The hottest team in Chapel Hill? Look no further than head coach Courtney Banghart and the UNC women’s basketball team. The Tar Heels entered the Bahamas with an unblemished record and will return to America with it still intact, having gone 2-0 in the Goombay Splash event. After downing VCU on Black Friday, Carolina locked down on defense against Washington on Saturday afternoon to claim a 58-37 win.

This is the second time in three seasons the women’s basketball team has started 6-0 under Banghart. UNC has not reached the 7-0 mark since the 2014-15 season.

Though UNC shot just 21-67 (31.3 percent) as a team on the day, the defense completely shut down the Huskies, allowing only 13 points in the first half. No opposing player scored in double digits, the second time this season the Carolina defense has achieved this feat. UNC’s 58 points scored are by far a season-low, but the 37 points allowed is the team’s second-best mark through six games. The Tar Heels held Charlotte to 33 points earlier this season.

Carolina’s best offensive weapon on the day was Eva Hodgson, who scored a season-high 15 points off the bench on 5-9 shooting. Hodgson also drained two three-pointers in four attempts against the Huskies, improving her season rate from downtown to a sizzling 47.6 percent. Sophomore forward Anya Poole was the only other Tar Heel to shoot 50 percent or better, going 4-8 for eight points. Poole also grabbed nine rebounds, tying her for the team lead with Kennedy Todd-Williams and Alyssa Ustby. Ustby was named MVP of the event after scoring a season-high 23 points in 39 minutes against VCU on Friday.

Sophomore guard Deja Kelly scored 11 points for the Tar Heels, extending her double-digit points streak to six games to begin the season. Kelly currently leads the team with 15.8 points per game.

Banghart once again displayed the team’s remarkable depth, as 11 players checked in for Carolina, and all played at least five minutes. UNC is dealing with the season-long absences of Ariel Young and Teonni Key due to knee injuries, and is still awaiting the return of highly-touted freshman guard Kayla McPherson.

Carolina will now trade the sunny tropics in Bimini for the frosty midwest, as the Tar Heels will travel to Minnesota on Wednesday for the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. That game will be played at 9 p.m. on the Big Ten Network. UNC defeated the Golden Gophers 88-83 in their last meeting, played in Chapel Hill in November 2017.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Sid Corrigan

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