UConn superstar Paige Bueckers scored 16 points in the first quarter alone to lead the No. 2 Huskies past Carolina in Greensboro, 69-58, on Friday night. It’s the Tar Heels’ first loss of the 2024-25 season and their seventh straight against UConn.

“I wish we had played better, quite honestly,” UNC head coach Courtney Banghart said afterward. “But it’s game four… a lot of takeaways that we’ll continue to pound to get this group better.”

Bueckers ended the first quarter with more points than Carolina had as a team. The Huskies led 25-14 at the end of the period and expanded that lead to as large as 20 points at 38-18 late in the second.

“Paige is really special,” Banghart said. “We’ve got an opportunity to watch a generational player for a couple more games before she goes on to the pros.”

The Tar Heels ended the first half on an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 38-26 at halftime, but the UConn kept Carolina at arm’s length for the rest of the night. UNC never got closer than 61-52 midway through the fourth quarter.

Bueckers led all scorers with 29 points on 12-21 shooting, while also adding four rebounds, four assists and two steals. For the Tar Heels, Alyssa Ustby finished with just three points and shot 1-9 from the floor. The starting trio of Ustby, Lexi Donarski and Maria Gakdeng combined for 10 points.

“They need to be responsible for the way they performed,” Banghart said of her veteran players. “They didn’t perform at the level we need them to perform. They know that. I reminded them of that.”

Indya Nivar, who missed the first three games of the season due to an injury, finished as Carolina’s leading scorer with 15 points on 6-11 shooting. She fell a rebound short of a double-double with nine.

“I was just super excited to get back to my team, get back playing with them,” Nivar said. “I know I put in a lot of work in the offseason, so I was just excited to show everybody what I’ve been working on.”

UNC still hasn’t beaten UConn since the 2006-07 season. Up next for Carolina is a trip to the Bahamas for the program’s first-ever appearance in the Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis. The Tar Heels will face Ball State in the opening game on Saturday, November 23 at 4 p.m.

 

Featured image via Associated Press/Ben McKeown

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