended the drought with a layup to start a 7–0 run, including a Kelly corner 3-pointer, to tie it on a Harpring layup with 29 seconds left. But the Sooners led 39–38 at halftime despite star Sanchez sitting for much of the opening half with three fouls.
Kelly said the Tar Heels never found the urgency they needed early, and she said that the team’s shortcomings are fixable.
“I could just tell that we were a little too comfortable and not urgent enough,” Kelly said. “Our physicality isn’t there. Our connectivity isn’t there, and that’s OK. It’s a long season, so we just find our weaknesses, and I think that’s good.”
The Sooners opened the second half with a 14–4 run, taking an 11-point lead with 6:47 left in the third quarter. A Burrows 3 from the right wing, shortly before picking up her fourth foul, and a Harpring layup cut UNC’s deficit to six.
Banghart said the second-half breakdown came on the defensive end and that she put it on her team’s accountability.
“I felt like we let people get to their favorite things way too much,” Banghart said. “We let LeeLee Bell get comfortable to start the game, and that just continued. And of course, with Chavez in foul trouble, she came back. She was quite rested and got to do what she wanted to do.
“Defensively, we just weren’t accountable to what we need to do, and that’s on us,” said Banghart, lamenting Oklahoma’s point total. “That’s just not what we do.”
Oklahoma then reeled off that 20–6 run, going up by 18, as Chavez hit a 3-pointer and two free throws, the latter with 1:40 left in the third quarter. The Sooners outscored UNC 31–13 in the third quarter to take a 70–52 advantage.
The lead reached 20 on a Caya Smith layup with 6:14 left, before UNC cut it to 13 with a 7–0 run that included a Harpring 3-pointer. The lead went back to 17 before Kelly hit a 3-pointer with 1:14 left to cap a 6–0 run and cut it to 10, but it didn’t get any closer.
Baranczyk was not pleased with how her team handled the closing minutes, even with the win secure, and she said the Sooners had never practiced protecting a big lead.
“We were still playing like it was rec league,” Baranczyk said. “We were having fun, and the shots weren’t going in, or we were passing it to the wrong team, and we were getting a little risky. You didn’t know that you were going to be up and have to manage. We have not practiced that, and so we’re going to have to learn how to do that.”
Notes
— Carolina plays its first domestic game at 5:30 Sunday in Charlotte at the Ally Tipoff against No. 1 South Carolina. The Gamecocks built a 31-point lead and hung on for a 101–93 victory over No. 20 Maryland in the first game of the Paris doubleheader.
— Ciera Toomey, who didn’t play in either exhibition game, also missed the Oklahoma game as she works through what Banghart called a lower-body injury.
— It was a color rush, with both teams wearing their road uniforms, although UNC was the designated home team.
— Among the spots the UNC team visited in Paris were the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Champs-Élysées.
— Oklahoma tied the all-time series with UNC at 3 to snap a two-game losing streak against the Tar Heels.
— Banghart is 3–7 against SEC teams, with the last win 72–53 in the 2024 SEC/ACC Women’s Challenge against Kentucky.
— Banghart is 23–35 against ranked teams, with wins last season against No. 12 Duke and No. 17 Maryland.
No. 21 Oklahoma 91, No. 12 UNC 79
| Date | Day/ month | Times/ scores | Opponent/event (current rank) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |||
| 18 | Sunday | W, 76–66 | vs. Davidson | |
| 24 | Saturday | L, 72–68 | at No. 20 Maryland | |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | Monday | L, 91–79 | Oui-Play in Paris vs. No. 21 Oklahoma | 0–1 |
| 8 | Sunday | 5:30 | Ally Tipoff in Charlotte vs. No. 1 South Carolina | ESPN |
| 11 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. N.C. Central | ACCNE |
| 14 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at Penn in Palestra | ESPN+ |
| WBCA Showcase | Orlando | |||
| 19 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. Texas Tech | ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 5 p.m. | vs. Alabama | ESPN+ |
| ——— | ||||
| 24 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Gardner-Webb | ACCNE |
| 27 | Friday | 7 p.m. | vs. Army | ACCNE |
| 29 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | vs. Brown | ACCN |
| December | ||||
| 2 | Wednesday | 7:15 | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge vs. No. 9 LSU | ESPN2 |
| 6 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Elon | ACCN |
| 9 | Wednesday | 11 a.m. | vs. Winthrop | ACCNE |
| 13 | Sunday | 6 p.m. | vs. No. 25 N.C. State | ESPN |
| 17 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| 21 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Norfolk State | ACCN |
| 28 | Monday | 8 p.m. | vs. UNCW | ACCN |
| 31 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Syracuse | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at Clemson | The CW |
| 7 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 10 | Sunday | 3 p.m. | at No. 7 Louisville | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 17 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | vs. Boston College | ACCN |
| 21 | Thursday | 8 p.m. ET | at California | ACCN |
| 24 | Sunday | 2 p.m. ET | at Stanford | ESPN, 2 or U |
| 28 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. No. 13 Notre Dame | ESPN |
| 31 | Sunday | 5 p.m. | vs. No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 4 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ACCNE |
| 7 | Sunday | 6 p.m. | vs. Virginia Tech | ACCN |
| 14 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at SMU | ACCNE |
| 18 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Pittsburgh | ACCN |
| 21 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Florida State | The CW |
| 25 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | vs. Virginia | ACCN |
| 28 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | at No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 3–7 | Wed.-Sun. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
