Neither of the UNC basketball teams will want to come back to Bloomington any time soon.

A day after the Tar Heel men fell to the Hoosiers in Assembly Hall, the women did the same Thursday night, losing 87-63 to hot-shooting Indiana. It’s Carolina’s first loss of the young season.

UNC opened the game on a 7-0 run, but that was about as good as it would get for head coach Courtney Banghart’s team. Indiana scored 13 unanswered points to answer that run and never lost the lead after that. The Hoosiers show 8-12 on three-pointers in the first half, far outpacing Carolina and staking the hosts to a 49-33 halftime lead. Down low, forward Mackenzie Holmes flexed her muscles to the tune of 25 points on 10-17 shooting. Guard Sydney Holmes poured in 24 of her own on the night.

Guard Kennedy Todd-Williams was UNC’s leading scorer, contributing a season-high 20 points. Deja Kelly, coming off a 29-point outburst against Iowa State, was held to just 11 against Indiana on 3-12 shooting. As a team, Carolina shot just 35.4 percent, by far a season-low.

The second quarter proved to be critical: UNC trailed by just six points entering the period, but were unable to keep up with the Hoosiers’ hot shooting. Indiana made nine of its 16 shots, while Carolina lagged behind at 5-20. The Hoosiers outscored the Tar Heels 22-12 in the period to blow the game open.

The loss is Carolina’s first of the young season and drops them to 6-1. The team will finally return to Carmichael Arena on December 7 after its long road trip. The Tar Heels will host UNC-Wilmington at 6 p.m.

 

Featured image via Indiana Women’s Basketball on Twitter

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