It wasn’t always easy, but the UNC women’s basketball team managed to grind out an 81-75 victory on Sunday at Carmichael Arena over the Charlotte 49ers.

Graduate student Stephanie Watts led the Tar Heels with 17 points in the game, including five critical free throws down the stretch that helped UNC earn its fifth victory in a row to begin the season.

A three-pointer from guard Ariel Young also came up clutch for the Tar Heels, as they outscored Charlotte 8-3 in the final two minutes of what was a one-point game.

The Tar Heels also received 13 points from both Alyssa Ustby and Petra Holešínská, while freshman sensation Deja Kelly added 11.

Although Charlotte fell to 0-4 with the loss, this was UNC’s closest game of the season to date. The 49ers posted nearly identical shooting percentages as the Tar Heels and only lost the rebounding battle by five (36-31).

This was the final non-conference game of the season for head coach Courtney Banghart and company.

“We knew this was going to be the start of the really competitive part of our season,” Banghart said. “Charlotte is a great team and they’ve got really good seniors that have played this game for a long time. We knew they were going to give us a battle.”

Up Next:

The ACC schedule begins on Thursday with a road game at Wake Forest. That game is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m.

 

FINAL BOX SCORE

 

Photo via Allison F. Smith (UNC Athletics)

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