Playing against her home-state university on Wednesday afternoon at Carmichael Arena, UNC freshman guard Taylor Koenen scored a career-high 21 points to help lead the Tar Heel women’s basketball team past the previously undefeated Minnesota Golden Gophers by a score of 88-83.

Koenen did a bit of everything in the game, as she not only led UNC in scoring–but also chipped in six assists and six rebounds to the winning cause.

In the frontcourt, another freshman–Janelle Bailey–supplemented Koenen’s effort with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Senior guard Jamie Cherry added 19 points for the Tar Heels (4-2), while the team’s leading scorer this season, Paris Kea, tallied 11 of her own.

UNC got off to a fast start by scoring 31 points in the first quarter–the team’s highest-scoring quarter of the year–as Koenen, Bailey and Cherry each scored eight points in the period.

Minnesota (7-1) received 25 points from Gadiva Hubbard, but couldn’t quite keep up with the hot-shooting Tar Heels–who finished the game having made 50 percent of their shots from the floor.

The UNC defense also limited the Golden Gophers to just four made shots in the second quarter to help build a 44-36 lead at halftime–one they would not relinquish during the second half.

A late rally by Minnesota saw the visitors cut the Tar Heel lead to 77-74 late in the fourth quarter, but a three-pointer by Cherry with just over two minutes left helped seal the victory for good.

Up Next:

UNC will look to carry its momentum over to Friday, when it hosts Hartford at Carmichael Arena. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.

 

FINAL BOX SCORE 

 

 

Photo via Jeffrey A. Camarati (UNC Athletics)

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