Led by a career-high 26 points from senior Taylor Koenen and 23 more from junior forward Janelle Bailey, the UNC women’s basketball team rolled to an 86-72 victory over the Clemson Tigers on Sunday at Carmichael Arena.

The Tar Heels (16-6, 7-4 ACC) jumped out to a 27-10 lead through the first quarter and never looked back on the way to their first Sunday victory in their last five tries. By halftime, UNC was up 43-21 and the outcome was no longer in doubt.

It also marked the first time UNC had won back-to-back ACC games since beating Pitt and Virginia on Dec. 30 and Jan. 2. UNC previously beat Virginia for a second time earlier this week by a score of 78-68.

On her way to her career-high in scoring, Koenen made 11 of her 17 shots from the field, including a 4-for-8 mark from three-point range.

Clemson fell to 7-15 overall with the loss and 3-8 ACC.

“On Tuesday the very first thing I said when I saw the team was, ‘We’re going to get a sweep (this week),'” UNC head coach Courtney Banghart said afterwards. “This team is just maturing. We’ve been a bunch of fighters and now we want to make sure we can start the game with an aggressive punch as well. They’re maturing into being a really good team.”

Up Next:

A rivalry showdown against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium awaits the Tar Heels this week, with the game scheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m.

 

FINAL BOX SCORE

 

 

Photo via UNC Athletics

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