The No. 25 UNC women’s basketball team had no trouble with Western Carolina on Friday night at Carmichael Arena, breezing past the Catamounts 96-36 in the penultimate non-conference matchup of the regular season.

The game was most notable for the return of two critical pieces to the Tar Heel lineup. Guard Paulina Paris started for the Tar Heels after missing the previous two games due to an injury. Paris didn’t miss a beat in her return, scoring a season-high 16 points on a tidy 6-8 shooting in 25 minutes. Even more encouraging for head coach Courtney Banghart and the Tar Heels was the season debut of forward Teonni Key, who had missed the start of the season with a nagging lower-body injury. Key also looked fresh on the court, scoring seven points while grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds.

Alyssa Ustby dominated the night, tying her career high with 23 points in just 24 minutes. She fell a rebound shy of a double-double with nine and added six assists for good measure. Maria Gakdeng (10 points) and Indya Nivar (15 off the bench) also scored in double figures for Carolina.

The win improves the Tar Heels to 7-4 on the season before their final non-conference game. UNC will travel to Charlotte to face Oklahoma in the Jumpman Invitational on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications

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