Prior to Sunday afternoon, the most recent meeting between the UNC women’s basketball team and the Charlotte 49ers ended in a close 81-75 Carolina victory. Sunday’s game wasn’t quite as competitive. Head coach Courtney Banghart and the Tar Heels dominated the 49ers from the start, capturing an 89-33 road win to start off the young season 2-0. The result is also the 1,000th win in program history.

From the opening tip-off, it was clear this one would be no contest. Carolina smothered Charlotte in the first quarter, bursting out of the gate on a 9-0 run and holding the 49ers to just one field goal made in the period. After 10 minutes, the score stood at 27-3 in favor of the visitors.

That lead increased all the way to 44-8 in the second quarter on a layup from sophomore guard Kennedy Todd-Williams, and the Tar Heels entered the locker room with a 46-11 advantage. Not too shabby.

“This was an example of us playing together,” said sophomore forward Alyssa Ustby, who finished the game as Carolina’s leading scorer with 18 points. “We were playing cohesively on offense and defense and it was just a great win. We had a lot of contributors, and we held each other accountable on defense. That’s a huge thing in order to get those tough team wins.”

Several statistics simply appear otherworldly: Carolina outscored Charlotte 44-4 in the paint, outrebounded the 49ers 50-27 and held a 31-10 advantage in points off turnovers. As a team, UNC also shot an outstanding 80 percent (12-15) from the field in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore forward Anya Poole, making her second start in two games after starting just five times during the 2020-21 season, filled up the stat sheet with a career-high 17 points on 7-10 shooting, as well as nine rebounds and three blocks, also a career-high mark. Ustby and Poole were two of four Tar Heels in double figures, along with Todd-Williams and sophomore guard Deja Kelly.

The historic win No. 1,000 comes in the women’s basketball program’s 48th season as a varsity sport at UNC, after starting in 1974-75. They are just the second ACC program and 18th nationally to reach the 1,000 win plateau.

“I’m so proud to be part of the legacy of a program that just earned its 1,000th win,” said Banghart. “I knew when I came to this program I was taking over one of the great traditions in women’s basketball. Our kids showed with great connectedness and effort today what that means. It was really fitting that this was the 1,000th win.”

With the milestone now passed, Carolina will return to Carmichael Arena on Wednesday night. The Tar Heels will look to start off the season 3-0 when Appalachian State visits Chapel Hill.

 

Featured image via Mike Slade

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