In front of a raucous crowd of local elementary and middle school students, the UNC women’s basketball team throttled Hampton 62-32 at Carmichael Arena on Wednesday afternoon.

Students from local schools such as Carrboro Elementary, Ephesus Elementary and Chatham Middle made the trip to Carmichael for the team’s annual “Field Trip” game. It’s become a program staple under head coach Courtney Banghart.

“This is always a game we really look forward to,” Banghart said afterward. “Thinking about all those kids, and remembering being one of those kids, [it’s] really cool, the energy they brought.”

Senior guard Deja Kelly thrilled the young audience by leading all scorers with 12 points. Every Tar Heel but one to check in for Banghart on the day scored, including freshman RyLee Grays netting the first points of her collegiate career. Alyssa Ustby finished with just seven points, but also contributed six rebounds, three assists and two steals in 23 minutes.

That offensive balance came despite a poor shooting performance from the Tar Heels, who finished just 18-55 (32.7 percent) from the floor. Kelly accounted for a unsightly 3-11 line. It was the Carolina defense which carried the day, holding the visiting Pirates to just 13-40 (32.5 percent) shooting. Hampton never scored more than 11 points in any quarter. It’s the first time Carolina has held an opponent to fewer than 40 points since November of last year.

“I expect this team to be good defensively. It was built to be good defensively,” said Banghart. “Where they are now, that means they have to be a week better next week. There’s no secrets about that in our locker room.”

On the injury front, senior forward Anya Poole missed her second consecutive game with what the program describes as a lower-body injury. Redshirt sophomore forward Teonni Key was seen still wearing a walking boot on her left foot. She has not played yet this season.

Now 3-0 on the young season, UNC will be back in action on Saturday when it hots Elon in Carmichael Arena at 3 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Women’s Basketball on Twitter

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