Fresh off its Battle 4 Atlantis title, Carolina returned home with an historic 119-43 blowout win against North Carolina Central on Friday afternoon in Carmichael Arena.

The Tar Heels’ 119 points scored are the most in head coach Courtney Banghart’s six seasons in Chapel Hill. It’s the third time overall the team has scored 100 or more points in her tenure. The 76-point margin of victory is also a record for a Banghart-coached UNC team.

Battle 4 Atlantis MVP Alyssa Ustby stayed hot, recording her third double-double in four games with a season-high 24 points and 10 rebounds. Maria Gakdeng, who missed the entire tournament with an injury, returned to the lineup with 10 points and 11 rebounds. It was the first double-double of the season for the Boston College transfer.

Elsewhere, Lexi Donarski and Indya Nivar each scored 11, while Trayanna Crisp and Ciera Toomey combined for 23 points off the bench. Every Tar Heel to play scored at least five points and made at least one shot from the floor. The team effort added up to 46-81 (56.8 percent) shooting for the day, beating the team’s previous season best by 10 points. Carolina’s 11 made three-pointers (including three each from Donarski and Reniya Kelly) matched a season high.

UNC is now 7-1, having won four games in a row by double digits. The Tar Heels will be back in action on Thursday, December 5 when they host No. 14 Kentucky at Carmichael Arena as part of the ACC-SEC Challenge.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati

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